Linda2 Post-Surgery

[Linda2]

Well, I'm on my own for the whole day today. I am getting around well enough for my husband to leave me unattended for the full 9-10 hours. I made it to 100 on the cpm machine yesterday. Tomorrow I start PT, and I think I'll be able to get in the car much better than the day I came home from the hospital!

It seems that my hip and a spot on my back low back out toward the hip hurt more than the knee itself. Is that usual?

Walking is actually not too bad--it's just getting the darn knee to bend!

Linda

 

[Josephine]

That IS a pressure sore for sure, Linda. You need to take remedial action like relieving the pressure with a donut cushion. Or better yet, try one of these Memory foam cushions. They are the biz with that kind of thing. And not too shabby on the price, either!

 

[AlaskanTKR]

Linda -
Congrats on the solo time! It was really nice the first time I had the house to myself after all this! I know what you mean about getting the knee to bend - Just remember - it will bend - it will bend - it will bend! (my new mantra)

One word of caution - When you are home alone don't get to over confident - beacause if something goes wrong you are alone! (Me, the broom and the dogs - bad combo!)

Keep up the great work!

MArianne

 

[Doug]

If you can, slip a cell phone in your pocked so you can call for help if you can't otherwise get to a phone.

 

[Linda2]

I will try extra cushioning for "the spot", but I would think a pressure sore would be more sensitive at the skin level. Oh well, Jo's the nurse!

I am careful, Marianne. The cell phone is in my walker basket "just in case". I feel very guilty about laughing at the "I've fallen and I can't get up!" ads that came out years ago. Now that is one of my biggest fears.

 

[Josephine]

Actually, that is the common perception but the opposite is so.

A pressure sore on the er - bum - doesn't begin in the surface it begins deep down. The first symptoms are usually a deep ache and the first signs are often an area of light redness that superficially, can actually be almost numb to the touch in the centre.

In severe cases, it then progresses to a deep red in the centre going on to a purplish colour at which point the deep tissues have begun to die. This is the advanced state that occurs in long term bed bound people like the terminally ill or stroke victims who can't move around much. Biggest cause of pressure sores going.

But none of this will apply to you, so don't worry. You're moving around much too much for it to get that far. It will heal but you need some relief in the meantime. Hence the cushion!

 

[Linda2]

I had that pain the first day--the one on the bum. That's why I hadn't really considered a pressure sore. I am doing my best to keep the pressure off of it now!