Bilateral TKR Eastside85: On The Other Side

[Grammy59]

Your diaper cakes are too cute, and aren't they fun to make? You can add so much cute stuff to them, there is no right or wrong way to decorate them. And such a fun way to give diapers to the parents-to-be, use them for shower decorations or centerpieces, get lots of pics since they will be taken apart, and then get them ready for new baby. My new baby will be here this Monday, excited to see him. Barb, I know you can't wait, either!! Have fun at the shower, and don't overdo! Congratulations to you all!!

 

[eastside85]

Jimbo, thanks for the kudos, not sure I deserve them any more than you do, so I will send them right backatcha! I can understand how you would miss being around family and your support system right now, it's very difficult, if not impossible, to do this kind of recovery without good loving support. You have been through a lot, and are so young, I really hope you have some help during recovery. I have a few good neighbors, who would jump in if I asked, but most work full time and are busy with their own family and problems. But I do have a few on hand, just in case of emergency.

Glad the diaper cakes are looking good to you and your wife, they are super easy and fast to make, esp. the second one, which is basically just diapers lined up in a circle, by using a baking pans as guides, in three different sizes. then big rubber band around outside, to hold them, and ribbons to decorate, then hang a few booties etc. on outside, and Voila! They do make great gifts, and I know she will enjoy them, since I hinted a while back that I had no idea how to make one, and not sure if anyone else would bring one ... haha, she does not expect me to be up to the challenge, little does she know!!

 

[eastside85]

Diana, I would never dare go back before my time is done in recovery, as a matter of fact, I might add on a month or two ...

My grandson is due on July 18th, and my disability is now due to end on July 17th .. you can see where I'm coming from now?

Thank you Turtle, I appreciate the compliments.

And wow Deb, it's not long now, are you going to be in the delivery room? I was asked this the other day, and didn't know how to answer, I had not anticipated being there, but who knows? I'm not sure I would be much help, seeing my daughter in pain is not something I'm eager to experience, but we shall see, I'll leave it up to her. I will certainly be there for her, if she wants her Mommy!

 

[fiberlady]

Barb, so sorry to hear that you had a little set-back, also glad to hear you are doing better. Having a grand baby is the most precious thing in the world. My little grand daughter will be 9 months this Sunday, she is an absolute joy.

I only hope that I can do as well as you have been doing and with only one knee done. One week from today I will have my new knee. I cannot wait. Hope you have a great time at the shower and keep on healing.

 

[Ready]

Adorable!!

 

[Elliemae]

Recovery can be such a journey and I am glad that yours is getting better. Just in time for your new grandchild...
I hear you, on the not going back I work too soon, my boss keeps hinting and I haven't even had surgery yet.....
I have to say I have never seen a diaper cake, but what a cleaver idea , loved the pictures.
I now have 4 get ups left before my big day. Wow it seems it was just a day or ago that I was several weeks away. Time flies for sure..

Take care!

 

[jetthugger]

Hi there,
I'm so impressed with your diaper cake!!! Until I saw a picture I wasn't at all certain what was involved, kept imagining some wierd shaped cake with white icing decorated in brown, yellow icing.... You get the picture!!!!
We have nothing like that (yet) in the uk, but it's such a fantastic idea,I can't wait until I find someone who's expecting now!!!
I see you have been riding the rollercoaster a bit. I had the shooting pains (called them zingers) around the four week mark. It was explained to me that its a normal part of the healing process & that the nerves have been cut & the zingers are just the nerve endings finding each other & knitting back together. Hope this helps!
Wishing you a less bumpy ride on that there rollercoaster!

 

[eastside85]

I've been awake for a few hours, went to sleep around 6 yesterday, with some little short interruptions for potty and some texting with my daughter, she gets very emotional at times, and I'm sure it's all hormone fluctuations, but I love it when she needs her Mommy, and nobody else will do! I guess you can tell I totally adore that girl ...

So, we finished up the cakes yesterday, and I even spray painted the basket, just have to get the little pots of yellow plants to add, and will somehow transport it all to my friends house on Saturday, before we go to dinner. Glad you all like the cakes we created, here's another picture of the finished product, all wrapped up and ready to go!

I had never made anything like this before, and can vouch for the fact that it's super easy and really a lot of fun, great outlet for that pent up creativity we all have inside!! ;)

These are some of the youtube videos we used as guides, just in case someone would like to take a shot at it!

The easier one using diaper wheels
!

The rolled diaper variety (there are many other videos, I found this one the easiest to follow)


My sister went to the dollar store and found pizza pans about 12 inch diameter for 1$ and we used them for the base, with a pretty doily to cover.

And we didn't have the baby bottles for the center, just used the inside dowel from paper towel roll.

We could have used a few more little decorative gift items to hang on the cakes, since we made two instead of one, they are a bit skimpy, but just didn't have the time and energy to get more.

Hope that helps!

 

[new knee in June]

Good Morning Barb,
Just wanted to wish you a pain-free, Awesome weekend ! Can't you just picture
yourself walking your little grand baby on a beautiful Summer day I can !
Take Care,
Diana

 

[maddoxsmama]

Hey Barb Just love how the cakes turned out. Will definitely make a nice addition to the baby shower.

 

[Grammy59]

Hi Barb, hope you've had a great day. How did the baby shower go? Are you worn out? It's an exciting time for all of you. No, I won't be going to the delivery room with my son and daughter in law. She is having a C-section plus we have to take care of their other little boy. We'll go down sometimes tomorrow to see him and I'm sure my son will keep us updated. I bet you were ready for elevating and ice when you got home. Anxious to hear all about it and how you are doing, too. Hugs over the mountains to you!!

 

[eastside85]

Hello everyone!

Here it is Tuesday morning, and I've had a busy, fun, whirlwind weekend - and feel just fine, as a matter of fact, my session with Jennifer yesterday went so well, she called me her star pupil ... We did lots of new exercises, then she measured, and I had 94 on the left, and 97 on the right! Total surprise, and all my planning and elevating and icing throughout the weekend clearly paid off. I had no pain, slept 12 hours Sunday night though, from exhaustion, but that's a good thing in my book!

Dinner on Saturday evening was lovely, the whole family was there, and Christina's best friend from college came along, she drove down for the shower, and was sleeping over. We had so much fun.

the shower was also fabulous, my friend and her daughter, who happens to be another best friend of Christina's, did so much work, cooked all fresh food, I've been to weddings with less of a spread! And the gifts were piled so high, we could hardly see over the pool table they were using for her presents. Our diaper cakes were a big hit, she couldn't get over the fact that we had made them ourselves, lol!

Then yesterday I took a good nap after my PT session, and we had the in laws over for a little wine and cheese in the afternoon, I had enough energy to make a Mixed Berry Cobbler before my nap, and we really just relaxed and talked and talked.

All in all, I'm definitely progressing well, and handling outings with more common sense, I had to learn to not over do, and take care of my knees, which makes all the difference.

This is last week of my lovely Jennifer, and next Thursday my follow up appointment with surgeon. Can't wait to hear what he says. We want to get at least to 100 degrees by then, but without pressure. It is definitely doable now, swelling down a lot, and bending so much less painful.

I'm so grateful for Bonesmart and the Mantra - thanks to all Moderators who took an interest in the beginning, and all the ongoing encouragement from the many Bonesmarties still cheering me on - I hope I'm able to be around more as time goes by, to spread a bit of cheer, too!!

Big hugs to you all,
Barb with Bert and Ernie on the mend!!

 

[new knee in June]

Hello Barb,
What a wonderful weekend you had ! Would you consider posting some pictures of
the baby shower? ( you don't have to, I understand about privacy issues )
You are doing great, keep-up with us when you can
I'll be on the "other side" June 3rd
See you then,
Diana

 

[eastside85]

Hi Diana, having some trouble uploading the pictures, hope this time works. One of my daughters friends is a professional photographer, but I don't have access to those pictures yet. Here are a few I took, of Christina opening her presents, the 3 year old twins, who were a big "help" lol, and the gracious hostess, Mary Ann.

 

[Baystater]

Barb,
Catching up with your thread and it sounds like life is getting back to normal nicely for you - a very busy normal but that is wonderful! Loved looking at all the photos, thank you for sharing them. We just found out our daughter in law is expecting her second in December so now I'm thinking I'll move my LTKR up a bit, maybe September so that if they need me to come watch the 2 year old I'm up to the task!

Heidi

 

[Grammy59]

Our little bundle arrived Monday at 803 am, 19 inches, 8lb 4oz. Mommy and Samuel Hutton are doing good. Hopefully get to come home tomorrow. Congratulations Heidi, there's nothing like Grandchildren! Barb, when is yours due? You may have said, but I didn't see it. Take care-glad you are doing so well!

 

[Janet2012]

Congratulations! We have one due in September, our 4th grandson, my son's first!

 

[patient 99]

Hi, Can't begin to imagine how hard it must be to have both knees done at the same time. I will probably have to have my right knee replaced at some stage, but quite honestly the thought of going through all this again fills me with dread. I hope this isn't too personal, but could you tell me why you decided to have Bilateral TKR rather than one at a time. Regards Pat99

 

[maddoxsmama]

Great pics Barb!

 

[eastside85]

I can't believe how fast this week has flown by - time is not standing still anymore, a sure sign that I'm feeling better! And indeed I am ... have been up since 7 am, had my coffee, while watching GMA, then took a shower, changed bed linens, did two loads of laundry, cleaned up the kitchen a bit, even unloaded dish washer, vacuumed a bit (very small area in bedroom) and now waiting for Jennifer to arrive.

Sometimes I amaze myself - LOL!!!

deb - I am so happy that all went well with the birth of your newest little grandson - BIG CONGRATULATIONS AND HUGE HUGS FOR YOU!!!

Hudson is ETA on July 18 ... and we are ready now ;)

Heidi - so good to see you, and I'm so happy to hear the good news, it's amazing how many babies are being born right now, not sure if there really is a big increase, or I'm just more aware, because we are having one? Anyway, hope all is well with you, I intend to go read everyone's journals later this afternoon, have really missed out on a lot of what's going on around here, but I still sleep a lot, almost every afternoon, a long nap, and then it takes me a while to make dinner, clean up etc. I am really feeling much more "normal" in many ways, and yet still so fragile at times. I know that's normal too though, so no big deal ...

Janet - another grandson, so exciting, isn't it? No matter how many we have, there is always room for one more, my daughter wants to have at least two, I had to laugh, she was talking about the second one as soon as she found out she was pregnant, and I had to smile, thinking to myself "lets see how much of a hurry you're in after you give birth ..."

Thanks Cathy, glad you enjoyed the pics, I have more, but have to get them uploaded, I do love to share, still have to get one of the nursery for you. Promise!

Pat- late last year, when I made the decision to go ahead and have knee replacement, mostly due to my daughter's announcement of first grandson, I started mentioning to my friends and really anyone I was talking to. I was amazed at how many people either had been down that road, and gladly showed off their scars, or knew someone who had had one, and almost always very positive stories. My best friend told me her boss had just had his knees replaced, and both at the same time! I had never heard of that, and was immediately intrigued, because my knees were truly both quite bad, and I could not tell you which one I would do first. I made note of the name of the doc, and in the following weeks and months, this surgeons name came up 3 or 4 more times, so I decided to check him out. Had my consultation with him on January 3rd and liked him right off the bat, and asked him about having them both done - he said if I was otherwise healthy, it would be no problem for him. I would definitely make sure the surgeon is experienced in this procedure, but for me it has been the best solution, I had no problem walking from day one, and the knees have felt very stable and legs strong. I did exercises for quads and upper body strength pre surgery, and have to admit that I have very strong leg muscles, always have had.
I don't know how you would do obviously, but in my opinion, it's not harder or more painful to have both done, as opposed to one. Recovery is very individual, no matter one or two knee replacements, I think. It might take a bit longer, in my case, there was a lot of swelling ... not sure how far back you read but I was very lucky to end up with the PT I did, since she is well trained in manual therapy and did lymph massages on my legs for the last 3 weeks, and the swelling is all but gone. I never wore the TED stockings, but wrap the legs with ace bandages in the morning, which prevents swelling when I'm up and around, and it feels good.

Let me know if you have any questions at all, I am here for you!