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MUA LTKR, 8 weeks out; MUA at week 5; worried about ROM

Great picture and super cool that you were able to meet. I post online (daily) with a group of 12 ladies - we all met online involving weight watchers and we meet in person a couple times a year. Yeah for the internet! ...and knee friends
 
Travel Report!
My trip home from North Carolina/Georgia went well, although I was a bit stiff from the two days of driving. My hip on the knew knee side of things was more sore than the knee. That seems to be my knew problem: lower back and hip acting up. Maybe they are jealous of all the attention my left knee has been getting? I have knew shoes for my knew knee, so that shouldn't be the issue.

I arrived home at 6:00 PM, threw clothes into the washer, and vegged out with DH for the rest of the evening. Repacked the next morning and was at the airport, an hour's drive from our house, ready to fly to Denver, by 11:00 AM. Short layover in Minnesota, which we handled by requesting a wheelchair at the arrival gate. (Did the same thing on the way back.). Without this, we would have barely gotten to the departure gate in time--which of course was at the other end of the airport. We would have had no bathroom break, and no lunch to take on the plane with us.

I was a bit sore, I think from all the sitting with legs down, plus long walks in the airports at the front and end of the trip, not to mention the super-long walks we had to do in the gigantic convention hotel to get up to our room, then to and from dinner. So I did break out the Tylenol and a muscle relaxant in order to be able to sleep in the unfamiliar hotel bed the first night. The big surprise was how tired I was the next day, and even the next. The knee discomfort was minimal--just some tightness and reduced ROM.
 
Welcome home Polkadot. you should be proud of yourself doing all that driving on your own and then getting on a plane the day after you returned. i'm not surprised your lower back and hip acting up with all the sitting, driving, long walks in the airport and hotel. i hope you can have a few days, at least, of staying home and taking it easy. i'm sure your mom enjoyed and appreciated your visit and how wonderful to meet Thesoutherncook. take good care of yourself, recovering from your travels.:flwrysmile:
 
Air Travel Tips:
Count all the walking you'll need to do and reduce it to a manageable level. Here are some ways to do that:
  • Fly out of a smaller airport if you can. We have three smallish airports within an hour of our house, OR we can make the 2-hour drive to Detroit, and the tickets cost a bit less. However, the smaller airports allow us to park our car close to the terminal and have shorter walks to ticketing and gates. (Have used a pedometer various times, and even in the smaller airports, you can rack up a lot of walking!)
  • Pay attention to the length of the layovers when booking flights. I could handle the distance, OR the fast walk time to get there in time, but not both together. If you're determined to walk to each gate, make sure you have plenty of time to get there. (We had 55 minutes, and it was NOT enough time in Milwaukee, where we had to walk from one end of the airport to the other, then take a shuttle, and then go down another long concourse to our gate. Don't forget that you will probably need a bathroom and maybe food. Both take time.)
  • Use wheelchair or electric-cart service to cut down walk distance. We told the agent when we checked in at the first airport that we'd need the service at the layover arrival gate. This decision was a godsend and saved me not only many steps but also got us to the gate in time to get food and seat assignments. I ambulated under my own power the rest of the time, and I have to say that we estimated my stamina well. I NEEDED the transport in the middle!
  • If you decide to use transport service, make sure you have some "tip" money with you. These people really work hard to get you where you're going safely and on time. They do usually have "change," in case all you have is a twenty, but planning ahead for this will save you the asking.
  • Get to the gate in time for the first boarding announcement. The airline usually boards people "needing extra time" first. You qualify, especially if, like my DH and I, you fly economy and end up in Zone 3 or worse! Boarding first cuts way down on the time you spend in line waiting for others to heft their luggage into the bins and take their seats. Also, it was a big surprise to me that edging my way sideways into the window seat was the hardest thing about flying! I was so glad I could take my time and get settled in without giving other passsengers a show or a groan. (Now I know why they made me do "crab walks" at PT, @kmak81230!)
  • At larger airports with multiple security-screening options, stop and ask an employee to recommend which is quickest. The Denver airport had at least 3 sites. An employee noticed our confusion about where to go, and looked up the congestion at each for us. One screening site was clearly less crowded than the other two. Plus, it turned out to be the shortest route to our gate.
  • Use the TSA Precheck option when you can. Even if they put you through the screener and even pat you down, it's still faster than having to divest yourself of jackets, shoes, etc, plus taking laptops and such out of their bags. My ceramic knee didn't set off the alarms at any of the airports, by the way. A woman in front of me set off the alarm and told the agent it was probably her knee replacements. He told her to take off her shoes first and go through the basic screener that way. Lo and behold, it was her shoes!
  • Don't hesitate to ask the airline for additional help if you need it. My first and only other experience with transport assistance was a couple of years ago, when I rolled my foot into a drainage ditch on a narrow street in Cornwall, not even 24 hours before I was due to fly home. I was in a great deal of pain and traveling alone. My DH called the airline from the US for me, and all my seat assignments were upgraded (without charge) to allow me more leg room; wheelchair assistance was johnny-on-the-spot at all stages of my trip; I breezed through the screening process and re-entry into the US through special gates; and the solicitude of the stewards inflight was quite embarrassing!
 
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Glad to hear that you survived the back to back trips with multiple modes of travel without too many ill effects. Kneerah! I hope you are mostly recovered with the knowledge that your new knee is holding up well to the everyday stresses of life. Hope the Denver trip was fun -- there was snowy weather this past weekend. Hope it didn't disrupt your activities. You might need to visit the PT for a look at the hip and back issues - I know @Pheebs52 went through a period of back and hip issues awhile back and got help from Gary. Hopefully it's a short term issue from lots of car time that will sort itself out. I still get tightness and reduced ROM on a regular basis - usually from standing too long in one place or overstretching -- fortunately I recover quickly.
 
Great tips Polkadot!!! Particularly the one on being mindful of layover times. When we went to San Fran in July I was glad to have extra time as I was still walking quite slowly at that time. I always tried to get an aisle seat so that my TKR leg could stretch out in the aisle - though you have to be mindful of the carts coming by. I also love smaller airports when I have that choice. You are now a TKR Travel Pro :yes:
 
Thanks so much for the travel ideas and information, Polkadot. You are now definitely a BoneSmartie Travel Pro. Wear your badge with pride! :hiking:
When I get ready to take the plunge into air travel again next year, I'll be looking back at this for reminders on how to make it easier.
 
Wow, it's been a long while since I've posted here on my own thread! I am now 10 months out from surgery, and things have settled down a lot for me. I have no pain except for when I overdo things, and then I notice discomfort mostly on the stairs. My ROM has never been great but allows me to do most things I want to do. I would really love to be able to trip up and down the stairs lightly, rise from my chair like a sprite, and get out and walk without having to stretch myself out first. However, I think that the knee has just been part of the problem, and I still have stiff joints in many areas. So getting up, walking, and standing in one place for a while are all effortful, but I don't have the excruciating knee pain any more!!

I feel a bit like this old joke, which has been around since about 1909: The patient has had major surgery to both of his hands. "Doctor," says the patient, holding up his heavily bandaged hands. "Will I be able to play the piano when these bandages come off?" "I don't see why not," replies the doctor. "That's funny," says the patient. "I wasn't able to play it before." TKR surgery has NOT made me into a tennis player or skier. It has not made exercising a passion for me. It has not made me thinner, more agile, or able to do Zumba without running into people. Darn! I was sooooo hoping for some of these things!

I notice every few days some minor thing or other that is different now, so I know that I'm still progressing. But these things are such baby steps that I won't even mention them here. The biggest change is that I don't think about my knee all the time. It has to complain loudly now for me to even notice it. My life is back on track, such as it is! I've found getting back into Life a bit difficult, as I certainly checked out for a long period of resting, elevating, icing, and healing. Life went on without me, and now I'm trying to get back into the things I used to love: artwork-- and painting especially-- being one of them. I'm about to embark on the daily outside walk, (Yay!)starting this weekend, as the weather has finally cooperated. And I'm getting back in touch with the friends who allowed me to lick my wounds in solitude all these months--I'm not very social when I'm in pain!

My daughter just got engaged, and I need to plan a trip out to San Francisco ASAP for dress shopping. She and her fiancé want to get married in four months, and they have to plan the wedding and reception remotely, as it will be back in Michigan. I will become their little Energizer Bunny, checking out venues and other things. So life is about to get a bit busier in that regard. My mom is turning 90 this spring, so another long drive down to North Carolina is also in the cards, probably at the end of April. I expect that my knee will cooperate and play nicely. What a change from the two months before surgery, when I had to use a walker just to go shopping or out to eat!
 
It sounds like you're coming along nicely and doing the things you want to do. I'm with you on not doing anything wild and crazy that I didn't do before my surgery. It's the being able to do the things that I did use to do without that awful arthritis pain now is what makes it all worthwhile!
 
wonderful 10 month update @Polkadot. what a year it's been for you and now you're preparing for your daughter's wedding. congratulations. that's great that you don't have any pain and i suppose the stiffness is to be expected for awhile longer. hey i know what you mean about "running into people" in zumba, especially if they do a line dance lol! (ask me how i know). i'm happy for you that you are getting back to the activities you love, especially the painting and that you're not thinking so much about your knees!:flwrysmile:
 
Excellent update! Welcome back to life. At least that's what I felt on emerging from eventual recovery. Good luck with the wedding planning!
 
What a wonderful update! I remember your first trip to visit your mother back then. So soon after surgery, but so worth it. This next one will be much more fun. :) I think the best part of this surgery is what you said: life without that excruciating knee pain!
 
Thanks, everyone! You all have certainly helped me keep hold on the "eventual life" after TKR!
 
What a great update! Congrats on the future marriage of your daughter. That's probably one of the #1 things I look forward to: Not thinking of my knee all the time. So many things will be done when those days come. :) Yeah for getting that part of your life back!
 
What a great report, it sounds like you had a wonderful time. I love to hear about people getting back to normal, pre-knee problems normal!
 
Fab 10 month report Polkadot! But, I expect that from you since you are my twin! I think we all lose track of what “real life,” is in the lengthy throws of this recovery, but...it comes back to us, like riding a bike. [emoji16]


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
Woo Hoo @Polkadot -- so much good news on the knee front and also with your life - getting back to painting, walking, and planning and celebrating your daughter's wedding - what fun!
 
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