My Mom's Two New Knees

[Ads-India]

Hi Everybody,

I'm new to this forum and i'm here for my mom. She underwent bilateral TKR ( April 2nd, April 5th ) on her right and left knee's respectively.

RIght now, she's doing fine, in the sense that the pain isn't too unbearable( mostly cos she is on high dosage in IV meds). I'm not really sure about the PT procedures that happen in India, but there are a whole bunch of physiotherpists who do home visits and i'm hoping she shd be back on her feet slowly, but surely!

My mom is 49, and is otherwise fairly active and on her feet most of the time. Infact, the whole knee replacement thingy came as a HUGE shock and surprise to me. She has been severly ortheo-arthritic for tha past 5 years and I always thought that TKR woould be a last resort, much later on.

Anyway, I just really hope post -op it's pain free. I did spend a lot of time reading the posts in this forum and they are so helpful. Some of them are scary though. Until my mother come back from hospital( she should be home by April 12th) , I wanted to post on her behalf .

Cheers!

Aditi

 

[Judles]

Re: Scheduled for April to 2 new knees

Wow! Welcome Ads! And welcome to Mom! She's very lucky she
Has you to look after her! I'm on the hippie side, but in minutes, you will be
Wonderfully surprised all the attention you will receive! Tell Mom we all hope she's well
On the road to recovery! And tell her it gets better every day!!!

 

[Gringo]

Re: Scheduled for April to 2 new knees

I hope your mom does well. And this brings a question to my mind. I assume your mother went to India for the surgery? You said the last TKR was April 5 and she will be home April 12.

that is amazing me, but very much of interest to me. I am flying to the USA for my first TKR in three weeks, and they have told me to expect to not be able to fly for up to six weeks afterwards. I got the OS to admit that he had a patient fly home at three weeks post op with no issues...but you are talking about a longer flight, and one week after the second of two TKRs in a week.

Any ideas why the huge discrepancy? Is she flying in a medical aircraft?

 

[calling_all_angels]

Re: Scheduled for April to 2 new knees

Gringo,
I think her Mom lives in India. But I could be wrong.
^i^

 

[RickB]

Re: Scheduled for April to 2 new knees

Aditi,

I hope your mother gets well quick and doesn't have any set backs. A BTKR is pretty rough and your mother should be very proud, she raised a wonderful caring daughter.

God Bless,
Rick

 

[Jamie]

Aditi, welcome to the BoneSmart forum. I have moved your post and those of the people responding to you to your own thread. This will enable forum members to write to you more easily and not derail the other thread.

Your mom has been through a lot with her two surgeries, but hopefully she will be on the road to a quick recovery soon. She is lucky to have a daughter like you to care for her! Please post any time you have a question or concern....or just to say hello. We'll be here for support.

 

[Josephine]

Well said, Jamie. And welcome, Aditi. You've already found out what a great resource this forum is and we're pleased to welcome you as a member of our little community.

 

[Ads-India]

Thanks Everybody!

I'm really overwhelmed with all the attention!
My previous post wasn't too informative. My mom, didn't fly to India for a surgery, she lives in India. I moved to Seattle last September for my grad school. Actually, I'm planning to surprise my mom , visitng her this month end. She doens't know about it yet. :-D

I spoke to her last night and her pain is considerably better in the right knee ( it was operated first- on April2nd) . She is able to flex it 90 deg. She tells me the doc and nurses haven't put her on a CPM machine and ask her to wriggle her toes as often as possible. Also, as for the physiotherapy, it hasn't begun. I'm not sure if the current hospital does much of the PT. She plans to enrol in a PT clinic and get house visits.

So, any suggestions / tips on stuff I could buy for her when I go? I've ordered this book -Total Knee Replacement and Rehabilitation: The Knee Owner's Manual - from Amazon Amazon.com: Total Knee Replacement and Rehabilitation: The Knee Owner's Manual (9780897934398): M.D. Daniel J. Brugioni….

And I read on this forum that ice packs help a lot. We don't get that many options on re-usable ice packs in India and i'm looking around for them . Saw a couple online and in RIte-Aid.

I'll keep you guys posted on my mom !

Thanks for all the info!!

Cheers!

Aditi

 

[Jamie]

4-8 of the ice packs (since your mom is working with two knees) would be good. CVS and Walgreens probably also sell them, as does Walmart. I imagine they are available in stores or online.

You also might invest in a small shower stool or bath seat. The bath seat would be better if she has a tub-shower combination as it fits atop the sides of the tub. The shower stool is better for a full shower and lets you sit down or you can put your legs up on it when standing to wash or shave your legs.

 

[ship4]

Aditi,
I am glad you ordered the book. Great information in it. Your Mom will find it very useful. You may want to consider purchasing a broken link removed: https://cgi.ebay.com/Aircast-Cryo-Cuff-with-Cuff-and-Cooler_W0QQitemZ220389139241QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item220389139241&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50similar to the one shown in the eBay auction. I was given 2 of these (one for each knee) during recovery. You do need access to ice. I ended up using only one and switching off the knee it was on. The ice lasts a good 6 - 8 hours in the cooler and works thru gravity...... I loved mine!
Best,
Crystal

 

[Max Wallace]

I had good results with a heating pad as well as ice, I would alternate between the two and found that heat just before bed really helped. I am 46 and just had BI-TKR and new knees will change her life. PT is very critical to long term rehab, the passive motion machine is really good at keeping the knees loose and gaining ROM. I used it 5-6 hours a day and it helped greatly.

Max

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Ads-India]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the concern and help. Really appreciate it!

I reached Chennai last week and feels great to be home. Seeing my mom this way was overwhelming and scary to say the least. Was Jet-lagged for a whole week and I hope I'm not in some sort of denial cos seeing my really active mom( the way I knew her) this way is heart -wrenching :-(.

I'm here till June 1st and want to make the most of it and struggling. She is quite spirited and optimistic, and I just want to be sure, she is realistic of the time frame for recovery. The PT happens everyday for the first one month and she says immediately after PT she feels great. But nights are long and dreary. Last night she complained of the same pain behind her knees as she used to have prior to surgery.

It's now four weeks since the surgery and what is worrying me ( not her ;-)..) is that the good knee's scar tissue hasn't completely healed and she is having some yellowish fluid oozing out. It's very little and come out only if pressure is given around that region. Is that normal?

The surgeon wants to wait till May 15th and says we have to give it time.

Enough with my panicking!

On the good news side- She is walking without the aid of the walker for most parts except when it's slippery. She tends to have a slight forward tilt though. Her Range of motion isn't measured too scientifically but judging by the her movement, I would say it's about 100?

MOre mails will follow along with pictures! Feels great to have such a rock support form this group

Goodluck with all the recovery and have faith

Aditi

 

[Jamie]

The drainage from the wound doesn't sound too bad and, if you've notified the surgeon about it, I'd say not to worry. The wound isn't hot or red, right? And she's not running a fever? Any of those would be a concern.

The pain behind her knee can be soft tissue swelling and it could be helped by applying ice packs there several times a day and at night. Also at night, make sure she is going to bed with her knee iced and elevated above her heart. This will help with swelling, which causes pain. For the first 3 months, I slept ALL NIGHT with ice packs on my knee, so it might be needed for a while (everyone heals differently). Good for her getting around without the walker. Do you have a cane for her? That would be helpful for balance for several more months. Be sure the PT is working on her range of motion and quad strength.

No more panics! It sounds like your Mom is doing well. You are so wonderful to be with her through this time.