OP
OP
Denny39
senior
United States14 weeks yesterday, and there is a noteable improvement from week 13 to week 14. For the first time this morning, I left my cane home while taking the dog for her walk. Yes, I still have a limp, I still feel some mild stiffness and pain, including that familiar one that originates just below the Patella and shoots down the side of the leg. It’s still sometimes sharp, but very mild and very brief, and it no longer shoots downward; it’s very local.
For those still in the early stages, especially the first-timers, I know how hard it is to be optimistic and really believe this misery will have a happy ending. In a previous post, I described recovery after the surgery as 2 REALLY REALLY ROTTEN weeks, followed by 2 REALLY ROTTEN weeks, followed by 2 ROTTEN weeks, followed by 2 MISERABLE weeks. That seems to hold pretty much true. It’s hard to see when we’re in that time frame, especially the earlier stages of it, but things do steadily improve, even then. That’s when @donnag1108’s “little victories”, improvements we see from day to day are so important. I remember in my second week saying something like, “I don’t care how bad that other one is, I ain’t doin’ this again!”. And I meant it. But now that I am walking on a Left leg that is getting stronger and healthier instead of weaker and more painful from week to week, I (even though admittedly a bit reluctantly) see things differently. My next surgery is scheduled for June 17. But I will probably put myself on the waiting list for a cancellation any time after May 1.
Yes, those first few weeks are no fun, and they can be kind of scary at times. But deal with each day as it comes, and watch for and hold onto those encouraging little victories, and look ahead. I have already put a target date on my calendar 3 months beyond my next surgery (which of course will have to be adjusted if I accept a cancellation date)
I know that looking at it right after settling down into my hospital bed, still in La-La Land from anesthesia, it will seem a L-O-O-O-O-NG way down the road. But the day will come. And so will yours; hang in there.
For those still in the early stages, especially the first-timers, I know how hard it is to be optimistic and really believe this misery will have a happy ending. In a previous post, I described recovery after the surgery as 2 REALLY REALLY ROTTEN weeks, followed by 2 REALLY ROTTEN weeks, followed by 2 ROTTEN weeks, followed by 2 MISERABLE weeks. That seems to hold pretty much true. It’s hard to see when we’re in that time frame, especially the earlier stages of it, but things do steadily improve, even then. That’s when @donnag1108’s “little victories”, improvements we see from day to day are so important. I remember in my second week saying something like, “I don’t care how bad that other one is, I ain’t doin’ this again!”. And I meant it. But now that I am walking on a Left leg that is getting stronger and healthier instead of weaker and more painful from week to week, I (even though admittedly a bit reluctantly) see things differently. My next surgery is scheduled for June 17. But I will probably put myself on the waiting list for a cancellation any time after May 1.
Yes, those first few weeks are no fun, and they can be kind of scary at times. But deal with each day as it comes, and watch for and hold onto those encouraging little victories, and look ahead. I have already put a target date on my calendar 3 months beyond my next surgery (which of course will have to be adjusted if I accept a cancellation date)
I know that looking at it right after settling down into my hospital bed, still in La-La Land from anesthesia, it will seem a L-O-O-O-O-NG way down the road. But the day will come. And so will yours; hang in there.
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I’m so looking forward to the day I can take my beloved dog (Lilli, an all black miniature schnauzer ) a walk along the beach again.
