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Bilateral TKR Journey Continuing June 4th, 2012

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karmigirl said:
Janet,
As they say what a difference a year makes, great you are doing so well. Did you find anything good at the sales??
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Found lots of good things, but I was just enjoying looking. I'm not really a shopper. Oh, Idid get a scoop of buttons at the second hand/antique store for a buck. Hubby needed a button and there must be one in there that will work.

I also played bocci ball on the grass today!
 
Janet, I am so surprised as how quickly you are recovering. Bravo! Both knees done and you are already walking around town, not even three months out. I had an amazing day yesterday. Went to Longwood Gardens and walked nearly the entire garden. Toward the end of the day, my knee began to get sore and my husband offered to push me in a wheel chair. I wasn't ready to give up...we still had to see the amazing glass lights that are like glass globe flower changing colors in the dark forest once the sun goes down. It was extraordinary. And this morning I had PT and I didn't hurt too much to do it. Wow! And that was after seven hours at this garden. I am hoping that this means I'll be able being back at work.
 
Janet2012 said:
Hi Orthodoc! It's been 10 weeks, if you can believe it! My recovery is going very well. I have had no complications, thank goodness! I can walk on the sand and up and down the shallow steps to the beach easily and without ANY pain! Sand was excruciatingly painful last year! It's still a challenge and with some discomfort to get up out of chairs, etc. and to go up and down regular steps, but that's to be expected. I'm still achy at night, but walk perfectly, no pain, no gait issues, no cane. And I am SO happy I had them both done at the same time. So a good report! Thanks for asking!
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Hi Janet! Been following your post op progress... as mine is coming up in less than 2 weeks now... eeeks! Love your comment above about being happy to have done both at same time... I know it will be more challenging but in the end better for me as well... just wondering... Is there one thing or device that you felt you would have been more comfortable at home or in the hospital if you had it?
Thanks for the great job on the posts and happy trails to you, Cookie and Elmo!
 
AZRoxie said:
Hi Janet! Been following your post op progress... as mine is coming up in less than 2 weeks now... eeeks! Love your comment above about being happy to have done both at same time... I know it will be more challenging but in the end better for me as well... just wondering... Is there one thing or device that you felt you would have been more comfortable at home or in the hospital if you had it?
Thanks for the great job on the posts and happy trails to you, Cookie and Elmo!
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I assume you are having both done? It is more challenging, I suppose, for the first couple of weeks. What ever I did I just learned to do times two! The first week, I pretty much didn't get out of bed. That was my solution. I was so over prepared, there wasn't anything I can think of that I wished I'd had. I hope you are going to a rehab facility after the hospital. That would be the most important thing having both done. By the time I came home after two weeks, I didn't need the leg lifter or the walker (I had forearm crutches), but I still use the reacher that OT gave me. Very handy! I still like the frozen peas the best. One of the most important aids has been an app I downloaded onto my iPad called Dosecast, which keeps an easy, and important, record of medications. I'm still using that. There is a free app, but the 3.99 was worth it for the full app for the history it keeps. Some sort of reliable record keeping is important. I know there is a lot to think about, because before surgery, that's all you can do!
 
Did something tonight I couldn't have imagined. After an afternoon out with adults I stayed in tonight with the kids so the other adults could have a night out. I realized, as I was rocking the three year old while we watched WallE, that when he fell asleep, I wouldn't be able to get out of the chair with him, much less carry him to bed. Then, he asked to go to bed, right now, so off we walked to bed. Once he was shortly asleep, I went back to get the older kids for bed. By the time I got there, the five year old was dead asleep! By golly, I was able to pick him up and carry him to bed!! Fortunately, the eight year old was able to get there on his own steam, but I CARRIED JAMES TO BED!! I know exactly what that pain would have felt like before!
 
[Bonesmart.org] Journey Continuing June 4th, 2012 Being a grandma is so special---and then to have another milestone with the grandkids-----what fun and what joy!
 
bottomshollow said:
Being a grandma is so special---and then to have another milestone with the grandkids-----what fun and what joy!
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Interestingly, it was putting the kids to bed here last year that was the moment I knew the thinking was over. Turned away from the bed and the knee gave way. Our last full day today. James got up this morning and said he wants to come to Saugatuck for his birthday and would I want to come. Nice invite!
 
Awe Janet, special moments last a life time!:SUNsmile: Carrying your grandson to bed must have brought a huge smile on your face!:yes!: A great accomplishment for sure and you get an invitation to return to Saugatuck for his birthday! It doesn't get much better than that!:thumb:
 
Home again after a wonderful last weekend of vacation! A final visit to the lake to collect stones and shells, lunch in the park on the harbor, and we parted ways with my daughter and grandkids for the trip home. Two hours later, nearing home, my daughter called to tell me that James, the middle child and least attached to me, asked if they could go straight to grandmas's house because he missed me. That's one of those special moments! That's why we take fun family vacations together. Bonding and memories! On the knee side, my knees were ready to come home yesterday. Elmo feels a little lumpier over the knee and is tender. Lots of icing between laundry and unpacking this week. Back to PT next week. I thank my knees for giving me such a nice vacation!
 
Janet2012 said:
Home again after a wonderful last weekend of vacation! A final visit to the lake to collect stones and shells, lunch in the park on the harbor, and we parted ways with my daughter and grandkids for the trip home. Two hours later, nearing home, my daughter called to tell me that James, the middle child and least attached to me, asked if they could go straight to grandmas's house because he missed me. That's one of those special moments! That's why we take fun family vacations together. Bonding and memories! On the knee side, my knees were ready to come home yesterday. Elmo feels a little lumpier over the knee and is tender. Lots of icing between laundry and unpacking this week. Back to PT next week. I thank my knees for giving me such a nice vacation!
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Janet -
That sounds like such a good vacation and you are an inspiration to me! You just had them done 11 weeks ago and your out at the lake skipping stones.. :-) I hope I am feeling as well and thankful as you after mine next week!
 
AZRoxie said:
Janet -
That sounds like such a good vacation and you are an inspiration to me! You just had them done 11 weeks ago and your out at the lake skipping stones.. :-) I hope I am feeling as well and thankful as you after mine next week!
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I hope so, too! Good luck next week, and remember, continuous elevation, icing, and just light PT for two months is what got me to the beach! Patience and healing time is what you will need the most.
 
Janet welcome home! Sounds like you had a wonderful family vacation and you made a wonderful new friend, James.:friends:
Isn't James the one you carried off to bed the night you watched the boys and also the one who invited you back for his birthday. Oh yeah, I'd say you had a very special bonding vacation!:iagree: Sweet! Precious memories!:thumb:
 
I had an odd moment tonight. We went to our little downtown for a burger and saw the banners for the Friday night concerts on the plaza that are there every summer. I mentioned that we should try to go on Friday before they are over, and wondered aloud why we hadn't been to one yet this year. Duh! I forgot for a moment what I'd been doing all summer! That is either a breakthrough moment of starting to move on, or a scary moment of questionable memory loss! Lol! I do feel like this vacation was a page turner in my recuperation. But I know I need to step back and not forget the mantra... I am only 11 weeks post op, after all!
 
I am amazed and continue to be encouraged by your posts. Thank you. What a lovely family you have and a special time with them to be cherished.

When you mentioned carrying your grandkid to bed I realized that I can't even carry my macbook without it hurting my knees. Wow! And I have the tiniest wallet purse, no more big satchels with all my stuff in it that weighs me down and hurts. I was visiting my friends 6 year old yesterday and when it was time to leave he said, "um I don't know if a hug and a kiss will hurt you?" I laughed and said no and hugged him goodbye. They are so cute and it's fun to watch them process their thinking. He remembers how used to go to Ikea all the time and keeps asking me when we can go back.
 
Thank you so much Kaye! This is so worth doing. I'm so glad I didn't put it off any longer. I know what you mean about carrying things, even small things. I don't know what made me think I could carry James, but it was such a revelation that I could! Me strong! Lol! I was instructed not to carry more than ten pounds at the beginning, but at 8 weeks, he told me I could do whatever I wanted, so I guess that was okay. It's funny how the kids are so aware of our knees and capability. Like going to Ikea. Daniel, the 3 year old, asked the other day if when my knees didn't hurt would I be able to do this: and he proceeded to stand on one foot, lean forward with his arms out and the other leg in the air behind him. He was surprised when I proceeded to do it right then and there. He's so used to me not being able to do things! It's the new improved grandma!
 
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