TKR Ladyala recovery

[knee#2]

I might’ve missed something in the last few posts but in our instance the auto body repair shop offered pretty decent vehicle to return home and back ( it was 300 miles away) then simply charged insurance company. But I’m sure you’ve already explored that.. and I suppose it depends on insurance company and type of vehicle available. Good luck and thankfully parents helping out! So much to do, hopefully your energy level is up little bit. For me it’s one day I am ok but exhausted and have to catch up next day.

 

[Annie LTKR]

I really hope that you manage to go on holiday with no more incidents! Sounds like you & your husband all need a well deserved break and you need to arrive there rested not swollen after an uncomfortable journey. Good luck and I hope you get some pampering during your break.

 

[Ladyala]

We were able to get a smaller vehicle til Wednesday, then C will go switch it out for a minivan & when we get back we will switch again. The rate us massively discounted through insurance so we are good.
God is good & I'm going to enjoy every second of this vacation!!!

 

[FitGal]

@Ladyala - hope you are having a blast on your beach vacation!!!

 

[Ladyala]

Hi everyone!! We've been back for a week...I got out of the habit of checking posts while at the beach but I've missed everyone a lot!

Vacation was great. The trip there was tough, I didn't swell but I got very stiff so the first night I didn't get much sleep. The second I rested a lot but was responsible for dinner so I was pretty wiped after that too. I made it to the beach 3 times after those first 2 days. I didn't do the 5 minute walk through soft sand...there was a beach access a few blocks away & we were able to park quite close so I could actually enjoy walking near the water & not get worn out getting there. I will say that although long beach is notable for being well, long, its pretty boring. Sand, waves, lots of dead crabs & seagulls. Still awesome but I prefer tide pools to explore & driftwood & shells to collect. It was lovely to be there with all the family & I got lots of exercise on a huge set of stairs. (Very tall ceilings mean many stairs...who knew?) I tried to limit using them to twice a day but usually it was more. My right knee & hip were getting irritated at all the extra use so the last 2 days I began going down leading with my 'good' leg. That & the beach walking gave me lots of exercise & did wonders for my buddy fred.

The trip back was more comfortable & upon getting home I discovered I can use the stairs in my house like a normal person!!!! Carefully, slowly & with lots of help from the banister but I can do it! So thank you giant staircase in long beach!!

I finally get to go back to pool PT next week. I had 1 more stitch come out the first day at the beach (so gross!) but they are now all healed enough to get back in the water. I'm so happy about that! My rom is looking really good. I can get to about 119 on my own & (although I know a lot of you hate this) when my pt pushes me it's at 128. I do get sore after pt but I'm improving all the time & doing really well.

School starts the 28th & I'm so excited to see all my school kids! I have a plan to ease fred into work. The first week is wed-fri & I'll only drive bus. The the second is tues-fri & I'll try every other day in the kitchen & then plan for the first full week depending on how that goes. I'm only in the kitchen 2 hours a day but it's a lot of walking on concrete floors that fred isn't used to!

Pics are...
Fred wedged into the van
Sunset (duh)
Me walking in the water
Pelicans!
And someone's creative use of dead crabs, aka crab city.

 

[luvcats]

I'm so glad you had a wonderful vacation! It's great that just doing what you can do has resulted in a nice improvement. I'm finding stairs really help my new knee too.

 

[Steelergal]

Congrats on the stairs! I’m excited to reach that milestone.

The beach sounds (and looks) lovely. So glad the vacation went well!

 

[Ladyala]

Well ****. I earned myself a star membership in the ODIC. This has been a busy week. Pt Monday, all day class Tuesday, birthday/school shopping with A Wednesday, pt Thursday, & school shopping with S & E today.

I was ok until today, in the afternoon my feet began to hurt a lot & once we got home, the outside of my calf & quad got very tight & fred got stiff. Ugh!! Of course this happens on the weekend I was going to do grocery shopping by myself...
Oops.

That's going to be a problem for my hubby. Hes taking all 3 kids to get their hunters safety field test in the morning, & we had planned on beginning to look for a car this weekend. But now he might have to do a grocery trip too. Double oops.

I don't remember if I updated you on the car saga...the cost of fixing hubby's car was almost 4000 more than the value so they totaled it & we've been trying to get all the insurance stuff finished up. And today we got the call that the same thing is happening with my van so now we've got that do deal with too. We have 2 more weeks of rental benefits left so we've got to find something for him soon.

So I'm in a funk. I go back to work this week, I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the details of that plus 3 HS kids & sports fees & shoes & medical bills & now needing to find 2 cars. Did I mention that both ours were old & had high mileage? Yeah, so not getting a whole lot of $ to do it with. Thankfully I'm borrowing a friend's extra car & I can use it as long as I need but I don't want to take advantage of them either.

Stresssssss...

But. I know it will all work out & we will be fine. God always takes care of us, He always has & Hes not gonna stop now. I'm going to take it easy tomorrow & hopefully I'll feel back to myself Sunday. Sorry for the long post, it's just been a heck of a day.

 

[luvcats]

Wow, that's an awful lot to deal with, even if you weren't recovering from major surgery!
Just remember that healing takes a toll on our ability to emotionally deal with stuff. You're tired at such a basic level you don't even notice it really, but your ability to just 'deal' is likely to be way down from your usual level. I know it all has to be done, but be patient with yourself.

 

[knee#2]

Wow I agree with @luvcats for sure. You’ve been put on the “fast track” and it’s coming at you from all directions. Be sure to find time for yourself every day, listen to your body and remember we’re all in early stages of this journey!

 

[ElanorG]

Good luck with work tomorrow! You definitely have a lot on your plate. Try not to be hard on yourself if some stuff slips through the cracks as you need to put yourself first still for awhile.

 

[Ladyala]

Hi ho...hi ho...its back to work I go.

I'm ready as I'll ever be...I think.
Actually I had drive for sports this afternoon. I got quite stiff but I had to wait for the kids to get done, there isn't a good place to elevate & it was hot outside. Thankfully I found a place to sit inside with fred straight out & I utilized their ice machine.

I think my normal am/pm routes won't be a problem. I can go home right after work, elevate & ice rather than lurking around a gym for 2+ hours.
Anyway...wishing you all sweet dreams of running through fields of flowers with little to no pain.

 

[FitGal]

@Ladyala - yay! you're back on your thread! I just got a chance to read through. You are a busy woman...so I agree with everyone else - make sure you take time for yourself.

Good luck with work tomorrow and don't overdo it....I continue to learn the hard way. A short day for me today turned into another 8hrs (6am-2pm)....I typically work 5:30am-7:00pm but that also includes the commute....and I am just not up for it. The knee is rebelling by stiffness - similar it seems to yours.

Try and have fun car shopping when you get a chance to and don't stress!

 

[luvcats]

Good luck at work today. I hope Fred cooperates. Be as gentle as you can.

 

[Steelergal]

Good luck today! I hope everything went smoothly and that Fred cooperated!

 

[newlybionic]

How did your day go?

 

[Ladyala]

Ice ice baby...dun dun dun da da dun dum...

It was GOOD to see my school kids today, I've missed them so!
Fred however, was not a fan of the bus.

Nothing unexpected, just annoying. It didn't hurt but I could tell about halfway through that fred was gonna be stiff. My seat does not adjust as low as I'd hoped so I'm at about a 90° angle. I did find a thingamajig I can kinda prop my heel on & that helped a little. But it also gets hot & is kinda awkward. My first few steps after getting done were hard & then he loosened up.

I came home & iced for an hour, then went in to do a few office tasks & to eat lunch. I didn't want to miss salad bar day, even if I'm not serving it!! Then home for more ice & rest & off for round 2, in 95° heat. That was harder. The heat of the engine in front of me, the electrical panel next to me & no a/c is a rough combination. I'm not a fan of hot weather anyway & I was soooooo ready to pull into that garage. And soooooo thankful my bus lives in a garage & not outside!!

I'm very glad I'm not working in the kitchen this week. The walking around from computer to copier several times was more than enough for today. Tomorrow I have pt right after my morning route, that should be interesting...

Just finished icing now off to make dinner. I'm doing nothing but easy stuff. My usual from scratch cooking is going by the wayside for now. My kitchen helpers are off at sports practice every day now so I'm on my own.

But it's good, they are happy to be volleyballing & xc running & seeing friends & back in school.


And I'm happy life is... s l o w l y ...getting back to normal.

 

[luvcats]

I'm so glad it was a good day, even if Fred was a bit of a grump about things.

 

[Ladyala]

Fred was happier with the bus today, even on a pt day! Yay!! My pt gal massaged the heck outta my thigh in the pool & it felt WONDERFUL!!! I did more balance & strength work in there too. It's fun & I actually felt better after pt & not sore or stiff. I was a little nervous bc I went right from my am route to pt but it worked out great.

I was pleasantly surprised that fred wasn't even very stiff after sitting through a 1.5 hr meeting following my PM route. I like happy fred so much more than grumpy fred. He's WAY more fun to be around!

I'm beginning to work on sitting down in a controlled way. I've always kinda fallen into chairs so it's good to learn to do it 'right'. Part of that process is descending stairs slowly & intentionally, focusing on the muscles used. I'm not very body aware or coordinated so it's a good challenge.

I hope y'all have had a great day too

 

[knee#2]

So glad your day went well! Sounds like you’re super busy but in a good way! I wish my pt still had therapeutic pool, the new one is just equipment.. and I’ve long been dismissed so on my own which isn’t bad but oh the water therapy felt so good.. I must find my swim suits and go back to walking channel in city pool soon. Hate driving across town in slush or snow then changing showering etc etc when it’s only 10 degrees here in the Black hills of SD ! Yes sitting down and then standing up again is challenge particularly in low chairs but all about that muscle control I think. Kudos to you for getting through the first week of school!