PKR And Now for the Left One

@Sara61 Thanks! I learned the hard way on my first. My Wife was terrified for my second. I was a total hot mess for my first. So far, my 2nd has been totally uneventful. I approached this one with a totally different attitude. It has worked so far. I hope, me passing on my experience can help someone else!
Rick
 
Isn't it amazing how much ice relieves pain!
 
For some reason, I just really like your ice reports! I have an image of you with a giant bag of ice over your shoulder, lol!
 
@JennyLynne That is close,,,, I have a cooler on the back porch that holds 60 Lbs. of Ice. I have a second that holds 20 lbs. I have been making Ice runs every 2 days. I have also been making ice bergs (about 2 cups each) in the freezer. Thanks @sistersinhim for the suggestion! It has been worth all the effort!!
Not really working on ROM yet. Giving my knee time to heal.
 
Rick951;
Just read your post on my preop thread. thanks for all the encouragement. glad to hear you are doing well. hope your pkr lasts for many years. I'm like you as far as the ice being such a good pain reliever . keep posting and we'll keep reading. lots of good luck with your recovery
 
Rick; I believe you are from NC correct? I am having my surgery in Laurinburg at Scotland Cty Memorial hospital. that's where I had my first one done. they're not cancelling electives there that you know of are they? I sure hope not. My OS is Dr.Paul Rush at Orthocarolina; he is really good.
 
I can’t wait for my ice machine to come, I enjoy the icing, esp after waking up stiff! Sounds like you are doing well!
 
@SpaceGirl I am totally convinced the hundreds of pounds of Ice I have gone through have been worth it!!!! What unit did you purchase? Not sure if it will make a difference with the unit you purchased. I do know with the Game Ready unit I rented. The small aquarium water pump I purchased has helped. I don't have to lug the main unit around to empty the water.
Hang in there!
Rick
 
Day 10 More of the same. I have been melting a lot of Ice with my knee. Tomorrow it will be time for another 80 Lbs. of Ice. One big accomplishment for the day. I took one of our cats for 2 walks. :kitty:
She is harness trained, the one in my avatar. She had missed our daily walks. She is happier, so I am happier..
Back to "HIR" High Intensity Recovery.. = Ice, Elevate, Sleep.
Rick
 
Day 12 & 13 Still more of the same, except day 12 I was able to go up steps foot over foot. Not fast, but was able to do it. I also spent several hours repairing my house HVAC. suddenly on Sunday afternoon I realized it was 85 degrees in the house. I ventured out into the 95 degree heat too investigate what the issue was. Long story short, after about an hour AC fixed, had parts on hand.
Today another 60 lbs.of Ice to feed the Game Ready ice machine. PT in the afternoon, some Leg presses, 10 minutes on the stationary bike. the peddles were adjusted so it was a much shorter rotation than my home bike. Home to Ice and elevate.
So far so good, the only issue is the sores on either side of the dressing. They are only on the bend area of my knee. Tomorrow is the big reveal, I remove the dressing. The suspense is killing me.... Not.
Happy healing!
Rick
 
Remember to take it easy! Glad the a/c was fixable, we have had so many issues over the years we finally replaced it 3 or so years ago.
I hope your incision is healing well!
 
You are coming along very well. However, please reconsider the leg presses, it is far too early and may reverse how well you are doing.

Great job on the HVAC, that’s what I call natural PT!
 
Great news that you had the parts on hand to fix the AC. I'm in Virginia and cooking up here, so I know it's even worse down there. I have a window unit in the family room to try and keep the central air one off as long as I can. That electric meter just flies when that big boy is on!

I agree about the leg presses. It's too soon to be doing those. They shouldn't be done until you're about 4 + months out. Your knee is still an infant and needs gentle treatment for a while.
 
@Jockette @sistersinhim Thanks for the concern regarding the leg presses. I was also concerned. The first few I did very slowly, being very sensitive to the feeling in my baby knee. From a work point of view, most of the pressure was on my 1.5 year old knee. It felt OK, the mechanics to me look like a shallow squat. Knee angle was form about 70 degrees to 0. So I was in my comfortable ROM range. This morning I have no increase in swelling or pain. My PT is good he will not force my knee, and is not obsessed with ROM numbers. He does like to challenge me but, does force me to do anything. If my assessment is not correct, please educate me..

@SpaceGirl Our AC is over 20 years old, For that reason I keep parts I can replace around.

Removed the Aquacel surgical dressing this morning. for the most part incision looks good. There are inflamed sections on either side of my patella. On small section the outer layer of skin came off with the dressing. The knee feel MUCH better with it off. I guess I did have a reaction @Jamie was correct. I just don't understand why it was only in a small section of the total coverage...?
I will post pictures later.
All for now. Back to Ice and Elevation.....
Rick
 
Glad the big reveal wasn't too revealing. Sounds like you're making good progress!
 
It sounds like you will have control over the leg press and not let them hurt you. As long as you have no negative results, you should be OK.

It sounds like you might have some reaction to the glue on the bandage. I hope that's all.
 
I still think it’s too early to any leg press activity. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. A setback can sneak up on you and take a lot longer to settle down than it did to occur.

You are doing very well on the different recovery path you have chosen this time around. Don’t be tempted to fall back into last times’s path. When things are going well that’s when we get a bit over confident in our abilities and do too much, too soon, and bam, we have increased our pain!
 

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