TKR luvcats recovery box

[Macknit]

I do believe there is healing still going on, at a microscopic level and with other surgeries (hernia repair, etc.) I was told it was a year for full recovery too. I think the conventional wisdom of 6 weeks for recovery is not true for any surgery that worked on multiple layers or had orthopedic involvement within our bodies. So, I'll just nap as needed and rest as much as possible when I can! Just not when I'm driving

 

[Steelergal]

“Progress is in millimeters.” Nothing has resonated more!

 

[marieltha]

Glad you are doing so well. The consistency of movement—gym and pool in particular, seem key to continual improvement.
PS glad to hear you are getting your eyes checked. I switched to an opthamologist in my early 50’s when a woman md recommended that. She said the eye tests/research were done almost exclusively on 25-45 yr old men, never women, and women’s eyes are different, often drier, particularly during and after menopause. Good luck.

 

[luvcats]

I saw the optometrist yesterday. Turns out my eyes aren't that different. They do have a new thing called 'interview' distance, which blends conversation distance and reading, and that is exactly what I need.

Yesterday I went to Target again, and having to stand and make choices, and then wait in line to check out didn't phase me a bit. That is quite exciting. I didn't even have to think about it.

Last Monday I went to Target, a quick 2 item grocery stop, the gym, and then to the local frou-frou yarn store. Everything there is hand dyed, mostly locally source, and absolutely gorgeous. I did a lot of standing, picking out yarn for 2 special projects where I wanted to pick out exactly the right variegated colors. All that together was really pushing it, but just feels amazing as I watch my limitations fall away.

I'm up to 8 resistance on the elliptical and it's starting to be easy. That's exciting too. Probably another week or so before I'll take it up again.

I'm still not doing a full grocery shop, because that is at least an hour and I'm sure that will be too much with lots of standing and waiting. But it's coming.

The biggest change happened this week. I got some energy back. I was suddenly overcome with the need to clean and organize my office. This involves a lot of puttering back and forth as I pick up bits and things that don't really have a home and are scattered every where. I've made huge progress and I'm so happy with the cleaner space. It means that I'm really healing after my too exciting 2019.

I love the fact that I can now cook breakfast and clean the kitchen all at once without ever needing to sit.
I'm very excited to be so busy and feel good about being active. I hardly know what to do with myself, but I'm loving figuring it out!

@Macknit I finally feel like I've done enough miles of stockinet that my gauge is pretty regular, and I've started a project just for me! In April we are headed out for a cruise and I have a very pretty dress that has very cheap looking straps. I'm making myself the Orange Crush scarf on Ravelry, but out of a fabulous blue/purple variegated yarn that matches the dress perfectly. It's going well, and it's an easy pattern. When I'm done, I'll post a picture.

 

[Macknit]

I had to look up Orange Crush on Ravelry, there were several patterns to look at, so now I'm wondering which one is yours?? I'm excited to see what the blue/purple results are!! Enjoy your project!

I'm glad to hear your energy is improving! I am not consistent yet, some days I have great energy and others I'm just wiped. I suppose the big picture does show some improvement though.

My active weekend definitely caused some fatigue this AM. I don't want to go to work!??

 

[luvcats]

I was doing so well, and then I got clobbered by a cold. Another cold. sigh. I'm trying to be very patient with myself. My body has had a very trying year and isn't done healing yet, much less rebuilding anything to use as a reserve. We don't really think about that part of it. At least not until we're sitting around with a drippy nose and plenty of time to contemplate. lol

I was enjoying my energy boost. It is now missing again, but I have high hopes it will be back soon. Colds don't last forever even when they feel like it.

@Macknit this orange crush:

but with this:

 

[sistersinhim]

Very pretty! Great job. Sorry to hear about that stupid cold. They can make you feel so bad. I pray you get over it quickly.

 

[Macknit]

Lovely, lovely...lace can be tricky, but you seem to be precise about your gage, etc. so I'm sure it will turn out beautifully!! I do really like the yarn you picked out too!!

Sorry to hear about the cold, I hate to get them! I've avoided one lately (Knock on wood!) I think I caught all of them when I was at the elementary school....after about 5 years in a row of catching every thing the kids brought to school I finally built up some immunity!

Hang in there.... prayers for a quick recovery!

 

[Jewlz1]

luvcats-elderberry extract will help boost your immune system and knock that cold out!!

 

[luvcats]

@Jewlz1 I did the elderberry. And the Umka and the echinacea. My body just doesn't have any reserves. I fought it for about a week, and then either I got reexposed, or my body gave up.

It's just a cold. Drippy and annoying, but nothing to worry about. I'm on the upswing, though not healthy yet.

This weekend I was so sick I didn't even knit, I just read very passively. Yesterday I made really good progress on my shawl, so I'm definitely improving. No gym until next week though.

I have to say, my knees are a bit grumpy about not getting any exercise. I feel very stiff. I'll be glad to get back to my routine.

 

[Helizabug]

Ooooh, that scarf is lovely. I hope it’s fun to knit.

It’s so easy to forget how hard our body has worked to get us where we are and how hard it still has to work. Fighting off a cold while still recovering from a tough couple of surgeries is hard to do.

 

[Jewlz1]

I'm glad to hear about the progress you've made with your shawl. That has to feel good!

 

[NewToMe]

@luvcats I can't seem to have a "lazy" day. I MUST move. Haven't had a cold yet this season (thank goodness) so I don't have any reason to lay around anyway!

Lovely shawl to work on and practice is how you obtain reliable gauge I am doing the Portland yarn crawl in 2 weeks with my niece...beware my checkbook! My yarn stash is extensive, but you never know which next hank you could fall in love with.

I wish I could fully extend my leg, but that last 10 degrees seems to not work.

I, too am enjoying doing things I haven't been able to do for years. Stairs up and down without pain. Driving for several hours without pain. Cooking or standing is still an issue, but gets better every few weeks.

Still looking for the elusive full night sleep, but I am sure it is coming.

Please continue to share your journey, it's helped me!

 

[Macknit]

How is the scarf coming along?

And is your knee pulling out of its stall? I've decided our knee recovery is analogous to what I've learned about airplanes....(certainly not as a pilot ).There's turbulence and gliding, nose dives and stalls, takeoffs and crash landings...all of which seem to apply to travel and our knees!! No wonder we feel like we're in a "free fall' sometimes! Hang on and happy weekend!

 

[marieltha]

Think this was Celle’s graphic

 

[luvcats]

Well, isn't this all very exciting?

I live just outside DC, for reference. Things aren't too bad here, yet, but strong measures are being taken.
My rec center closed on Friday for at least two weeks. This is personally disappointing because I was in a good groove working out most days. And I had just started getting together with my downstairs neighbor to walk in the pool once a week. We were even going to try one of the water aerobics classes. I think I might be ready for one.

I don't live in a place that's very good for walking, and its been quite wet. So I'm stiff. But I'm working on other things I can do.

On the upside, all my recent shopping adventures, pushing to walk more and longer, has paid off. I can now do half a weeks worth of groceries, plus standing in the extra long lines. This could not have come at a more perfect time. I really, really would not want to be navigating the unusual level of store traffic from the scooter.

And a truly gratifying number of the people at my store said very nice things about seeing me walk the store. It was nice they noticed and took the time to say something when they are all so exhausted.

An hour of standing and walking on concrete does make me sore, but not terribly. I didn't need ice, but I didn't really want to stand up and do anything else the rest of the day. Still, that's such a huge improvement to my life! I feel so much sympathy for everyone who is now stuck waiting.

My cruise is, of course, cancelled. But this is the shawl I made to go with the dress. If the world settles out appropriately, we're talking about a cruise to Norway this summer. I'll get to wear it then.

I am now working on a version of this:

as a gift for my grandmother. I'm still hoping I can go see her in May.

Thank goodness for knitting, right @Macknit!

 

[marieltha]

Beautiful shawl!!!
Remember to share the one for your grandmother.
You have really made wonderful progress. How heartening that the folks complimented you.
I thought of you today as I put on a light snorkeling wetsuit vest and pants (plus beanie & gloves) to go in my unheated pool (Y pool closed). LOL.Water temp was 76—you would not have wanted my thermal gear!

 

[Macknit]

Yes! Thank goodness for the knitting, it has made me soooo happy and content! You inspired me with your shawl so I decided on a shawl for my alpaca socks that I unraveled! It is a pretty basic lace design, but I haven't done lace for quite some time, so it's a good starting point. Your personal shawl turned out so lovely!! Hopefully, your Norway trip comes to fruition and you can wear it with gusto! Is that shawl for your grandmother from Ravelry also? It is stunning!

I'm still noticing knee improvements, though some days are goofy and sore for no real reason. My daily walks are helpful, but sometimes I think it might even be the shoes I wear? I probably should stick with one pair that is consistent...

I am walking alone now, as one of my coworkers/walking partners has had to keep away from us since her mother (who is closer to my age) works with a lady who tested positive for this crazy virus! So we all are trying to keep up the social distancing. I'm trying not to get too anxious about the ramifications of what THAT could mean for me, and I take all the precautions and wash my hands quite often.

I hope you are staying safe and healthy, and have a great weekend!

 

[luvcats]

Happy An-knee-versary to me!
My first knee replacement was July 1, 2019.

Things are good, and it remains one of the best decisions I ever made.

Right as things shut down, I'd just made it to being able to do about half a grocery shop while walking. I was walking in our neighborhood down my hill and then back up again. Hitting the gym almost every day using the seated elliptical, and starting to get back in to the pool.

Then of course I got the added challenge of recovery without the assistance of the gym or a really good place to walk. As we always do, I figured some things out. I know things have progressed much more slowly than they would have if I had better exercise options, but maybe slow is what I would have needed anyway. There's no way to know.

In the almost 4 months since lockdown, I can now do an entire grocery shop walking, I started that right away because walking is undeniably faster than the convenience cart and faster was important in the early days. I can now do all the shopping, bring in everything by myself, and then put everything away. It sounds so easy and normal, but I try to remember to take a minute to give thanks when I'm done, because it's been years since I could do it all myself. It wears me out, but that continues to improve over time.

I got very good about walking in my neighborhood on every day it didn't rain, right up until it started being entirely too hot even in the early mornings. At first I just went down the hill and back up. Then I started venturing down the side street, which is considerably flatter, and by the time the heat hit I was walking up and down the flat side street twice before heading back up the hill. That's about 1.5 kilometres. I'm not sure how far I really could walk if I didn't have that hill at the end. The hill is a beast, even my normal weight healthy husband thinks so. I'm always shaky when I get done.

I put a step tracker on my phone, which lives in my pocket. At first I just wanted to see how much I was moving. It was a big help. Then I started using it to help me as I learned to be more active as a lifestyle. My first goal was 1000 steps per day. I'm currently at a goal of 1500 steps per day. Shopping days easily hit 3000 steps. After so many years of barely moving, learning to move around normally actually takes work. Reminding myself that I can just go up and down the stairs whenever I think about wanting something. Encouraging myself to make trips instead of carrying everything possible at once. Eventually I'll be able to make it a habit.

Stairs continue to progress. I don't do them normally yet. After all the years of barely walking I had hardly any strength in my legs. Recovery hasn't only been about healing and learning to use my new knees, it's also been about rebuilding my leg muscles. I still go down the stairs slowly and carefully. I have started to work on foot over foot. The knees do ok, but the strength isn't where it needs to be for me to be confident or fast. I still cling to the rails for dear life, but I don't really support myself with them any more. I've always been glad to read here on Bonesmart that healing can continue well into the second year and beyond, so I'm very confident that I will continue to improve.

But honestly, if it never got better than it is today, it's still a much, much better life than I had before the replacements.

Rumor has it my local rec center will be partially reopening after the 4th of July holiday. I am hoping to be able to go back to the pool 3 days a week, but I'm waiting to see what their control measures are. My knees now get very cranky when they don't get enough walking.

I never thought I'd be grateful for the years I could hardly walk but it has made lockdown a lot easier for me than for many people. Last years multiple surgeries also prepared my husband to work from home, so I think we've done better than a lot of people. Honestly, our lives haven't been all that different. It's certainly not the year I had planned, full of working out and solo travel now that I can manage all on my own, but it hasn't been bad considering the possibilities.

If all continues to go well in my corner of the US we'll be taking a short vacation, just a long weekend really, to a resort up in the mountains on the Virginia/West Virginia border. It looks really lovely and it will be so nice to get away for a few days. It meets our personal safety criteria at the moment. I'm hoping that even though it will be early August, by being up in the mountains it will be cool enough to enjoy the outdoors just a little. Even if it isn't, the hotel is enormous and should have plenty of things to see and space to walk indoors. I do all the shopping so my husband has been in the car exactly twice since March. He really needs a chance to get out a bit.

Knitting- That beautiful shawl I posted above, the Begonia Swirl, turned out to be a terrible choice. I thought the pattern would be about my skill level, which it was, at a slight challenge. Unfortunately, I'd also picked a very challenging yarn. It didn't really occur to me that yarn would have it's own difficulty rating apart from the project, but it absolutely does. It's a beautiful lace weight silk alpaca blend that is light and soft with a fabulous sheen. It is also like knitting with candy floss (aka cotton candy). It is thin and tends to stick to my fingers, and it also splits. It's very annoying yarn. So I picked a challenging pattern with a challenging yarn. I got about 1/3 of the way through and there were enough mistakes that I started to hate the whole thing. I ripped it out and started over with the same yarn but a simpler shawl pattern to flatten my learning curve a bit. I think the new shawl will be lovely, and my grandmother won't be a picky audience anyway. It will be a very long time before I work with lace weight yarn again though. I haven't decided which project will be next, but it will involve some nice, sensible worsted.

 

[Jaycey]

@luvcats What a great update! My goodness - so much progress in your first year. Well done! You will continue to build strength and stamina. Just keep doing what you are doing!