Nine weeks yesterday. For me, these are the Dark Days of Recovery. It's all about the process, because as far as I can tell, everything is going well. I have minimal pain. Physical therapy is helping me resolve each of my concerns, and I'm seeing incremental progress. I do very little exercise-wise, because the movement I do for everyday life wears me out. Laundry, dishes, lawn mowing (riding mower), weed whacking (2.5 batteries at a time), driving the 80 mile round trip to therapy and doctor appointments (June is when all my annual/semi-annual appointments come due) and the associated shopping that goes with "while I'm in the bigger town," and other sundry items. Most housework is not getting done. Beyond scooping litter boxes, taking the trash out, dishes, and laundry, everything else is piling up. If I have a bit of extra energy, I'll spend a few minutes taking care of something here and there. If I don't have something else scheduled, I'll walk around the small block. I can do 17 minutes before my non-operative knee complains too much. My TKR knee is mostly happy. It gets stiff and tight if I am on it for more than two hours, but it recovers to just a regular degree of tightness quickly.
Last Thursday, my PT had me walk backwards on an inclined treadmill for several minutes. Both knees felt pain at about a 3 when we were finished. That night, I knew it was too much for both, but by the next day, my TKR was fine. My non-op knee was swollen and sore. I went in to PT on Tuesday, and he asked how things were, and I told him my non-op knee hurt after the treadmill. He said, "We won't be doing that again!" We worked on other things that will get me to the same end point. After our session, he offered ice for both knees, which I gratefully accepted. I think I have seven sessions left on my prescription, and I plan to make the most of them.
I'm tired. Behind my eyes and in my lungs tired. I'm trying to spend more time in my recliner during the day. I take a nap in the afternoon, and I'm making sure I get to bed earlier. I know there are people who would dearly love to have my problems compared to what they are dealing with in their recoveries. I especially wish my surgery buddy
@sabbath were closer to me in his recovery (you'll get there!).
Our washer started leaking last week, so I had to take laundry to the the laundromat this morning. Lord! That was exhausting! So much easier to be able to piecemeal laundry than doing it all at once.
I'm fine. Just a little whining. Have some cheese, please. Thanks for listening.
Jean
LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
United States
. You had me going!!!
