TKR Holly is bionic!!

[1ELISEA]

Hello! JuSt thought I would say hello and update everyone. Came home yesterday, took a shower and slept in my own bed!
One thing we have to do that I wasn't expecting-is that my husband has to give me blood thinner shots each day morning and night. In my stomach! Ick! Have to do it for 6 days.

Glad you are doing well.
I am with family but my sister baked cookies from scratch today so they are taking good care of me.
Loved that first shower. Sooooo nice.

And those shots are not thaaaaat bad. I have to give myself them for 2 weeks. No volunteers, for that one it's all me. My nurse taught me to do it painlessly. Pinch a section of the stomach and hold it between the fingers, then inject into that section so you are going into a layer of fat; it does work.

 

[referee54]

One thing we have to do that I wasn't expecting-is that my husband has to give me blood thinner shots each day morning and night. In my stomach! Ick! Have to do it for 6 days.

I was also on Lovenox; my wife took care of the injections and did them quite skillfully! Soon, though, they will be a thing of the past for you.

 

[vegasmomof3]

Glad to hear your doing well. I had to give myself the shots for 2 weeks. My stomach started to get sore towards the end of the 2nd week. Best of luck to you on your recovery.

Margie

 

[Morning Glory]

I had those shots with my right knee but didn't get them with this knee. This time I take 1 aspirin in the morning and 1 at night. Same doctor, same hospital...go figure.
Glad you're doing so well. It sure is great to get home!

 

[HollyM]

Today is my 1 week anniversary with my knee! :yes 4:Overall, I feel that I'm doing very well. I still struggle with the swelling, but haven't gotten quite as bad as I did on Sunday.

Yesterday, I had my first PT appointment! It was great to get out in the truck for a while but did have it's share of drama!! I was ready to go to the appointment, and it was time to go down the 6 steps (I have a split entry style home). Well, I proceeded to stand at the top of the stairs and cry, because I was afraid to go down them!! My "good" leg is a bit tired, so I was very worried if it would support me going down the steps! I ended up having my husband grab me under my arms and get me down on the floor - scooting on my rear down the stairs while he held my leg. Needless to say - I was sweating profusely by the time I got out to the truck - and then had to get myself inside the vehicle. Cried all the way to the appointment!! Appointment went well, but John my PT guy was concerned about the swelling. He said that my quad is still sleeping and isn't worried about that yet. That some things are ahead of schedule, and others a tad behind. My ROM was 86 & 3. Pretty much the same as the hospital. Not bad - considering all the swelling. Goal for next week is 90. Doable I think! He was surprised that I had gotten rid of the walker and was only using crutches. I explained that I felt more secure on the crutches than I did for the walker! John sent me to get a pair of TEDS after class which I am now wearing. Not bad.

I will be glad when my quad wakes up. It's frustrating to not have the use of that.

I'm doing pretty good at icing, elevation and meds. Keeping myself comfortable. Move from the bed to the couch to the chair. Napping every afternoon!

We had friends drop off a meal for us last night which was really nice. I was surprised that I was so wiped out after only having them there for about 45 minutes. They have 4 little kids, so there was lots of commotion which didn't help. But it was great to see them.

Almost done with the shots - and no they don't hurt, just feel bad for my husband that he has to give them to me. It was just something that I wasn't expecting.

Overall, it's been a good week. I'm pleased with my progress and am looking forward to the next week to see what changes will come!

 

[jancat]

Congrats on your new knee, Holly! Hang in there- this is the hardest part (the first 3 weeks) IMO.

 

[BJ Mac]

Holly, Sounds like you had a very tiring outing to PT. It was probably nice to get out of the house after you settled down though.

It is great that your friends brought a meal, although it seems that you were probably ready for the short visit to end. You are so early in the process and everything wears us out that early. I do hope that you are not feeling like you should be able to handle more, cause you are definitely in the rest, rest and more rest stage.

Keep on taking good care of yourself.

 

[thethom]

Great news... Have a good recovery. Sounds like your journey has started with no major bumps in the road. A very good thing. Welcome to the other side.
Thom

 

[Piglet]

Well done holly

You'll find it so much easier at the end of week 2 and again with the swelling at week 3. !!!

Congratulations. Keep trying and all of a sudden the quads reappear. Xx

 

[1ELISEA]

Yesterday, I had my first PT appointment! It was great to get out in the truck for a while but did have it's share of drama!! I was ready to go to the appointment, and it was time to go down the 6 steps (I have a split entry style home). Well, I proceeded to stand at the top of the stairs and cry, because I was afraid to go down them!! My "good" leg is a bit tired, so I was very worried if it would support me going down the steps! I ended up having my husband grab me under my arms and get me down on the floor - scooting on my rear down the stairs while he held my leg. Needless to say - I was sweating profusely by the time I got out to the truck - and then had to get myself inside the vehicle. Cried all the way to the appointment!!

Oh, I hear you on this one sister. I can get most of my leg in the car if I move the seat wayyyyyyyyy back. But the toes always seem to be left hanging out on their own when the leg can't quiiiite bend enough.

And even though my family's home is a rambler the front steps have no railing so it is an adventure with one person in front and one person in back to catch me in case I fall using the crutches.

I've got to learn, though, to do them as my house has lots of stairs. Slowly I guess is the way forward.

 

[RICBAK1]

hi glad you made it okay,thought i was in a blacksmith shop not hospital ,all the banging and sawing was wide awake last week in theater,dont get used to hospital food we want you home good luck

 

[RICBAK1]

hi had shots in hospital,but they gave me a tablet to take home 1 a day for 14 days,we must be wimps in uk ,good luck to you

 

[adnil]

Holly, I can relate to the stairs. When it was time to take out my staples I stood at the top of the stairs and could not bring myself to take that first step. I went back to bed and my husband was so worried he was ready to call an ambulance to come and get me and carry me down the stairs. I was feeling so depressed but I thought I'd give it one last shot but this time I went down barefoot. Thank God it worked because in retrospect I was so glad not to have to call 911 to get stiches out. :th_heehee: and who knew shoes could be so darn heavy.

 

[HollyM]

You're right about the shoes being heavy!! I kept telling my husband - WHY can't I just do this in flip flops or barefoot??? :skeptical: I know why I can't with the flip flops, but I think I"m going to do the stairs barefoot on Monday.

Just realized Monday will be a busy day - PT and then the staples out on the same day...who was the lame brain that did THAT scheduling??? Oh yeah, the one on drugs!!! :hysterical:

Feeling pretty good today. Took a shower without event, SHAVED my legs - always important - ranks right up there with shampoo in my opinion!

Did get perscribed some different comression socks. The ones that they gave me the other day were KILLING my thigh. Serious pain and digging into my leg. I called the medical supply place and told them that and she said that based on my measurements - they shouldn't have even given me those. That they were the wrong size - ummmm...YEP!!!

The woman was wonderful, and actually sent us to a competitor to get the right ones as she didn't have anything in stock. Good business person. This fancy pair cost me $94.00!!! You'd think they'd come with good looking personal masseuse man to rub me down for that price!! :th_heehee: Oh well, what's a person to do?! They're needed.

Have some family coming over tomorrow at dinner time to make the meal, share a few beers with my hubby and then clean up and head out. It should be fun. Might get a bit tiring so I already told my husband that I might need to disappear to the bedroom at some point!!!

Take care everyone!

 

[bottomshollow]

:biggrin: Great update, Holly. Sound like everything is progressing pretty smoothly. Yeah, a shower and a shave is always good for morale.

You'll enjoy your company this weekend--just laying back and being waited on--way to go! And smart to know you might have to slip away early. But you'll be there for the best part--THE FOOD.

Take care, keep us posted, we care.

 

[PooShay]

Holly, as you are recovering, you may doze off with company around!

 

[adnil]

I like the idea of a male masseuse to go with the socks. I'd buy a pair or 3...:th_heehee:

 

[Morning Glory]

Hi Holly,
We had our knees done the same day. Good to hear you're doing so well.
My doctor doesn't use those stockings, don't know why but at that price I'm glad he doesn't.

My daugther & 2 granddaughters were here for lunch the other day. I loved having them here and got in some much needed Play Doh skills time. They were here about 3 hours and it took me about that long to rest up.

The PT that comes to the house is supposed to take my staples out on Thursday. This past Wed she noticed a bright pink area at the very bottom. I was a bit freaked out by that but then was a wreck when it started draining some pinkish yellowy fluid. I went to see the doctor next day, he says it's not infected but gave me a week of antibiotic anyway. Today it's still pink but dry. PT will check it Wed and call the doctor to make sure she should still take out the staples.

Sorry to hijack your thread with my troubles, just needing to vent.

 

[HollyM]

Hi Holly,
We had our knees done the same day. Good to hear you're doing so well.
My doctor doesn't use those stockings, don't know why but at that price I'm glad he doesn't.

My daugther & 2 granddaughters were here for lunch the other day. I loved having them here and got in some much needed Play Doh skills time. They were here about 3 hours and it took me about that long to rest up.

The PT that comes to the house is supposed to take my staples out on Thursday. This past Wed she noticed a bright pink area at the very bottom. I was a bit freaked out by that but then was a wreck when it started draining some pinkish yellowy fluid. I went to see the doctor next day, he says it's not infected but gave me a week of antibiotic anyway. Today it's still pink but dry. PT will check it Wed and call the doctor to make sure she should still take out the staples.

Sorry to hijack your thread with my troubles, just needing to vent.

Well I'd have been FREAKED out too! :cry4: Haven't had anything like that on this end - thankfully, but it could change at any moment I suppose. I'll keep saying good vibes on this end that the pink stuff is gone!

How are you getting around? Are you fairly mobile? I'm using crutches and the walking is actually pretty good as I get super tired of laying around. Doesn't take much for the band to constrict around my knee though.

How are you sleeping? I'm doing pretty well with it - but do have the alarm set to get me up and take meds every 4 hours. Going to try and just let myself wake up when I need them tonight. Could go good - or go awful...

Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

[Morning Glory]

I can get around pretty good. I use the walker most of the time mostly for convenience. I've used my canes a few times & could switch to them. I could get really brave and try one cane but haven't tried yet. I've been walking with canes for so long I can't imagine walking with nothing! Like walking the trapeze without a net! :hate-shocked:

It doesn't take much to make me tired though. I can't believe how much I sleep. This happened last time too. I was low on iron then. I just had blood taken on Friday so we'll see how I'm doing this time around.

I sleep pretty good at night too. Way better than with the first knee. I can lay on my side in the recliner but if I try to sleep on my side in bed it hurts. ? I just stopped setting my alarm for my medicine and it's not so bad. I'm trying to see if I can cut back a little on the meds. I was taking every 4 hours and now trying every 6. I went 8 the other night and when I got up the left was pretty sore and the right was stiff & sore too. The right loosened up quickly though, I hear that can go on for awhile yet.

I really am glad we're retired and I don't have to worry about getting back to a job and hubby is around to help out. I have no deadlines so can take as long as I need to get better. Listening to hubby in the kitchen is quite humorous too. The simplist of things can trow him into a tizzy - like getting 2 things hot at the same time. Almost makes we want to get up and help him...almost... He did plan ahead, you should see our freezer, full of Bertoli Frozen Dinners and Marie Calendar Pot Pies. (both are pretty good actually)

Let me know how you make out without the alarm.