Bilateral TKR Rosietosie's Recovery Aug 27

[Threads]

Great to hear of your stunning progress, Rosemary! It's great to hear such a positive and steady outcome, thanks for the updates.

 

[ljrfrm]

@rosietosie I am so happy that you are progressing so well. Keep up the great work!!

 

[rosietosie]

First day outpatient therapy.....ouch!!!! She didn't hurt me when working on ROM and flexion other than when evaluating what my limits were. She massaged around my kneecaps and where I had scar tissue building up. Had me lie on the table on my stomach with my feet hanging off....i surely felt the stretch then! Did the ice packs and electrical stimulation afterwards. By the time I got home I was ready to pop a pain pill and wrap up my knees in ice. Replacement ice machine was delivered today just in time.

I was able to go out to dinner Saturday with hubby to celebrate our anniversary. Was probably there two hours and didn't have any issues with legs hurting while we were sitting. Just stiffness when getting up. Sunday we took a drive to the beach and enjoyed watching the surfers for about an hour. So nice to be able to get out of the house. No issues with getting in and out of the car. Sure helps that we have a mid sized SUV.

30 more minutes of icing and I'm ready to do my next set of pt exercises.

 

[joemz]

my btkr was two months before yours. Walking, driving, no pain pills. Still in twice weekly outpatient, which is invaluable

wait until outpatient rehab puts you on the stationery bike. Sure looks easy, but it t'aint

Sounds like you're doing great, congratulations

 

[rosietosie]

Our wedding pic 23 years ago. This has been a tough year with my Dad passing away, his Dad's home needing to be replaced and now my knees. He's been my rock all these years but especially this year.

 

[tiredwife]

@rosietosie Glad you have such a good husband. Beautiful photo! We were married at a Justice of the Peace. It was 37 years ago July. I don't think we even have a photo of our wedding day!
Usually on days he had PT hubby didn't do any other exercises. Don't overdo it!

 

[ljrfrm]

@rosietosie Happy Anniversary!!! I'm impressed that you lasted so long out to dinner. Great job at PT - keep up the great work!!! Your drive to the beach sounds great - I'm jealous!! I grew up in CA - and miss it

 

[Threads]

No issues with getting in and out of the car. Sure helps that we have a mid sized SUV.

Maybe you've answered my question @rosietosie - we have a Volkswagen Westphalia (our only vehicle) and now I have to swing myself in and out of it. How high is your SUV? I'm a bit concerned about getting in and out of our van. We used to carry a stool for my Mom, guess we might have to do that for me

Happy belated anniversary! It's nice to have wedding pictures. Ours were taken by 3 people who claimed to know all there was to know about photography. It was back in the day when you didn't have a light meter built into your camera. Yes - a loooong time ago. They all took their readings off the same light meter - guess what - no pictures Cherish yours!

 

[rosietosie]

@joemz - we have a stationary bike at home that the home pt tried me on last Friday. I couldn't get one revolution in. My left knee was beginning to loosen up and I almost got it to the top. I just rocked back and forth to see how loose my knees could get. I'll try again another day.

@tiredwife - I followed your husband's lead and took it easy for most of the day. I walked a little more than usual but I sure felt stoved up after pt. My quads are killing me tonight.

@ljrfrm - we live in Carlsbad and enjoy walks and just sitting at the beach as much as we can. I grew up in Florida and then spent 14 years in Texas so I really appreciate being able to see the ocean.

@Threads- we have a Lexus RX 350. I can measure the step in height if you like. It's just the right height where just just sit on the seat, you don't have to haul yourself up like into a Suburban, and you don't have to sit down into the seat like a sedan. We got this car first because it was easiest to get in and out of with my bad knees.

 

[Threads]

Thanks @rosietosie - it will be the stool for me. I have to swing myself up getting in like getting into a small truck. However, we could never part with our Westphalia - yet, we still use it as a camper when we travel and it fits into city parking lots at home. It's taken us from the Mexican border to Inuvik very close to the Artic Ocean and from Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island to the most easterly point in Canada in Newfoundland. I'm looking forward to taking my new knees on some more road trips! We love the ocean too and camp by the ocean in Tofino every summer. I haven't been able to walk on the beach much for a few years - it's one of the things I'm most looking forward to being able to do.

 

[tiredwife]

@rosietosie Yep, if PT pushes to hard it causes pain and swelling. Then it is elevate and ice until pain and swelling goes away.

 

[rosietosie]

@Threads - sounds like you are road warriors and have a lot of great memories with your Westphalia! I gave up walking on the sand several years ago because of the yawing it caused my knees and the pain later. As part of my weight loss plan in 2012, I started walking and got up to a 3 mile distance. My husband and I did a 5k walk/event year on the beach. It was at the low tide mark but really worked over my knees. Haven't walked on the sand since.

@tiredwife - yep, that's exactly what I did for the rest of the day. Slept ok last night and this morning I just have the normal stiffness. Mentally bracing myself for tomorrow's session.

 

[PuppyLove]

@rosietosie I love the wedding picture. My daughter and I were watching "Say yes to the Dress" and I was trying to explain off the shoulder dresses to her(mine was off the shoulder but we had it fitted on the shoulder). Isn't it wonderful to have a great husband? Mine's not perfect by any means ( neither am I) but he's perfect for me and that is such a blessing!

How are you sleeping? Any favorite positions I might be able to try? I'll do a longer post on my thread about my (lack of) sleeping and PT. Glad you made it to outpatient PT!

@Threads thanks for naming your vehicle. We just call the old ones a "VW Bus" or "Bug Bus"- there's one in our neighborhood still going strong!

 

[rosietosie]

@PuppyLove - love that phrase "he's perfect for me". That's us for sure. I always say I got the last good guy in Dallas. I am pretty much still sleeping on my back with legs up on pillows. I've been able to sleep on my side for a little bit with a pillow between my legs. I find I have to have the pillow between from my ankles to my knees. And then pillow behind my back to help maintain the position. I can get about two hours sleep in this position. It sure feels nice to give my back a break.

 

[tiredwife]

@rosietosie Hubby's walk for today was at WalMart, by time we walked the whole store it is quite a walk. He is napping now. We do have 2 new pillows now though!

 

[Threads]

@PuppyLove - if I were to introduce you to our Wesphalia - I would be introducing you to "Harvey". We bought him new almost 19 years ago. He has a furnace so we've been able to camp in all kinds of conditions - buried in snow, camped by a beach, on a mountain - even only a few feet away from the south rim of the Grand Canyon! He was one of the very last ones camporized in Germany before they stopped making them.

I also love the way you describe your husband as perfect for you. My DH has been perfect for me for 49 1/2 years! Looking forward to my new knees to celebrate our 50th.

@rosietosie - last summer I used my Nordic Poles to walk short distances on the beach. They gave me some stability getting over the shifting stuff until I could get to the hard pack. My "staff" (brother and DH) carried a chair and my other essentials for me so I could sit between short toddles. We have beaches in Vancouver but I like the ones on the West Coast where the next bit of land is Japan.

Question - is your bed raised on blocks or high in any way. I've been thinking of sleeping in the guest room because the bed is firmer, but it's also lower. How soon did you find you could get up from something knee height?

 

[rosietosie]

@treads - I'm still sleeping in the guest room where we have my grandmother's bed. It is an old iron frame bed with bed springs that weigh about a ton! It is a high bed - top of mattress is about 30 inches from the floor. It is quite a bouncy bed and when sitting on the side in the middle, it has a nice spring to it that I use to help flex my knees. Right after surgery, i would scoot to the foot of the bed where there was less bounce (sag) and I didn't need to push off to stand. I'd say at 4 weeks was when i could comfortably rise from a regular chair without much difficulty. Still needed support with the cane or the table to get up but I did it by myself.

 

[Threads]

Thanks, @rosietosie! It sounds much higher than the Murphy bed that is in our guest room. I've finally emailed my OS's assistant to get clarification about rehab. It makes a huge difference in my situation whether I come home at 5-7 days or a month out. We're in a townhouse and there are 14 stairs to climb to get to our bedroom or the guest room as well as the main bathroom that doesn't have a walk-in shower. We have a washroom on the main floor. I'll wait for her to have time to answer me before I let myself get anymore worked up about it ;-)

 

[Jasminethecat]

@rosietosie - You are doing so well! I'm impressed with all you've been able to do. And you with 2 knees done!

My husband and I also just celebrated our wedding anniversary - our 45th. It was such a "big one" that we wanted to go to a nice restaurant. The one we chose was 45 minutes away and, overall, I did fine. The restaurant had great ambiance. We shared an appetizer and had a delicious entree. But by the time we finished the entree, I was pretty tired of sitting at the table. So we declined dessert and headed back home. Our car is pretty comfortable (much more so than the chair at the restaurant). But by the time we got back home I was pretty tired out and very glad to have arrived.

Good luck to you!

 

[ljrfrm]

What a nice area - lucky you to be so close to the beach. I grew up outside of San Francisco, and lived right off the beach on the Bay. I miss those beautiful nightly views of the city.

@Threads Don't let the stairs scare you. I was SO worried about our 15 stairs that I had to do daily - and I did it without any problems. It was slow going at first but very do-able. That was my biggest fear, as I really wanted to sleep each night in my own bed and didn't have anything else set up downstairs. I was doing the stairs on Day 3 when I came home from the hospital. I also slept in my own bed which was a normal height. I did need my husband help the first 2 days to get my right leg onto the bed though.