Bilateral TKR Nothing is Going to Stop Me Now!

[Threads]

I was moved this morning and it was smooth sailing. The big "C" word has been building up into an uncomfortable situation but hopefully after a lot of effort this afternoon, I think that's on it's way to being controlled.

Tomorrow I start off the day with the OT and then I have a session of PT later in the morning. And so my transformation begins.

 

[Celle]

@Threads
Yes, it was in May. We arrived on Holland America's Volendam, from Japan.
We did have a few days of sightseeing before John was taken ill and we also spent a week in Vancouver after he got out of hospital, because we had to be sure he was well enough to undertake the long flight back to NZ.

The illness apart, we loved Vancouver and would go back there any time.

 

[SuperSnapper]

@Threads Vancouver is beautiful. We decided it was perhaps the one place we'd been to that had everything and we could live there. We spent three days there and had a room in the Pan Pacific - it was in the days when we were earning money! - I loved to watch the float planes coming in. One day we walked all the way round Stanley Park - wonderful. It all seemed so vibrant and welcoming and the restaurants were great.
Soon you'll be back to enjoying the wonderful art galleries and walks again. I'd love to visit Canada again one day. Our best friends son and daughter in law emigrated to Calgary a few years ago and have really settled well and love the life.
How's the rehab place treating you? Well I hope. And is the food any betteR.
Repeat blood test for transfusion service for me today and last minute shopping and lunch out.
Stay safe

Mary x

 

[ljrfrm]

@Threads Glad the transfer went well. Best wishes with PT. Check in when you can and tell us how it's going. Hope they help you keep up with the meds so you are comfortable.

 

[SuperSnapper]

@Threads been looking out for your posts but you are probably knee deep in rehab! And very busy being recovered. Hope things are going really well, the pain is controlled and PT is comfortable. Post when you can and let us know .
Mary x

 

[Threads]

Hi @ljrfrm and @SuperSnapper. I'd forgotten how tired a person could get! The last two days started off with a bonus - a shower. How wonderful the little things in life are! From then on came the measuring, testing, answering the same questions from different departments. Yesterday was PT and OT. Same again today with an appointment with the social worker thrown in. Both departments seem pleased with my progress. I walked around the circumference of the PT room twice, using my walker. The pain is, mostly, being managed well. What a difference between an acute care hospital and a rehab hospital! They are specially geared to taking of people with the mobility challenges of bilaterals and frailer people with singles. I'm glad I'm here - it will keep me on a focused path to recovery.

I've had visitors both days, which has been wonderful.

@SuperSnapper - are you ready????? Your time is close. I should go and catch up on your thread. @ljrfrm - 2 weeks of work behind you - awesome. I should catch up your thread as well. My after supper power nap is wearing off so may not manage it tonight. However a quieter weekend is at hand with only homework given to me by the PT department.

 

[SuperSnapper]

@Threads Glad you are settled and comfortable in your rehab place. You are doing well with the walking. It must be funny to be away from home for longer but valuable in the end and I expect your visitors make a welcome break. I spent 3 months in hospital once with my first pregnancy and life there has a rhythym all its own and hard to describe to people who haven't experienced it.
Will be thinking of you and sending you continued good wishes.
I'm fine thanks but it is getting close and I am almost ready. We are off to see some friends today in Lancashire about an hours drive away. Sue was my school friend and bridesmaid and we only see her and her husband about once a year so it will be good to catch up with them today.

Hope you have a restful and pain controlled weekend

 

[ljrfrm]

@Threads Glad it's going well. Weekends at rehab are nice as you have downtime to rest, relax and enjoy your visits with friends/family. Glad to hear they are treating you well.

 

[fiberlady]

Glad to hear all is going well with you, it sounds as if the rehab facility was a wise decision. I am getting a tad nervous as I have yet to hear the decision regarding insurance. Now I am wishing I had gotten both done at the same time. How long will you be at the rehab center before they send you home? I am desperately trying to get a warp on the loom it needs to be finished by the 15th of December for our guild Christmas party.

 

[ljrfrm]

@Threads It looks like today might have been a difficult day for you. Sending you warm thoughts and wishing you a comfortable night. Hang in there.

 

[Threads]

Hi @fiberlady. I'm not sure how long I will be here - it's a week tomorrow since I arrived and that's hard to believe. I'll be here at least another week, maybe longer. I've been working with an occupational therapist trying to set my personal goals - to most people they would be small goals. I want to be able to stand for more than about 10 minutes! To most people not a big deal - but to me - priceless ;-)

I'm impressed with the staff and the program that they run here. I'm now into serious Physio and occupational therapy. Tomorrow I start my day with a leg group session before breakfast. Then after breakfast comes an hour of Physio. Tomorrow afternoon I spend an hour with OT. Because of the routine, I get a chance to focus on my recovery as a priority. The weekend was quieter and therefore gave me an opportunity to walk more than I should have. I paid for that today! On the whole though, everyone seems pleased with my progress. I'm trying not to pay attention to numbers but I can sit comfortably in a chair with my feet flat on the floor - I'm working on the rest. I'm lucky to be in a room with 3 other women with challenges of their own. Two amputees and a bilateral hip replacement and not a whiner amongst us.

I came to terms with the fact that I wouldn't be attending Christmas events this year - grandchildrens' concerts and the Guild Christmas party included. So the pressure is off. What are you trying to get woven by the 15th?

 

[Threads]

It was a difficult day @ljrfrm. Thanks for noticing. I didn't ask for meds overnight which started off my day on the wrong foot, as it were. It was strange, I had no pain when I made my first trip to the washroom but the minute I lay down again, it hit. Along with the pain were those leaky ducts near my eyes. They kept on insisting on watering my face for no reason and without my permission. I didn't get the pain under real control until this afternoon. My OT thought it was because I walked too much on the weekend. I easily could - so I did. Now I understand all the Bonesmarties warnings about overdoing it. You actually do it without thinking because it's easy but really you are doing far more than you are ready for. Live and learn.

Trust working is getting easier by the day.

 

[ljrfrm]

@Threads The leaky eye duct thing is definitely a side effect for many of us at times. Sometimes, it actually helps the knee though Hang in there. You are right about overdoing it, but you are very soon in your recovery to skip pain medication. Remember, if you get behind the pain, it takes a long time to recover. Even now, if I forget to take my Aleve, or decide I don't need anything, I pay for it later in the day. For me at least, I found early on that I could go from every 4 hours to every 6 hours - so taking the meds less often is ok. But, don't skip them all together if possible. Or maybe take something not as strong? Glad you have some good roommmates and you all can support eachother through recovery.

For me, work is ok. I'm supposed to go full-time in one week - can't decide if that is a good or bad thing!! I miss my days when my life was focuses around me, and my recovery. But at the same time, it's nice to have my life back.

Keep up the great work!

 

[fiberlady]

Good to hear that the therapy is on track, but do remember that your recovery is for two new knees and every thing will be double including the pain. Standing for 10 minutes, wow, I wish I could do that, I usually can only stand for a few minutes befor I have to either get moving or sit down. I am hoping that once I get the left knee things will improve.

It sounds like your spirits are up and that is a good thing. I won't be spending Christmas with family this year, I will get to see my granddaughter on Christmas morning and that is about all I will be able to handle. We just have to remember that by next year at this time things will be so much better.

I am putting a scarf on the loom that is for our guild exchange, we are doing a crayon challenge. You had to pick three crayons and make something with those three colors, you could add if you wanted too or just use those colors. I was lucky enough to find a variegated 8/2 cotton from Webs that matched exactly. I am fighting a cold right now so it is slowing me down, plus I have been baking bread for our Thanksgiving this Thursday. I am hoping to get to the loom this weekend. I am just going to do an 8 harness point twill, nothing as wonderful or accomplished as your items. It will be in no time and you will be back at the loom.

Hope the rest of the week is pain free. Take care and don't forget your meds and to not over do it.

 

[Threads]

Hi @fiberlady - the plus 10 minutes is standing still. Normally, prior to surgery, I was constantly shifting from one leg to the other. I'd like to be able to stand quietly, taking a photo, for example. My knees would lock if I stood too long in one place and sometimes I had trouble unlocking them, especially if I didn't have something to grab onto. Today, however, I had small successes. I was able to get into the passenger seat of the hospital's "therapy" car, get into the bathtub using the transfer bench - so I now know I can have a tub shower and putting on my socks and shoes without using any dressing aids. This last one I couldn't dream of doing a week ago when I moved hospitals. My meds have been under control today and it's been a much better day. I had them wake me up during the night so my pain never got out of hand last night. Tonight, I start on slow release pain killers so the pain should be more evenly controlled from now on.

Now on to more fun stuff! I love doing colour challenges and crayons sound like a great idea. Please take a picture of your towel and post it so I can see your crayons and what you created with the colours you ended up with. Could you choose or was it a random draw??? Point twill is a fun structure and so versatile. I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

Happy Thanksgiving (a few days ahead)! I hope you can find time for your loom with all the busyness around you.

Sandra

 

[Threads]

@ljrfrm - today was a much better day. I asked to be given my meds on a schedule overnight. Tonight I switch to slow release, which I hope will give me sustained pain relief but also taking pre-physio boosters to help me get through 2 sets of physio with the best results possible, and no unbearable pain.

Tomorrow I'm at two weeks post-op and the time has flown. Hopefully I'll get my staples out tomorrow and can get rid of the dressing. I'm not sure whether the pull I feel on my knees right now is the dressing or just the scar and healing tissue. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Can you "test drive" full time? The last thing you want to do at this point, when you've come so far, is to overdo it.

Thank you for being "by my side" through this - it has really helped.

 

[ljrfrm]

@Threads I'd love to "test drive" the full time. I am still on disability and I do think I could get a few more weeks part-time if needed. That coupled with our school winter break would get me to January then before I'd have to go full time. But, my substitue is no longer available and I just have guilt that I need to go back. I went back to my first school but not the second one and they are very anxious for me to get back. So, I will probably go forward with the full time. I think the first week or two will be hard - but the good news is then I have the 2 week winter break off where I don't have to work. I will also plan to leave early some days if needed. I don't have any leave left (used it all before the disability kicked in) but will leave anyways. I'm more worried about trying to figure out how to fit in the rehab along with work. I'll figure it out somehow.

I'm glad I can be a help to you. I am definitely by your side - I know it helps to not go through this alone. You're doing great - keep it up. Any idea when they are talking about discharging you home? Have you tried stairs yet?

 

[Threads]

I can understand the "guilt". I sat at my desk everyday nursing a full case of shingles, because I felt too guilty to stay home. However, you've had a first class lesson in listening to your body - the lesson I'm learning now. So hopefully you'll be able to leave early when your body tells you to. Can you get late-in-the-day physio appointments or evening ones? It's so important to keep at it. I'm learning that too - aren't I getting wise

I don't know how much longer I'll be here. At least another week, I think. I haven't tackled any of the tough stuff yet like stairs, standing in one spot - not holding onto anything.

I guess you work tomorrow and then you are off until Monday, am I right? At least that will give you a good break and hopefully some downtime.

 

[ljrfrm]

I do work tomorrow. It's almost 1 am here but I'm staying awake still because my son is flying home and his flight is due in at 1:30 am. I'm fading fast but doing my best to be awake when he arrives. Luckily I'm in my PJ's and my husband is going to the airport to get him. But, I have an early day at work tomorrow, so it may be hard. It's my last 4 hour day! And then we have Thanksgiving break until Monday, when I go full time. My goal is to eat a lot on Thursday and do nothing but rest, and maybe go to the gym a few times.

I can definitely exercise in the afternoon/early evening after work. I'm just worried about being too sore or tired to do so, but I will find a way. I will be working with my trainer at the gym (PT ended today - other than one last appt in one month just to check in) and she is very flexible with her schedule.

And yes......you are getting very wise

 

[Threads]

Ahhhh - I wondered why you were up so late! However, when it's our "kids" arriving home for a visit - the time on the clock isn't relevant. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.