@Grandma B, my grandchildren are under the illusion I am fearless, so I had to keep up appearances. But I admit I was more afraid with my old, arthritic knees. They didn’t work quite right and I walked very tentatively in them. I always felt like I was slipping. I blamed the shoes, or the floors, or, well... I don’t really know why I felt this. But the feeling was real and so I walked like an old woman.
I had to “learn” my new knees, but one thing I noticed from the very beginning was how stable they were. They felt so sure. Walking didn’t feel sure at first because I felt so much pain with every step, but I became very confident in my knees’ stability. What was off a little was my balance, because the knees matched again! LOL. For years, one was crunchier and would slip a little with every step, and the other not so much, so I learned to walk “funny.” And now they matched and didn’t slip and... well, it was quite wonderful. So once I could start walking far enough to actually call it walking, I relearned my balance and that is when I finally ditched the cane.
But it took a while for me to lose my fear of slipping (and maybe falling... I did slip and fall on a cruise ship one time, water on the floor, and so still have fear of doing so again). Funny thing, though... I never feel that slipping sensation anymore, no matter what shoes I wear. Though I still check out floors for possible hazards.
I can’t speak about risk of dislocation, which is something your surgeon could surely answer, but I suspect your implant is MUCH less likely to dislocate than your natural knee.
Take it slow, and learn to trust your knee. It’s your recovery journey, so there’s no deadline you need to make.
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