TKR Outpatient Total Knee Replacement

I stayed one night in the hospital (5 years ago) and the only thing on your list that they didn’t have me do was dress myself. I wore a hospital gown until I got dressed to go home, and I did need help getting my jeans on.

They want to make sure you can safely navigate before they will release you, and you want that reassurance, too.
 
Here’s a bit of a funny. @BrokenAgain & I found each other on Facebook. We’re messaging back & forth and she sees I’m in NH. She lives elsewhere but is from Gilford NH. I’M in Gilford. She mentions a street her parents lived on. MY street. I can see their house from my window! Not a small world....a tiny world!

Marie
 
Here’s a bit of a funny. @BrokenAgain & I found each other on Facebook. We’re messaging back & forth and she sees I’m in NH. She lives elsewhere but is from Gilford NH. I’M in Gilford. She mentions a street her parents lived on. MY street. I can see their house from my window! Not a small world....a tiny world! Marie

Hi @InkedMarie , that is absolutely wild!! Amazing!! It truly is a small and tiny world!!!

Thanks for sharing! Stories like these are great spirit lifters.
 
@glidefloss ~ how are you feeling?
Hi @BrokenAgain , I'm feeling good, thanks. You'll see a lot of postings that describe the emotional rollercoaster we all go through - that's definitely so true, regardless of how well or not well recovery is going. I'm glad I kept a log with my right knee ... although not as detailed or descriptive of emotions/etc as I'd hoped ... and yesterday I kept referring back to it for "assurances" that what I was feeling with my left was "normal" ---- and this, even knowing full well that no knees are/were the same and expecting the same recovery rates/etc was not a good idea.

Thanks for asking ... all the best with your own journey in a few days!! You'll have lots of folks rooting for you!!
 
Only a few days until surgery! I am both excited and anxious. Excited to be getting rid of the arthritic knee and the debilitating pain I live with daily. Excited at the prospect of getting my quality of life back. Excited I will eventually be able to travel home again to see my family.

Ok, this IS happening! Anxious about everything I still have to get done before Wednesday. To be honest, I am anxious about my pain after surgery. I know the pain is going to be severe. It's bad now, but it's going to get worse before it gets better. I am limited to pain medication choices as I am allergic to opiates. I am anxious about same day surgery; however, I understand the reasoning of hospitals having a higher risks of germs leading to higher risk of infection. I am anxious of the unknown. I wish they didnt need to tell me everything that "could"
go wrong.

Tomorrow, my husband and I, are attending a total joint replacement class at the surgery center. I also attended one before my ACDF surgery. In this class (for you and your support person/coach) they go over:
the procedure,
what to expect for recovery,
how to prepare your home,
durable medical equipment,
how long hospital stay if inpatient or how long you will expect to be at surgery center outpatient,
resources available to you,
Q & A

This will be great for my husband as he was not able to attend the previous ACDF class. It will be a refresher/review for me. All this information is in the surgery packet they gave me on April 4th. Plus, I have found some wonderful advice and instructions/guidelines here on BoneSmart.

I don't know how to not be anxious. I don't want to be anxious. The closer the date, the deeper the feeling becomes. I, 100% want this surgery. I, 100% need this surgery. I, am 100% ready for this surgery. Why am I having the anxiety?
 
You’re having major surgery with a very lengthy recovery time. If you weren’t nervous or anxious, I’d be concerned. ❤️
 
You wrote Wednesday.....surgery is Thursday right? My insurance denied mine but my surgeon did a peer to peer review and I’m all set. Please message me if I can answer any questions you have. Your upcoming class seems so close to surgery, hard to get all you need. Does the hospital provide a walker, ice machine, cane....? If not, do you have them? I know you’ve had many other surgeries so you may.

I stocked up on Aleve & Tylenol, a stool softener, saltines and ginger ale. Do you have pillows or whatever you‘re using to elevate?

Marie
 
@InkedMarie Yes, my surgery is Thursday. I have an arrival time of 0500am CT. I had put Wednesday because everything needs be done within next 3 days ie Wednesday. Surgery Center called me this afternoon and added to my " to do" list. Ugh. My husband works 12 hour days so it's difficult to get a lot of these things done. I have no one else here except my husband to help. My daughter is flying in from NH to help me, but she can't arrive until May 2nd. My husband took vacation from 21 April to 2 May.

Yes, I have an ice machine and a walker.
 
You’re having major surgery with a very lengthy recovery time. If you weren’t nervous or anxious, I’d be concerned. ❤️
Thank you for the validation of my feelings being "normal".
 
Hello! I did same day TKA on my left in Sept 2019. Not sure I would do that again. Hubby did the best he could that first night, but he kept asking me what I needed to have done, "help me out of bed so I can pee" wasn't clear enough for him and I was a bit hopped up on pain mess to be really cogent. With that said, I certainly was more comfortable at home. Recommend sweat pants! Please note I still have improvement in motion, endurance and loved that my "bees" in my knee disappeared after surgery.

Good luck!
 
@BrokenAgain relax! Everything will fall into place. If it’s any consolation, I live alone and have had both knees done in the past year. My sister was with me for the first four days then I was on my own. Things figured themselves out either “how to do” or “how to make do”.
 
I hope your recovery goes as easy as my first one did. My husband got a little mad my first morning home when I got my own coffee. I used his travel mug with a handle that hooked on the walker. Priorities and in the morning, mine is coffee! I tried to be as independent as I was able to. I figured if I could take a walk around the house after using the restroom, I could put together a sandwich that Steve brought to me!
 
@InkedMarie Yes, my surgery is Thursday. I have an arrival time of 0500am CT. I had put Wednesday because everything needs be done within next 3 days ie Wednesday. Surgery Center called me this afternoon and added to my " to do" list. Ugh. My husband works 12 hour days so it's difficult to get a lot of these things done. I have no one else here except my husband to help. My daughter is flying in from NH to help me, but she can't arrive until May 2nd. My husband took vacation from 21 April to 2 May.

Yes, I have an ice machine and a walker.
Hi @BrokenAgain , hopefully you'll be able to relax a bit today and tomorrow so you'll get to the Center in a positive frame of mind. You'll have lots of folks here rooting for you!! All the best!!
 
Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I had a 2 hour counseling appointment this morning. I am so grateful I these sessions every week. She is part of my care team from MD Anderson Cancer Center. She told me that I am exactly where she would like me to be (mental health) going into this major surgery. She said I have a great mental attitude and some great coping strategies in place, including BoneSmart. She loves the Journaling idea and suggested I start today. I told her I had already started! I have a great support team at home with my husband and then my daughter flying in to relieve him on May 2nd! She'll be her until mid-June. These little threads shared by others of their experiences, their ups and downs, and recovery journey and the inspirational words of support and encouragement and validation left on my blog posts are priceless. Words can not begin to express my appreciation and gratitude for the support and caring I have felt from people who do not know me. I am a complete stranger to all and you treat me like family. I wish you all the best in your surgeries and recoveries! I will check in throughout the day today...tomorrow I will most likely be MIA (missing in action) :snork:
 
Best Wishes for tomorrow. We will look forward to following your healing journey on the flip side. See you there soon! :wave:
@BrokenAgain
 
Well this is it folks...the night before...
Everything on the "to do" list I was given has been done. Now, I am supposed to sleep. Ya...ok. my pulse is 118bpm. Trying not to have a panic attack. I have to be up at 0330CT to shower again, get dressed and head to the surgery center. I am first surgery of the day with an 0500CT arrival time.

To my twinsie, @InkedMarie , I have prayed for you and your surgeon, especially for his hands. See you on the other side of this journey! Tomorrow we move from preoperative to postoperative. A new journey begins!

Thank you again to each of you for all the support and encouragement!
 

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