TKR Brand New Day!

[new knee in June]

Prayers to all the families in Boston. Such a beautiful day & to have someone set of bombs at a major
event is just unbelievable Heidi I hope you are doing well, I will continue to follow your recovery, your'e
doing great!!! Take Care,
Diana

 

[Elliemae]

Well Baystater your recovery provides a great deal of encouragement , having the right mental attitude is a good starting point. I hope to emulate your positivity (still 5 weeks away) ..... So sad to hear of the tragedy in Boston yesterday, I will never understand the evil that lives, not only here but everywhere. Stay safe, warm and continue the great progress.

Ellen

 

[lynard]

To all my fellow Bay Staters...There are no words for such tragedy. I happened to be in my first outpatient PT appointment yesterday afternoon and she was telling me about friends in the marathon. This was before I came home and found out what happened.

Terry...my hubby and I took up kayaking 2 years ago. Maybe you can tell me some of the good spots to go in your area of the Cape. So far we've stuck pretty close to home (Dennis, Harwich and Yarmouth). BTW my hubby is a retired school psychologist.

Lyn

 

[Grammy59]

Heidi, don't know if you live in or close to Boston, but hope all is well with you and family. The Marathon bombing was so horrible, I can't imagine being involved in something like that. My heart goes out to everyone who was injured or had loved ones hurt and to the families of the ones who died.
Hope your recovery is going well, take care!!

 

[Baystater]

Hi Heidi, Just seen the news reports about the bomb blasts in Boston. How terrible for all of you living so close. People enjoying a marathon and the day turns out like that. Dreadful news. Hope you and yours are ok. How's your recovery today? Take care. Jenny

Jenny,
It's been such a sad time for Boston! My husband's office is about 3 blocks from the area where the explosions occurred and on a normal day his commute home takes him right by that area. He said that the city is very calm right now but there is a huge military and police presence and last night he drove past a line of National Guardsmen who were heavily armed. Just not something one expects to see on a sunny spring afternoon. The Boston Marathon is such a nice April tradition it just breaks my heart!

It makes me realize I should quit complaining about how bored I am...so without complaining, I will just say that if I have to rank the worst parts of TKR they would be #1 The Waiting #2 The Recovery Boredom

I hope any pre op BoneSmarties reading this note that "pain" isn't even in my top two! Seriously though my recovery is going so well, it will be three weeks tomorrow and I am so pleased with the lack of pain, the complete absence of bone on bone jabs (my left knee kindly reminds me what that feels like), and the daily increases in mobility. There are times when I can't even tell I had anything done (sitting here now my knee feels totally normal.)

I think the reason is not that I'm doing anything special (though I'd love to take all the credit but rather the type of knee my surgeon used. Mine is a Zimmer PSI and I imagine that there are other manufacturers who also offer the PSI (Precision surgical instrumentation). This means that the knee is custom aligned and the surgeon doesn't have to drill into the tibia and femur. That is supposed to translate to an easier recovery and if mine is any indication it works!

I'm curious if anyone else reading this thread had a PSI TKR and also felt it made things easier?

Well it's a pretty spring morning here. I just started a new book (The Postmistress by Sarah Blake) so I have that to look forward to. It's almost the weekend and hubby wants to go up to the lake again when he gets home tomorrow afternoon. I have a lot to be thankful for!

Heidi

 

[Shellbelle]

heidi, I am getting a Zimmer knee but I don't know yet if there are different models. Funny to be talking about knees like one would talk about car shopping!! I see the OS Monday for my pre-op with him and he will probably laugh when I ask what model of the Zimmer knee that he will use.
I haven't seen the news since yesterday morning, but I hope your city soon recovers from the awful bombing durning the Marathon. My prayers have been with everyone there.

s.

 

[kimejen]

Heidi - that's lovely to be going up to the lake for the weekend. Just a liitle break away is all you need. With the time difference, I am at nearing the end of my Friday. Hubby is coming home a little early and he's taking me for fish and chips by the sea. Our daughter is coming too as her hubby has to work late. Can't wait to get out of the house. Only been out to visit PT. Such a simple pleasure, but an exciting one. So glad to hear you are safe from the tragedy in Boston. So very sad how people have been so badly injured. May God bless them all. Enjoy your book. Take care. Jenny

 

[jensen01]

hello heidi , thoughts are with you and familys of the boston explosions glad to hear you are safe it must have been a terrible shock for all of you my heart goes out to all the ones who was injured there is a big marathon taking place this sunday in london uk the extra security has been steeped up i am very happy to hear you are having a good recovery i hope it will be the same for me only 4 more sleeps left for me now untill tuesday @ 7am i saw the OS yesterday he is positive and confident that all is going to go well and a straight forward procedure which made me feel a little better i hope you have a lovely weekend at the lake best wishs marie.

 

[Baystater]

We've had a beautiful weekend up at the lake, cold but sunny and the ice is finally out. A couple more months and I'll be out there kayaking and swimming. We have a lake neighbor who is 79 and every day in the summer she gets out there and swims - I told her she is my idol, I want to be doing that when I'm 79 too!

Jenny, so glad you got out for fish and chips! Isn't it wonderful to get out of the house? I will never again complain about running errands! My husband took me out for ice cream the other day - it was thrilling to just sit in the car and eat ice cream and watch people walking around.

Marie, so glad the London Marathon was without incident. What a scary world at times. On a happier note you are in the countdown stage now. A few days from now you'll happily be posting on your recovery thread!

And Shelly, did you go for a special MRI recently? They would have taken images of your ankle, knee and hip so that your surgeon could customize the alignment ofnthe new knee. If you did then you're getting the Zimmer PSI. It's the knee but the PSI makes the alignment easier.

Just took a picture from our deck looking out at the lake. Let's see if I can post it here. Our lake house is in New Hampshire which us a very pretty state known for it's mountains and lakes.

 

[Grammy59]

Heidi, your weekend sounds wonderful, so glad your recovery is going well. I bet you've been stir crazy, huh? It's funny how so much of the time we don't consider the small things until we don't have them, just like being able to just step out of the house and go for a walk.
Keep doing whatever you're doing, cause it's working!! Take care.

 

[Baystater]

OK let's see if this works...maybe the key is to use the lap top rather than the iPad when trying to do anything "complicated" on the Bonesmart forum. Anyway this is our view of the lake from our place in New Hampshire and sometime in the next few months I will be out there swimming And I'll be out there kayaking

 

[jensen01]

just beautifull looks so relaxing x

 

[Grammy59]

Heidi, that's beautiful!! That would be my ideal place to live, just be some water! I know you enjoy lounging on your deck. That may save you in the next few weeks as you continue to recover and the weather gets warmer.
Thanks for sharing!!

 

[Baystater]

Thanks, we love it up there! Hate coming home on Sundays but the plan is move there someday... when hubby retires. Meanwhile the time we spend there is active time, from a nice walk in the morning to going out in kayaks or swimming in the afternoon (not yet of course, still too chilly!) Those activities are my motivation to rehab this shiny new knee.

 

[Lexismom]

Hi Hiedi
Just have to write that I get a lot of encouragement with your posts and saying that pain is not your number one complaint. Yes, the tradgedy in Boston really makes us realize that our knee problems are nothing; while we are worried about a procedure that is done a thousand times a day, there are people who now have no legs.

So, so glad all is going well for you; I look forward to future posts

 

[kimejen]

Hi Heidi. No wonder you like to get to the Lakehouse. That picture you posted is absolutely beautiful. You would come home so restful after looking out at that for a few days. What a great summer you will have - new knee swimming in that lake and kayaking. Soooo envious. Thanks for sharing, if I close my eyes I can feel like I'm there enjoying that mountain air. Aaaaaaah. How are you doing this week? Take care . Jenny

 

[Baystater]

Yes - back up this coming weekend. It is such a beautiful place and sitting on that deck with morning coffee, or an afternoon glass of wine is so nice. (My last dose of Coumadin is Thursday so I'll finally be able to enjoy that wine ) We had some major renovations done up there last year and added a master suite with walk in shower to the first level. Also had the washer and dryer moved to a closet off the master bath, so everything is on one level. It's actually a better house for me post TKR because I don't have to do any stairs. Inside anyway....what the photo doesn't show is the steps outside leading down to our little beach and dock. I think there are about 30 steps...so I have to work on stairs if I want to get down to the water this summer to swim or kayak! But where there is a will there's a way!

And Lexismom isn't it true about keeping it all in perspective? The number of people from the Boston tragedy who need to have amputations is just awful. I can't imagine what they're going through, and so many of them are so young. I think the best perspective is a TKR is elected surgery, and if your knee pain is severe enough to warrant it you are already expecting your quality of life to improve. It's kind of a self fulfilling prophecy for me. I expected it to feel stronger and it does. There were some painful moments the first week or so, and definitely some "boo hoo oh woe is me times" (like my melt down in the hospital where I couldn't stop crying ) but overall this hasn't been bad at all!

Heidi

 

[kimejen]

You enjoy the Lakehouse this weekend Heidi. It'll give you an extra spring in your step next week. Jenny

 

[Baystater]

Thanks Jenny! The forecast looks beautiful, warm and sunny. Tomorrow we are taking our boat to a dealership about an hour from us, dropping it off for a tune up to get ready for the summer season. Should be a beautiful morning for a drive up in the lakes region...and the best part on the way back we're stopping for lunch. Now that I've progressed to a cane I feel like I can safely go out in public. I was so worried that I would trip up with the crutches that I haven't been anywhere other than the car!

I am 4 weeks post op today and I can't believe after all that anxious waiting pre op I am now 4 weeks post op. I still have my visiting PT for one more week (love the fact that my insurance covers that) and at yesterday's visit she measured my flexion and extension. I'm able to get 120 flexion, it feels very very tight but I can do it. Extension is 7 to 10 so that is something I have to work on. When I stand up it feels straight, but when I stand in front of a full length mirror I can see it isn't. As I said before I am using a cane but I do little trips around the house unaided (slowly!)

I'm feeling more secure by myself during the day and doing the stairs. The other morning after hubby left for work I had another cup of coffee then made my way upstairs for a shower. Then made the bed and decided to do a load of wash (washer and dryer are upstairs.) that felt great so I decided to clean the bathroom! Wow I thought, look at me, doing wash, tidying up! Who knew domesticity was so exciting?? That afternoon my knee was all stiff and swollen - yup I had overdone it in my zeal! So elevated it, put a bag of frozen veggies on it, and layer on the couch and read a book. Everything in moderation

Pain continues to be quite tolerable, but now that I have finished taking Coumadin I can take Ibuprofin instead of Tylenol if needed. My 4 week post op with my surgeon is Monday so I will see what he says about driving. Looking forward to the freedom of driving but I don't know where I'd go just yet anyway. I don't think I have the stamina to do a lot of shopping or walking just yet!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Heidi

 

[kimejen]

Heidi, you're doing so well, so good to see. I know what you mean about overdoing it. It really knocks you doesn't it. The mind is willing but the body just not up to it yet. Take care and enjoy the weekend. Jenny