Revision TKR Lovetocookandsew’s long road to recovery

[sistersinhim]

Let us know how it goes! Be sure to give that knee plenty of tlc tonight!

 

[Jockette]

Once in a while our knee should just be quiet and let us be a grandmother!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Well, we went to the party. My sweet granddaughter got all my food for me, and even brought me dessert. The crazy pizza place has a food buffet, so she brought me what she thought I would like, and she did a great job. She brought me a salad, then some pasta and a bread stick, as she knows pizza is not my thing. The place was crazy as it always is, so I just sat at a booth and put my leg up. After dinner, she opened gifts, then everyone went to the games room. We left shortly after that as the game room has no chairs and is even crazier than the rest of the place. Anyway, it all wore me out, so as soon as we got home my knee was iced and elevated and I'm resting with the ice for the remainder of the night.

Our gift to her is that we are buying all her school clothes this year, so tomorrow hubby and I are taking her shopping to find them as her school has already started. Her parents knew we planned to buy her school clothes for her birthday, so they only bought her a couple of things. What we don't find at the store, we plan to get online afterwards, so it won't be too difficult for me. For some reason she loves Target's girls clothes, so I'll be able to use an electric cart while there, as opposed to a mall where I would have to figure out how to manage. Life is getting busier at times, and my knee is holding up to it as long as I am careful and ice a lot. I did notice today when trying on a new dress in front of my full-length mirror, that my entire leg has gotten noticeably more swollen from thigh to calf, so I need to do more I&E, I guess. It doesn't hurt, but it is swollen so I'll spend more time icing than I have been, even though it seems like that's almost all I do. But, I survived the party, granddaughter was happy, so all's well.

 

[mlwreader]

Target is our go to place for clothes, although this year they branched out a little bit to Old Navy.

 

[KarriB]

My knee swelled anytime it was down for any length of time for the first 3 months. I kept it elevated as much as possible, even at restaurants like you did at the party.

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@mlwreader I could also manage Old Navy, as it's not that big, is right by Target and I can request a chair. Good idea, thanks!

 

[Pumpkin]

Kim,
Sounds like you had a nice time at the party, your granddaughter is happy, and your knee is OK.
Keep up the hard work of resting, icing, and elevating.
Have fun back to school shopping tomorrow.

 

[sistersinhim]

Life is getting busier at times, and my knee is holding up to it as long as I am careful and ice a lot.

Getting back to living is what his surgery is all about! It sounds like the party was a big success!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@sistersinhim The party went well and my knee survived it. I was done in though, so that was it for me for the night.

The shopping the next day went great as they had an electric cart I used, and we were blessed with an amazing employee who became my granddaughter's personal shopper and took her around to each area on the list, then helped her get the items she liked in the sizes she thought would fit. She also ran back and forth from the dressing room to the clothing dep't to get different sizes when things didn't fit. We all actually had a fun day, even the employee, who said it was fun to help her as she had such a grateful attitude and was fun to work with and talk to. We were able to check off everything on the list except shoes, so we did go to a shoe store after.

I was dead tired when we finished and my knee was having fits at being down for so long (even though it was stretched out the whole time, it was still down so became very unhappy) so I went straight to bed and to my icing and elevating as soon as we got home. But my granddaughter is all set for school, so in that way it was a successful trip. She is such a sweetie that she's easy to shop with, and she also wrote us a very nice thank-you note afterwards on her own accord, without any prompting from her mother. My knee didn't exactly enjoy itself this weekend though and made sure to let me know it all day yesterday.......grrrrrrrrrrr. But it's settling back down today.

 

[sistersinhim]

Sounds like a very successful and pleasant day!

 

[Pumpkin]

Glad you had a good day, hope your knee is starting to feel better with some rest.

 

[Mollymax]

@lovetocookandsew how are you?

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@Mollymax I'm doing pretty well. Nothing much changes day-to-day now, so I have very little to say about my knee.......lol. I see my OS again in a week, and other than that, it's samo-samo. The swelling comes and goes, the limp is better some days than others, the bend is better when the swelling is less, the extension isn't great, but will come with time and so on. I've kept up on your thread, so know what's up with you. I'm glad you're coming along, and hope you get a date soon for your other knee. Too bad your boss is a pain, but she'll be a distant memory before you know it. Thanks for checking in!

 

[lovetocookandsew]

Another step in this long recovery road......I made bread for the first time in two months. We've been suffering through store bread, and I can't wait to eat some.

 

[SherrieT]

Homemade bread! Super yummy. Was good to read your report and that you are getting back into your regular life.

 

[Laurenkate]

When you say your extension "isn't great", what do you mean? Can you feel the bed on the back of your knee if you stretch out? How about first thing in the morning? Can you put your entire foot on the floor and walk (or hobble in my case) when first out of bed?

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@Laurenkate I don't have a clue what the extension number is but I do know when I walk I'm still limping because my swelling is still keeping keep me from straightening my leg. When sitting on my bed with my leg in front of me, the back of my knee doesn't touch the bed. My extension was better at two weeks than it is now, but over time it'll improve. When I get up after sleeping all night, I grab my cane to use until my knee "warms up". I also use it occasionally as needed. I can put my foot on the floor and walk any time, some days are better than others with both flex and extension. I've also noticed my swelling has gotten worse lately-likely because I'm up and around more, so I try to balance the up and around with icing and elevating.

 

[Laurenkate]

It would be really great if some surgeon could invent a machine to suck out the swelling. If they can do it for fat cells, how hard could it be?

 

[lovetocookandsew]

The first slice of homemade buttermilk-honey-whole wheat bread after a long period without it is something to be savored. Yum. That's one of the things I hate about this recovery-not being able to cook much and not feeling like grilling yet.

 

[Desertgal]

That looks yum-o!