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Bilateral TKR jbrooklyn recovery: short-term loss for long-term gain.

@Celle: Thank you for sharing those responses. I'm in the doldrums--tomorrow will be 4 weeks post-TKR and the limitations get old. It's quite encouraging to hear that thoughts about knees recede, and that you are basically pain-free. Very encouraging.
 
Hi there @jbrooklyn I am sorry you are feeling a little blue....... Everything comes that is worth waiting for...... the most important thing we need is patience...... I am not doing very much exercise beyond my PT. But I really had no issues with FLEX prior to my surgery so maybe that has something to do with it too? I do heavy PT with my in home person and then the entire rest of the day I rest, ice, elevate. I do the dishes - load and unload the dishwasher - maybe wash a pan or two...... For the most part we are eating at home - making a few bigger items so we have leftovers for a couple days - meatloaf, chicken in the crock pot. We have had a few meals delivered from some close family/friends..... But honestly we are just doing what we have to do...... Today I go for my first followup - get these big monster size bandaids off!! I am nervous about what the incisions will look like!! I have no idea other than he used glue..... How is your pain doing??
 
Aw, thank you, @iivesfam5. I appreciate the uplifting words. I know the blues is just part of the experience; generally I feel cheerful, with a patch of down-in-dumps here and there.

Sometimes this feels like a crash course in being 100 years old, and I don't want to get an A+ in that just yet. I would love to sit on a park bench or stand up from one without pushing off with my arms as my beloved grandma used to do. Still, I realize I'm lucky to even be in the park, so I should definitely shut my yap about the details.

My mom is sick with cardiac issues--was in the hospital and I could not go see her. A friend drove me to see her yesterday, about 90 min away, and Mom cried when she saw me walk in with no crutch--it was great to see her and to cheer her up. She had not seen me since before surgery, and though I'd been telling her I am mobile, it did her good to see it. So that was great. I got sad because I felt like one invalid visiting another . . . but I do realize I need to buck up and focus on the positive.

You'll be pleased with how your knees look, I am sure. I took off my own dressings (with a green light from OS's staff) and it was kind of cool. Right now, they are 2 neat lines, gradually flattening out. I can see already they won't be disturbing to passersby, although right now I am still wearing long skirts to go outside b/c the black/blue is still subsiding, and my legs are somewhat psychedelic in terms of color! My kid said, lovingly: Well, Mom, I'm used to it, but you should probably wear long skirts till it goes away." :heehee:
 
I'm just popping in to say hello and see how you're doing! I'm sorry to hear you're mom is in the hospital but I'm sure she was so happy to see you and how well you are recovering. You are most certainly NOT an invalid - just recovering from some major major surgery! I find it incredible you had both knees done less than a month ago and you're up and about as much as you are. I loved the quotes from the I Ching and it's true - there is nothing you can do to rush the process I think. I'm sure it doesn't make it any less frustrating to know that however....lol!

I've seen pics of the scars and it's amazing how good they look after just a few weeks and how well they blend away after awhile. I had my thyroid removed as a teenager and I still have a large scar on my neck - the methods are just so much better now.

I just got back from working at a huge anime convention in Baltimore and was able to do very well with some modifications (like not going down stairs or standing in one spot for a long time and taking some sit down breaks). I'm still trying to see if some simple modifications will let me keep going mostly pain free and active for awhile.

I hope you have a good Tuesday! :)
 
jbrooklyn said:
@Celle: Thank you for sharing those responses. I'm in the doldrums--tomorrow will be 4 weeks post-TKR and the limitations get old. It's quite encouraging to hear that thoughts about knees recede, and that you are basically pain-free. Very encouraging.
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You're right in the middle of what we call "the dark days", when you feel as if you should be able to do more than you can and frustration and the blues have set in.

It does get better, so hang in there!

I'm glad to be able to help. Having been there myself, I know how it feels.
 
Hope your mother is doing well. That was quite a long trip you made to see her, and very kind of you to let her see how well you are doing. I am sure that having one less thing to worry about will soothe her heart.

Take extra special care of you. If what I've read in all these threads is true, our lives will get richer as our recovery continues. I have seen the encouraging posts you have added to our threads. Thank you for being a bright spot in the middle of my night while I am browsing bonesmart and waiting for my next med time.
 
So glad you got to see your mom. No matter how old we are, it's always good to see our parents we aren't feeling well. The great news for you is that once you are over this hump you're good to go for a long while. BTKR means you don't have to look forward or put off the other knee. Once you're fully recovered you done! In a month's time you're going to feel like a different person, still recuperating, but feeling much better and getting some of your independence back. In the meanwhile, try watching the episodes of The Astronaut's Wife Club. I'm not a huge TV watcher, but I binged watched that this weekend. I found it very interesting and historically pretty close.
 
KarriB said:
In the meanwhile, try watching the episodes of The Astronaut's Wife Club. I'm not a huge TV watcher, but I binged watched that this weekend. I found it very interesting and historically pretty close.
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Never heard of this one. Sounds interesting.



Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
@PolarBear60 its an ABC summer series, about the Mercury 7 astronauts and their wives. Very 60s, tackles some social issues, and totally reminds me of my childhood.
 
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Just a quick and heartfelt thanks to you kind people, @Slainte, @iivesfam5, @Celle, @selketine, @KarriB. I feel truly lucky to have found this community. It is so important to have support, information, kind words, and a context for this long, slow healing process. I KNOW I would be less patient, lonelier, more despairing were it not for all the learning and experience-sharing here. You guys are the best.
 
Just wanted to say that I've really had the frustration blues too these past couple of days. Bored of my limitations and wanting to be farther ahead than I am. You are not alone! Sending hugs and empathy from London to Brooklyn :friends:. (Frustration Blues would make a great song title!)
 
jbrooklyn said:
Just a quick and heartfelt thanks to you kind people, @Slainte, @iivesfam5, @Celle, @selketine, @KarriB. I feel truly lucky to have found this community. It is so important to have support, information, kind words, and a context for this long, slow healing process. I KNOW I would be less patient, lonelier, more despairing were it not for all the learning and experience-sharing here. You guys are the best.
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Everybody gets the blues, JBrook; the trick is to not let the blues get you. I firmly believe your mom will get better, your knees will get better, and you will get better. Your bruises will also fade away; all I have left are two little splotches, remnants of some spectacular thunderstorm clouds all over my left leg. Won't be too long before we will be dancing in the aisles together. :egypdance:
 
@jbrooklyn you are very welcome and truly no thanks needed, but very sweet of you. It's hard to see the forest through the trees, especially when you're barely a month out. Because I didn't have textbook recovery, I can't tell you when it will get better. But if I was able to return to teaching at 12 weeks, I know most will be feeling pretty good by that point.
I believe the key is not to think in terms of days, but think in terms of weeks. What will I be able to do next week and the week after, because everyone needs to look forward to better days. :yes:
 
@jbrooklyn Had to come check on you and see how my July 1 BTKR peep is doing? I'm quite impressed that you are walking without a cane or walker WTG! I am still using a cane around the house and when I go for my walks around the block, I use the walker for stability. My husband, who goes walking with me, will roll the walker for a while and I will walk without it, but I have a heck of a time with my left foot turning out. Something I have to work on.

I know a month feels like forever, but really, it's not been that long and you are doing amazingly well. Keep up the good work!
 
Shout out to you, @LHop! A month for us both, today. You are so kind to come by and leave a message. Great that you are getting out for walks. Have you talked to your PT about your left foot? It would be interesting to know what is causing that turning out. Wonderful for you to have such a supportive husband--and funny, too, "One and Done."

Indeed, I feel very lucky/pleased to be able to walk outdoors for a few min at a time. I bring one crutch, but mostly for a layer of protection in case of playing dogs, little kids with scooters, etc. My balance is pretty good for a month out, probably because I've always been a walker, usually walk several miles a day, even when my OA was really bad, I just tried to make sure I walked on flat ground. So it comes pretty naturally to stroll around.

There's lots of stuff I am eager to have behind me, such as the pain/geometry problem of standing and sitting, the ouchiness of walking down stairs, my right foot/heel that won't stop being numb, and just plain feeling like a shut-in. I'm sure you have your own list!

Next week I start taking subways and/or buses again to get to my new PT place. Yikes! If I don't get a seat on the subway, it will be awful. But I'm hoping the sight of my crutch brings out the kindheartedness in people.

Now you and I have a month under our belts, girlfriend. Another 2-3 of those, and we will be feeling just a whole ton better. Another 11 of those, and we will be better than new. Thanks for your excellent support and company on the road to recuperation. There's nothing like having company along the way!

And, friendly shout-out to our other stooge/musketeer, @iives5fam, and all the July Sparklers. We made it through July, comrades. It had its rough moments and its nice surprises, and now we push off to a new month and onward we go, to a better place. :-)
 
Happy one month "anniversary"! @jbrooklyn PS - I have been playing Candy Crush Soda Saga but have been stuck on Level 57 for 3 weeks.
 
Thanks, @MsBlue! I hope you are feeling good today. I have been stuck on my Soda Saga level for days, too. :-)

Overall I hope (and . . . think?) I'm more of a good sport than a whiner, but today I feel sick of icing, taking pain meds for, thinking about, talking about, feeling pain because of, my knees. I know there will be a time when I don't think about my darn knees every waking hour--and I know it will happen according to its own pace. (WHEN?)

My loved ones are being such aces about supporting me . . . and still these blecky moments come, and better moments do, too, and it's all part of the grand experience.

Wishing you all a day on the good side of this game. Warmly--JBrooklyn
 
Thanks!! So hear you today - fed up of icing, elevating, limping, medicating etc - today the sun is shining and I want to be living not recovering. All I think about every hour of the day and night is knee, knee, knee!! Repeat after me - patience, patience, patience.....
 
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