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TKR Pheebs52 Recovery Discovery Journey May 22

Thanks so much for the encouragement Jaschembra, it's always appreciated from one who is much further down the scenic road!:heehee: Is it terrible of me to say I'm comforted to see you were stuck at 105 for a month? I am, lol. But only because I know you moved beyond it. :snork:

Oh no swimming yet, I haven't even found a pool to join, lol. I definitely have a bit of incision paranoia, so those little stitch pulls will be closed up tighter than a drum before I go in any water.

Hahaha, on my recent visit to the surgeon, I actually got up and walked around his waiting room a bit. When I was finally placed in the exam room, I knew it would probably be another 10-15 minutes before he appeared, so I sat on the edge of the table and swung my leg about like a crazed monkey. I think it really helped, lol.

Ya know, I've always been a bit of a *plotter and planner* so my store visits definitely do include some decent seating. Now, most of them don't have an anti-gravity chair for me to snooze in, ala BB&B, but I basically won't enter any store for more than 10 minutes that doesn't have a decent bench of some sort. These days, it ranks higher than bathrooms, lol!
 
It's amazing how our priorities change.... my first big outing was to my Grand daughter's gymnastics birthday party ( armed with my cane to fend off tumblers headed my way!) and a trip through Costco in a motorized cart ( which, until then I poo pooed as for the "old" and "infirm" - suddenly realizing I fit BOTH categories! ) :rotfl:
 
I'm with you @Pheebs52 with seating at the store. My 16 year old daughter starts back to school August 7th and has a camp next weekend so we had to do school shopping today. Places that didn't have seating for me meant she had five minutes or we move on to stores where I could sit. We spent the most money at the stores where I would sit so it benefits them to provide seating for us!


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Shoot off the fireworks and blow the trumpets! It's my 10 Week Kneeversary! The celebration will be held at the PT office in one hour. Cocktails will be served with ice packs on knees! Free massage to all attendees, dancing to follow! Be there or be square!:happydance:
 
I'm on my way. Cocktails in the morning, it doesn't get better than that! Today is my 8 week Kneeversary. No party here, I will live vicariously through you!


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I saved the best for last. This morning, on my way to PT, I headed down the stairs and without thinking, stepped down 3 steps NORMAL STYLE! When I realized what I'd done, I froze in the middle of the steps, not sure if I should continue that way or not, lol. It didn't hurt a bit; woot! However, it was very odd, lol!:heehee:
 
wowza Pheebs52 ~ that is amazing ~ you are well on your way. how was physio?
 
That's how it happens! You freeze in shock and think "What have I done? Did I just do that?" But you did! Your body just done went and DID THAT. :yahoo: Because your new knee is awesome, and ready, and your brain is all "Just do it."
 
Physio was very interesting today @Liam! I didn't gain any flexion, still at 94 degrees, prone heel slide, but....the quad didn't hurt at all today while doing them and it still feels much less cement-like; yay! We did do some strange balance work that involved walking along, alternating raising a bent up leg in a marching pose. So, one leg up in this pose, one leg down on the floor...'twas awkward to say the least. After about 5 lengths around the room, I *think* I may have finally gotten the idea of how it should be done.:SUNsmile:

We also did some odd, so-called, *mini-squats* and crab walked sideways while in that oh, so, *ahem* elegant, bum-out position. It's definitely a misnomer since no real squatting was involved and he reiterated that actual squats are a very bad exercise for knees at this point in time. This was really about building up the quads and glutes without impacting the knee, so that I can better handle stairs and longer walks with good form. I still need the cane on one side to walk upstairs and he believes this is why. I can't dispute it, since I've had trouble going upstairs ever since my THR five years ago. I have a lot of gluteal weakness on the non-tkr side as a result of that surgery from five years ago, so I don't mind doing something that will help strengthen that area. I was actually given good *grades* on this particular exercise, lol.

And now, I'm in the recliner, happily elevating and freezing the knee. Here I shall stay for the rest of the day! Cheers, :martini:
 
Susie, it was so strange, lol! Thrilling, but with a definite moment of panic when I realized just what I'd done, hahaha! :yikes: I don't *think* it will become my full-time mode of going downstairs just yet, but I'll practice with a few each day until my confidence builds up. PT said I could do it as much as I'd like provided it didn't cause pain and I could maintain good form.
 
Isn't wonderful that the normal things come about without us even thinking about it!? When we least expect it, something wonderful happens!
 
But Susie, I didn't even KNOW my brain was ready to do it! It was truly a total surprise! Of course, I'm preaching to the choir here, eh? It was hilarious, definitely one of the shiniest recovery moments for all TKR's to anticipate. Get ready folks if you're not already there!
 
I know what you mean. I remember my first time after over 20 years of not being able to!
 
It's kind of crazy how it happens. I was at around 6 weeks when one day, coming down the stairs with my cane, I just went foot over foot and... froze. Oh no! I'd done it wrong! What to do with the cane... what to do with my other foot... what to do. Well, as I had only a step to go, I just went foot over foot to that and finished the job. But it was rather mind-blowing. I hadn't even gone UP the stairs foot over foot yet.

My first career was in medicine and I also was married to a brilliant physician, and wrote a great many medical articles for a great many years, so the idea that our brains and nervous system, including the spine, perform quite a few tasks on "automatic" is a comfortable one for me. We might not have traversed the stairs foot over foot for many months or years--but our nervous systems remember how. Those reflexes are intact. And when we stop overthinking things (which is the natural state following such a major surgery as TKR), our reflexes just take over again and do these things like go up and down stairs, or stand up without pushing up, or throw our bodies lengthwise on the bed, squat, crouch, or even kneel. Pain will prevent us from following through with the action if it's not possible, and prevent damage, but I've discovered the body rarely attempts something it cannot do.

You are so on a roll. All that ROM stuff will follow. Those exercises you are doing are great for balance and strengthening those glutes. Just think of what they will do for your butt. :heehee:
 
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