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TKR Canadian Girl's Journey

A rainy day in Ottawa today. Stayed in bed watching movies until 10:30 am! After my shower I went downstairs and my youngest son and my hubby had made pancakes with strawberries. Yum. Went to visit my parents for a couple of hours and now just catching up on things on the computer and contemplating a nap before dinner.

How is everyone else doing today and what are the plans for the weekend?
 
The alphabetical mystery series by Sue Grafton, the main character is Kinsey Millhone, a private investigator who gets into all sorts of trouble investigating murders. The series takes place in the late 70's to late 80's.
I am reading "W is for Wasted". The first book is "A is for Alibi". A new one comes out once or twice a year.
Just wish I was aging as slowly as Kinsey.
They take place on the California Coast, I was living in Monterey at the time the book takes place, so it brings back memories of a better time for me, or at least a less painful time.
 
Lazy weekend around here. I did some laundry and cleaned the kitchen with plenty of breaks. Enjoying the auto play on netflix. I think I've seen every episode from all 8 seasons of Bones this summer. By rights, I think I could be a certified forensic anthropologist by now, or not. I haven't read as much as I usually do, but I have a tendency to read YA literature. It helps me form bonds with my students, particularly the ones that aren't as science focused plus I get to share my books. I've sparked many students into reading more by their choice.:yes!:
 
@71Beetle Joke of the day, hubby likes this one!
A lady goes to the doctor and complains that her husband is losing interest in sex. The doctor gives her a pill but warns her that it is still experimental and tells her to slip it into his mashed potatoes at dinner. That night at dinner, she does so.
About a week later, she's back at the doctor.
She says, "Doc, the pill worked great! I put it in the potatoes like you said! It wasn't five minutes, and he jumps up, rakes all the food and dishes on the floor, grabs me, rips all my clothes off, and ravages me right there on the table!"
The doctor says, "I'm sorry, we didn't realize the pill was that strong. The foundation will be glad to pay for any damages."
"Naah," she says, "that's okay. We aren't going back to that restaurant anyway."
 
Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocaine during a root canal? he wanted to transcend dental medication.

The there were the two boll weevils that grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and become a famous actor while the other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much. Naturally, the 2nd one became known as the lesser of two weevils.
 
Hi @71Beetle - I am back. Things have calmed down, I am home and have my laptop, Bonesmart is loading properly - all's right with the world.

How are you doing? OK I hope. How's the pain level? Hope that the meds are coping with it better now. I find it totally amazing that 2 knees done so close together can behave so differently.

Well we have just got back from the place at the seaside. Not great weather I am afraid. Husband drove down on Thursday to race, but I stayed behind and went with my daughter to sort out the hearing aid in London, before getting the train down to join the 'other half'. It was carnival at the weekend so the Quay next to us was full of stalls, demonstrations, and live music. Some good - some not so good. Unfortunately as we are so near, we have to take the good with the bad, as short of shutting all the windows, we have no way to turn it off!! Last night was a magnificent firework display, and luckily we get a grandstand view from our balconies! The weather was grim today though, chilly and windy and drizzly so we have escaped back to London for a few days.

Interesting what @patient 99 was saying about the flexion exercises - at my last PT session (I love saying that it was my last session!) I asked the PT why it appeared that I could heel slide and bring my knee up far better in a sitting position on the bed, rather than bending it up when I am lying on my back. Evidently it puts more strain on hamstrings when laying down and raising, but she also believes that your psyche has something to do with it too. You cannot see what you are doing when laying down, and cannot give it that helping hand to pull it up a bit further - being able to see your progress and push it a bit really does reinforce your ability and helps the physical process.
As for exercises I have always been inclined to have a knee smorgasbord of everything - and still do! But my OS's favourite exercise for bending is to sit on a table with your legs hanging, then bend your knee slowly back under the table as far as you can. Hold it in that position for a few seconds, and then straighten and repeat. He was forever banging on about that one. My husband got quite excited when I kept insisting on sitting on his desk!

As I am very much in 'catch up mode' on here, several pages back you asked how we raised all the money for our charity event - answer: payment to take part; cash donations; raffle and an auction.
You also asked kindly how I am doing - answer: fine thanks. Being totally confident taking a busy train into London, going up and down stairs and 'strap hanging' on a packed Underground train, really brought home how far I have come. I think the turning point for me was a few weeks back, when I stopped thinking of my knee as an alien life form. I realised that it was just a replacement metal hinge and that it was all the stuff around it that had always been there but had got violated during the surgery, that was occasionally protesting, not the thing itself. Metal doesn't swell or get stiff when you have overdone it - muscles and soft tissue do - and I can deal with them!

Sounds as if you are doing great. This second one may be a bit harder going, but don't forget that you had it done while you were still in recovery from the first knee - so no wonder that you may not have the same level of rehab reserves for this second one!

Take care and I will try and have another joke for next time .......

XXX
 
MY FIRST DRINK WITH MY SON
I was reading an article last night about fathers and sons, and memories came flooding back of the time I took my son out for his first drink.
Off we went to our local bar, which is only two blocks from the house.
I got him a Miller Genuine.
He didn't like it – so I drank it.
Then I got him an Old Style, he didn't like it either, so I drank it.
It was the same with the Coors and the Bud.
By the time we got down to the Irish whiskey,
I could hardly push the stroller back home.
 
Hi all!

Sorry I have not been on much lately. Between physio, exercises, resting and getting back to work, I do not have that much time to myself. I guess I could have more time if I spent less time with my family but with summer quickly drawing to an end, we will soon be so busy with school and work and sports, there will be so little time together.

I just had an appointment with my surgeon today. He does not seem too concerned with the fact that my ROM has not improved in the past 5 weeks. I am still at 90 but he figures it will come in time if I just keep up with my exercises. I have an annoying click in the back of my knee and my hamstrings are still really tight which is holding things up. I just keep on doing the exercises and hope for the best. He wants to see me in 6 weeks.

Physio is doing what they can - they have been so great at trying different things to increase the flexion or to bring down the swelling. My family doctor's replacement has been very good with managing the pain. I still think I am on a lot of different things and I really would like to be off meds completely but the pain just comes back too much and then I take a step back. I have decreased the HydroMorphone from 24ml per day to 18ml per day but I do take another 2ml before physio. Still on Celebrex twice a day and then Gabapentin every 8 hours and two Tylenol every 4. I am someone that never took any type of meds before arthritis hit and even when I started getting a lot of arthritis pain I only took Tylenol Arthritis when I flared (which was a lot in the last year).

Anyway, I am prepared to do what I need to do to get better. I am now able to swim but the weather has not been very nice since my hubby and the boys came back from camping on Wednesday. I will not swim if my hubby or my eldest son are not at home just to be safe. Hopefully it will be nice on Saturday so I can get in the pool.

Work has been okay - just getting back into the swing of things. Last week and this week I was working 10-2. Next week I will aim to work 8:30 - 2 and hopefully after Labour Day, I can go back full-time 8:30 - 5:30. The days of working late are behind me. I used to work at least 10-13 hour days 3-4 times a week but if I am going to work extra hours, it will be on my own business. I have really gotten used to wearing yoga pants and tank tops and not having to wake up to an alarm and I really like it. This is not to say that with my new business, I will not have to work hard and go out and meet people, but so much of it can be done on-line and over the phone during non-core business hours, so I can wear what I want and wake up when I want and that to me, is golden.

Alas, until we get out of debt, and I can build up my business enough to take over my current salary, I will have to continue with the daily grind of my "day job". I have to say, other than the 15 days of no pay which I will feel on my commissions for the next few months, they have been good. Now I have used all of my sick days and my vacation days and any free time I had accumulated but such is life. However, I am not being docked hours for any of the time I have worked part time which will be 8 weeks of part time and they paid me for 9 days that I was not there beyond the 15 days.

This all happened after my boss was diagnosed so I think he became more conscious of my plight, not that it can compare in even the slightest to what he is going through. He is a tough one that is for sure. He has a huge fight ahead of him and I hope he can beat it. It is weird being back with him there a lot less and everyone wondering how he is doing. He is heading back to New York for some more appointments and is likely having an operation which will hopefully remove the cancer in October. So far it is in the prostate and the lymph nodes only. Thank God for that.

Anyway, I hope all is well with everyone. Is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge the craze around your parts of the world? It seems to be blowing up everywhere around here. I am pleased that it is bringing the cause to the forefront, I just hope it continues to be there after the hype goes away.

Have a great day/evening/night everyone!
 
Lisa,
Thanks for the update, you have been busy. Don't blame you wanting to spend time with family before school starts and everyone is suddenly busy.
Your ROM will come with time, as the swelling goes down ROM will appear.
Hope you can get in the pool more often!
ALS bucket challenge is all the rage around here too, raising lots of money for a good cause. It is going through all the departments at work, I think my department will be next. Just hope it is not a day I go in for PT.
Wishing you all success with your new business so you can work from home in comfortable clothes and sleep in when you want, all the while making a living.
You have a great day and evening too,
 
Hi @71Beetle - lovely to hear from you again. Make the most of your family time. Going back to work must be tiring and really tough - so well done you!
It will be great when you have built up your own business sufficiently to give up your 'day job'. They do say that you will never make big money while working for someone else! I'm being really nosey, what is your personal business venture? You may have mentioned it already on here, but I am too lazy to trawl back through the posts.
Sorry about the hamstrings and muscle ache. I have found this a problem too - but there is light at the end of the tunnel! These last few weeks my muscles are beginning to feel 'looser' and not tightening up so much, plus my physio said that the 'knotty nodule' on the muscle above the inside of my knee has subsided considerably. A while back she told me that climbing up and down stairs was good exercise, and with all the floors here at our holiday place I have certainly been up and down an awful lot over the last few weeks. Perhaps this subliminal workout has helped?
Due to being busy and down here a lot I haven't used my 'pedalling machine' for a couple of weeks. I used it the other evening and pushed myself nearer to it than ever and pedalled with ease, but then I got a bit carried away and pushed it ridiculously close. My knee was very stiff at that amount of bend, but I just managed it - immediately afterwards however, the old stiffness returned just below my knee in the top of my calf muscle. I was really concerned that it would take days to settle, but 24 hours later and everything was hunky dory again.
Just telling you this to emphasise that these things really do come in time, and although it is easier said than done, we just have to be patient and notch up and rejoice in our successes as and when they come - because they really seem to have their own agenda.

Hope everything continues well for you and you manage to get in the pool more frequently. Look forward to catching up when you get a bit of spare time. Enjoy the rest of the summer with your family.

XXX
 
@71Beetle Wow you are very busy! Hope you can get the swelling under control, then the ROM will come. With hubby's 1st leg his ROM would often stall out but is now 127 and 0. He works both legs in PT. Don't work too hard!
 
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