TKR Carole’s recovery thread

[Carole4815]

Carole, know that you are not a failure. You are a champ in my book. Your PT and the facility are the failures here-and they failed you big time! Take some time to recover, both mentally and physically, before even considering looking for another place. Then, if you decide to find a new place, know that you are still the boss, and they must follow your lead on what they can, and cannot, do or say to you. I would still mention this to your OS, and if he seems open to the complaint and willing to address the problem, great. If not, then it's his problem, not yours after that point. You will have done what you needed to to keep it from happening to another patient, plus hopefully, the facility will be forced to change their ways as a result. Whatever the outcome, the good news is they can never again harm you!

Thank you so much. Your post really helped.

 

[marieltha]

My OS does not refer to PT. He gives a printout of do-able bend and extension exercises (some lying down, some sitting, 3xday) . He shows you how to do them before the surgery. His home RN also checks that you are doing them correctly. Plus walking (#steps at first, then by time increments).

Perhaps you could ask your OS for something simple like this?

Hope you feel better today.

 

[Macknit]

@Carole4815 I'm so sorry and upset at your PT experience...I haven't had those experiences, but definitely agree with your decision to curtail the PT!

Thanks for the sleep information on Monday. I finally returned to using my Ambien and got 5 straight hours for the first time in ages!! I'm still struggling with Restless Leg Syndrome, which I was taking a dopamine agonist for, but it seemed to make the symptoms worse instead of stopping them!?

I pray your knee is recovering now that you've made the decision to stop PT. Hang in there!

 

[sistersinhim]

How are you feeling today, Carole?

 

[Carole4815]

Oops! Wrote this and then forgot to post it. LOL So here it is, in this post, after the stars.

Thanks, Macknit; I am glad you are sleeping some now.

And thanks, sistersinhim. I think I talked about how I felt in the third paragraph after this one.
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@marieltha , thanks. I think that in my case I already know the exercises, and no way in hades would I allow a home RN or home PT or anybody else back in my house at this stage.

My outpatient PT completely ignored walking, and they have no idea how far I can or cannot walk or if my gait problems are improving or not (or even what they are). So as far as I am concerned quitting PT will be nothing but beneficial to walking.

I am still in some physical pain from Monday's PT, and I don't feel better yet although I am sure I will. Thanks for caring. I think sitting in my recliner for however long it takes, will eventually allow me to get back to my prior activity level and enjoying life as I had been before this incident. I can't wait. I spent 3 years sitting in a chair before my TKR and it just crushes me when I have a setback like this that puts me back in that situation.

The PT people called and for 45 minutes or longer they pumped me for information about what I might say concerning why I quit. The OS already knows I quit PT. They are freaking out, worried, and upset - - not about ME, no, no way!!! They are far more worried about how I will feel on the day when I next see the OS (not now), and about concocting and testing stories to counter what I might say about the incident, in order to keep their jobs. Let them worry. As for me, I was completely open and probably told them too much that they can (and will) use, because I just don't care. I'm not worried one bit. I am not crusading for them to be fired or otherwise punished. They are now irrelevant to my life and honestly I don't care what happens to them as long as I never, never, ever have to deal with them ever again. I am not out to change the world at my age.

Selfish as it is, right now I mostly just want to recover and feel better. Having no more PT will help tremendously. Even in the perhaps unlikely event that my OS refuses to replace knee#2 because I am refusing PT, at least knee#1 can now heal.

 

[Jamie]

Boy, Carole....do you ever have your head on straight! Bravo for you putting yourself and what is good for you ahead of everything else. You don't need the personal stress that comes along with trying to achieve some punitive action for these folks. I'm sure they can do that all by themselves in the free market. There are likely other unhappy patients out there like you. A few comments to your surgeon is all that's needed and then forget them. Block their stupid calls if you must. Continue to focus on yourself and your recovery. Things will get back on track for you soon and this will just be a story you tell around the campfire. (((HUGS)))) to you!

 

[Macknit]

Oh Carole, I can't believe how unprofessional that group is, regardless of what you said to them or if you did share too much, I believe you have the correct perspective now on their problem (the fact that they called you tells me they are on the defensive because they've had this issue before!).

That door is closed for you and you are moving forward! I wanted to share a few words to a favorite song of mine

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again by Danny Gokey:
​

"Yesterday's a closing door
You don't live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you've been
And tell your heart to beat again..."

This applies to so many life situations, but you really can just move on from these poor souls.

And self-care is never never selfish. You deserve to recover and feel better!! You also will be stronger for others because of your journey with pain and setbacks. Hang in there and know that there are many of us walking this road with you and for you!

 

[Carole4815]

It constantly amazes and astounds me at how caring and understanding people are in this forum!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you all so much for being here for me like this.

 

[Jockette]

I’m really surprised the PT facility is in such a dither about this. And it’s also interesting that you are not the one they are concerned about. What a shame.

Maybe if more patients speak up they’ll change their attitude/approach.

 

[sistersinhim]

I am still in some physical pain from Monday's PT, and I don't feel better yet although I am sure I will. Thanks for caring. I think sitting in my recliner for however long it takes, will eventually allow me to get back to my prior activity level and enjoying life as I had been before this incident. I can't wait. I spent 3 years sitting in a chair before my TKR and it just crushes me when I have a setback like this that puts me back in that situation.

This is the number one reason we advise patients to be careful in PT. You were doing great and now you have to play catch-up just to get where you were. But, you are a strong lady and you'll do great and get past this and excel, I've no doubt!

They are now irrelevant to my life and honestly I don't care what happens to them as long as I never, never, ever have to deal with them ever again. I am not out to change the world at my age.

What a wonderful attitude. You make me proud to know you, even if it is via this site! Putting it all behind you is a huge step forward. You go, girl!

 

[Tykey]

You are a remarkable lady, Carole.

You will soon be as good as you were, then speeding onwards.

I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.

 

[Carole4815]

Thank you, @sistersinhim and @Tykey . What nice compliments from a remarkable gentleman and wonderful lady such as yourselves.

@Jockette , I think that due to the insane frequency of lawsuits in the modern world, everybody is worried about litigation except me. As for me, I'm only concerned about my knees.

I changed my avatar to be a little more anonymous. I don't have a doggie myself, but if I did it would be a sweet little toy poodle like this one.

My sweetie just brought me a take-out club sandwich for lunch, and we had a nice time chatting while we ate lunch. I am hoping that maybe tomorrow I'll be able to go out to lunch with him again. We both miss that.

 

[KneeHelp]

I had a not so pleasant experience with PT, too. My PT started in hospital and I had two sessions before I could be approved to go home.

The male therapist straight out lied to me. I was told I would have pain meds before both sessions. The therapist came to my room early and when I asked for pain meds 3 times he told me they would be given to me when I walked to the therapy room. I never got the pain meds and therapy was painful.

I suffered through because I wanted to go home. I was upset and reported him to the nurse. There was a power struggle between the two, he was trying to get her into trouble and I got caught in the middle.

The same group gave me out patient therapy and the young lady was pregnant. My therapy appointments were made when it was convenient for her. She changed my appointment times 4 times to accommodate her doc appts.

When I told her a position hurt she would always come back with how she was worried about me for not respond ing to therapy better. If I didn't do the exercises I may never walk again.

Hubby didn't want me to stop but 3 weeks of her manipulation, both mentally and physically, was all I could take.

I live in a rural area and they kept calling for me to come back. I refused and they turned me over to a collection agency for $19 unpaid that I never received a bill for. I guess they were upset with me,lol.

My therapy cost me $500 out of pocket and it was for nothing. PT is huge in the US, but I will refuse it if I need another surgery.

 

[luvcats]

@KneeHelp what a horrible story. I had a PT person like that after a different procedure who was all about her timing and her life and paid almost no attention to what I was doing, so I called the office and told them to reassign me. It's even worse that you were paying out of pocket.

@Carole4815 I'm so glad you've emotionally bounced back so quickly, even if your knee needs a bit more time. I can't see your OS deciding not to do your 2nd surgery just because you object to sadistic PT staff, but if he does, well, you live in an urban area. There must be 10 or 20 other surgeons you could interview if it came down to it.

I hope you'll be back out to lunch soon. What is your favorite lunch? I love to live vicariously through other people's food choices.

 

[Jockette]

PT is huge in the US, but I will refuse it if I need another surgery.

I will also refuse PT next time. The only benefit I got from mine was a brief thigh massage in the beginning that did feel nice. Nothing else they did was anything I couldn’t do at home on my own, and they did plenty that they shouldn’t have. I’ll be fine without it next time.

 

[Carole4815]

@KneeHelp what a horrible story. I had a PT person like that after a different procedure who was all about her timing and her life and paid almost no attention to what I was doing, so I called the office and told them to reassign me. It's even worse that you were paying out of pocket.

@Carole4815 I'm so glad you've emotionally bounced back so quickly, even if your knee needs a bit more time. I can't see your OS deciding not to do your 2nd surgery just because you object to sadistic PT staff, but if he does, well, you live in an urban area. There must be 10 or 20 other surgeons you could interview if it came down to it.

I hope you'll be back out to lunch soon. What is your favorite lunch? I love to live vicariously through other people's food choices.

Ah! My favorite lunch - - a great topic.

When we go out we usually we go to an Italian place and I get either a cup of soup, or a small caesar side salad. They only have one soup, the "soup of the day", which is tomato basil on weekdays. I guess that one is OK... but the weekend soup is a very spicy crab and corn chowder which I absolutely love. So on weekends I get the soup, and on at least three of the five weekdays I get the salad. The other two days I might get something different, like the tomato soup, a sandwich, or a grilled chicken pita. Or they do have a divine (but high calorie) shrimp alfredo pasta.

When he is bringing me take-out, he usually gets it from the bar down on the corner. Lately my favorite from that bar is their shrimp tacos, with a wonderfully spicy sauce and lovely fresh shrimp. But their gumbo is good, when they have it, and they have a great grilled chicken salad when I am in the mood for a big salad. Today I was feeling sorry for myself so thought "who cares about carbs and calories" and got their club sandwich.

I think what I like best about going out for lunch is getting to see the world outside of my den where I sit all day and sleep all night. I mean, I love my den and all, but.... Sunshine and clouds or rain, and sweetie driving me through the weather, good or bad, makes my day. It's so much fun to see our suburb and what little changes are being made; buildings being torn down, others being built, construction on the main street, a used car for sale out on the street on the next block, children happily playing in a playground, old men mowing their tiny lawns, and so on. Anyway, when we get to the Italian place the wait staff know us and welcome us like we were family so that's another thing I like about eating there.

As for my area being urban, I guess it is even if the population is not very high. In many ways it's a small town, as in everybody knows everybody and so on. I had quite a time finding a surgeon, and then the first one I found retired on me! So then I found this one. My sweetie is afraid that I haven't bounced back emotionally yet and that I might go ballistic at the appointment with my surgeon. So, I told him I'd take a deep breath before walking in there....

Honestly I don't want the drama, or revenge, or any of that stuff. It's exhausting to even think about it. I just want to allow my knee to heal and then to make the most of my life. If my life expectancy is to age 87 (I think?) then I only have 16 more years to enjoy so why not enjoy them to the max.

 

[Carole4815]

@KneeHelp , I am so sorry to read about your bad PT!!! I really think that PT can potentially be helpful but to be honest, I don't know how to find such a PT facility. And the harm they can do is pretty bad. If I can pull it off, I'd like to follow in the footsteps of others here like Jockette who "Just Say No" to PT.

 

[Tykey]

When you are recovered, I think you should reward yourself with that poodle pup!

 

[Carole4815]

When you are recovered, I think you should reward yourself with that poodle pup!

Maybe a stuffed toy poodle pup! I don't want the responsibility of taking care of a real live one, much less paying the vet bills. Now, if I could *rent* a live poodle puppy....hmmm! LOL

 

[Jockette]

I love other people’s dogs, but I don’t want one of my own.

That one in your avatar is definitely a cutie!