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Revision TKR Motherbone's Recovery Thread

I had my 9 week post op visit yesterday. Doc took my leg out of the brace and laid it flat, then asked me to raise it in a straight leg lift without assistance. When I did so, he got very excited, calling it awesome progress and that it meant that I'd be able to get the extension strength needed to walk. He's an generally extroverted guy anyway but I was taken aback by how happy and enthusiastic he seemed. Maybe he'd had his share of bad news that day, but it also made me think that maybe I didn't realize how serious the injury had been and what a threat it had been to my ability to walk in the future. He established a progression of increased flexion every two weeks and we discussed PT. He made a referral to a home based physical therapist with whom he has had patients in the past who have given him positive feedback. He wrote on the prescription specifics about gradual range of motion work only. I told him the knee felt like it wanted to buckle under me at times and he said that was because of muscle weakness, but that we would have to work on strengthening the muscles later. He also told me to wear the brace over my pants, not under them, and that the brace would be my best friend for the next three months (ugh). Today I couldn't figure out how to get my pants on before donning the brace because I can't stand up to pull them up without having the brace on, so I have a new task to master. I have mixed feelings about home based therapy but I'll investigate it. I have also found a private physical therapy practice not too far from my home that looks like a possible resource.

I am still not cleared to return to work; doc said this needs to wait until I get to 80 or 90 degrees of flexion and am walking better. Continuing largely home bound is not necessarily a good thing. I've noticed that sometimes I have a lot of anxiety about leaving the house and I'm not sure why. My husband wants to go to a movie on Christmas day but I'm not sure I'm ready for that kind of commitment.

I've been looking at those rolling walkers that also have a seat attached so I can sit while preparing food for cooking, or while brushing my teeth. I feel like I need to be more active but it's still pretty hard. Most of the rollators appear to be too low for that purpose. It's surprisingly hard to find mobile seating high enough to allow work at a stove or counter.

I told the doc that I was still interested in having my left un-operated knee done, if any of the surgeons in the practice were not too afraid to operate on me. He said he'd do it but that, given my history, he would likely not try to do anything with the patella. He told me that in Europe the patella is not resurfaced as routinely as in the USA, yet their success numbers are just as good as ours. Maybe some folks overseas could chime in about whether they had patella work done or not. The procedure is a long ways away, of course.

Hoping everyone is doing well, or at least hanging on gracefully. Motherbone over and out. :tiredwheel:
 
It's wonderful when your OS is excited about the progress you have made! Yippee!! Could you maybe put something on the seat to raise it on a rolling walker? I have one and it was a great tool during my recovery.
 
Awesome report!

I think being hesitant of leaving the house is natural considering what you’ve been through. I think over time, as you continue to heal, it will lessen.
 
Congratulations on such a good report. I understand about being not ready for outings, maybe just take short trips. I think this surgery has lasting mental affects, like anxiety for some of us. I know it has for me.
 
Hey that’s so brilliant well done !
Only natural you should feel concerned about going out. One of my friends said have a stiff drink before you go and you’ll be fine. I said no no no that would be worse to feel out of control!
As @jboles says little trips out first. You’ll get there.:walking:
 
Sorry for the negativity. We did take the wheelchair to Costco on Friday and I whizzed around beautifully. I'm just tired of the long uncertainty about my future, health and work wise. I've put off calling my supervisor about my extended absence. I don't want to go out this way but if my progress doesn't pick up, I am not sure how I can return to work. I really hate being on the sidelines and feeling left out.

I know things could be much worse for me and I am grateful that they are not, but that doesn't take away from the seriousness of what happened to me. Hopefully once we get through to January my mood will lift a little. I am so tired of all the commercials and marketing and the peddling of perfection in home and family life that has eluded me nine years out of ten. Let's hear it for family dysfunction during the holidays!
 
This is a very tough recovery and you’ve had extra to deal with in your recovery. It’s also a tough time of year for so many of us. Cut yourself some slack, don’t feel guilty. One minute at a time, one hour at a time, one day at a time.

We all understand, we all care. :console2:
 
@Motherbone , I think we’re having much the same kind of day. Our worries for where we are and for the future are very real. :sad:
Maybe it’s because Christmas has so much expectation attached to it. And there’s so much activity, it’s hard to be on the sidelines looking in... Here’s hoping next Christmas these struggles will just be a distant memory!
 
@Motherbone
I have not had your complications but can understand how hard this time of year is for those who can’t have the perfect holiday. I have not done one thing to decorate for Christmas. I wanted to but knew I would pay for the effort and not enjoy it. Watching tv makes me depressed too. My mom keeps telling me to watch hallmark movies but the last thing I want to see how a perfect Christmas just happens and everyone is happy in the end. I just got off the phone with her and saw your post and could definitely relate. I guess my goal is to get through the holiday without causing myself more pain. Sometimes that’s all we can do.
As for your job, just take it one day at a time. I have other health issues from an accident (nothing to do with my knee) and had to quit my career in 2003. Like you i should have recovered but had had an unforeseen complication. I ended up having to file for disability and it was a tough decision that took me many years to actually do it. I had to because of a need for insurance. It still felt like a huge failure. I really understand how scary the future can be and we just have to take it one minute at a time sometimes. It is so hard to admit limitations when something like this happens. You are early in this recovery and don’t need to make these decisions yet.
 
I am so thankful for everyone's support.
Let's just link virtual arms and soldier through the next week. Those of you who are having better holidays than some of us may have to throw us over your shoulders and just carry us along.....:sigh:
 
Hang in there, you've been through a lot. I have a dear friend that broke his patella recently and after surgery and a six week immobilization is mak8ng an excellent recovery. ☺
 
:console2::prayer:Just remember that all of us care and will be here for you!
 
Well, I am happy to report that I survived Christmas without another meltdown. We watched movies on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Day we went to dinner with friends. What did we have? Vietnamese food!!! I wasn't sure the restaurant would be open but when I called, they said, "We are open every day of the year!" Nice to know. We sat down at 5 PM and enjoyed a leisurely dinner. We were very surprised at how packed they became by 6:30PM. Apparently there are many people who want someone else to handle the cooking and clean up on Christmas night, not to mention the people who do not celebrate Christmas. We have always been out of town with family and we are at the stage of life when there is a second wave of little ones to play Santa for, which tends to tie you to home based activities, so we have had little experience with alternate arrangements. I enjoyed it.

On the way to the restaurant on Christmas night I got a voicemail message from the home based physical therapist. He wanted to start at my house the next morning at 9:15. I texted him that would not work and asked if we could talk in the morning. He texted back saying we could start at 9:15 on Thursday morning instead. Husband was not comfortable with his pushing and I felt caught in the middle. So I just didn't respond. On Wednesday morning he called early while I was still in bed. At that point I explained to him how I had come to the point of needing PT, including the fact that my injury occurred during a PT session (I did not say it was caused by it) and that I was nervous about doing PT again and wanted to go slow. He responded that he would be seeing me five days a week and that the only opening he had was 9:15 in the mornings. Does anyone else find this to have been pushy? Anyway, I told him I just couldn't do it that early long term but that we could do it for a few days. Then he said that there were a lot of administrative problems with changing home based therapists in mid treatment and he thought it would be better if he contacted the home health office and asked them to reassign me to someone else. I have no idea if this is true but by then I was feeling that we were not going to be a good match, so I said okay. Later in the day the office called me and I explained what had transpired. I also asked if it was typical for home based PT to occur five days a week, because that seemed like a lot to me. She said that usually it's two to three times a week. She then started to review Medicare requirements for home based PT, asking specifically if I was "home bound." I explained that I could not drive or leave the house without help but that sometimes we had laboriously loaded me into the car and gone out for a meal. She was unsure if that disqualified me and of course I had and still have no idea if it does, but by this time my ambivalence about having someone come into my home for these services was intensifying. So I told her I would talk to the doctor's office about doing regular outpatient PT instead of home health and we agreed I would get back to her. I then called my neighbors, who between them have about five joint replacements, and asked about their PT experiences. They have been going to a private PT practice which they really like. I called the doctor's office and asked to have the PT prescription reissued without home health checked because I didn't want home health services and husband went by and picked it up. This morning I scheduled an initial evaluation with the practice my neighbors go to, for next Wednesday afternoon. I hope we are a good fit. I left a message telling the home health company that I would not be doing home based PT.

Does my experience sound strange at all? My neighbors thought five days a week was too much and so did I.
 
It sounds strange to me too. I am glad you decided to forego it. I would not want someone coming 5 days a week who told me I could not change therapists or the time of the appointment. I think you made the right decision. I hope next Wed goes well for you!
 
Motherbone said:
He responded that he would be seeing me five days a week and that the only opening he had was 9:15 in the mornings. Does anyone else find this to have been pushy?
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That was beyond pushy! This guy must work on commission! You did the right thing. You can choose whomever, wherever and whenever you want to do PT. Or better yet, not even any at all! The more you get around, the more you are doing your own PT! Walking is the best PT for a knee replacement. After all, isn't that the knee was created to do?
 
I would not agree to PT 5 days a week. And I would never, ever, have agreed to 9-9:15 am.

I don’t “do mornings.” Thankfully when I did set up my PT (out patient, I did not “qualify” for in home) I was asked my preference, morning or afternoon, and they were all in the afternoon.

Calling on Christmas Day, even late in the day, would have turned me off. My goodness, it’s Christmas!
 
You did the right thing - that was extremely pushy - even more so during the holiday. I hope you have great experience with the outpatient clinic.
 
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