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SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
United StatesGrandma helped make a volcano! And then she hopped a plane back to Philly. 
Bilateral TKR SusieShoes' New Knees
- Thread starter SusieShoes
- Start date
Oh my goodness! Those two grandchildren are precious! Your knees are also precious! What a wonderful recovery you have had. And what an inspiration you are to others!
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SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
My knees are my best friends. They have improved my life in every way. Because of them I'm happier, healthier, and more social.
I am giving my OS and his staff a giant box of Frango mints for the holidays.
I am giving my OS and his staff a giant box of Frango mints for the holidays.
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mlwreader
senior
Hi Susie: I am spend a little time this morning reading your recovery thread, had to limit it to your comments after the first couple of pages, especially your diary entries. I have a "bad boy" knee also, and it is my left as well. Also I am not married to a lawyer but am a recovering lawyer - haha. And I am an unpublished writer, so we have the writing part in common, not the published part. Just wanted to mention those three things: left knee, lawyer and writer. Love this BS forum.
ML
mlwreader
senior
Hi Susie:
Also reading about your upset stomach issues back in your early recovery, I have to say that I suffered greatly with oxy. I had psychological problems, lost touch with where I was and what was going on with me - this was in rehab. One night I woke up to a nurse taking my vitals in rehab, didn't know why she was doing that, where I was, almost didn't know who I was, until my roommate, who heard it all, said "Mary Lou, look at your knees, you had your knees done". And I did and it snapped me out of it. But I was told I was combative as well. The rehab people were about to put me on a different floor with the "difficult" patients when my son intervened and talked it over with the head nurse. The nurse and the rehab doc decided the whole picture reflected an adverse reaction to the pain med, and took me off the oxy and put me on Tramadol. There was an almost immediate difference. Also I forgot to mention that in addition to the psychological problems, I began to vomit copiously. So, it was with great relief I got my tummy problems back to normal. No more oxy for me ever, I now list it as a med I am allergic to.
ML
Also reading about your upset stomach issues back in your early recovery, I have to say that I suffered greatly with oxy. I had psychological problems, lost touch with where I was and what was going on with me - this was in rehab. One night I woke up to a nurse taking my vitals in rehab, didn't know why she was doing that, where I was, almost didn't know who I was, until my roommate, who heard it all, said "Mary Lou, look at your knees, you had your knees done". And I did and it snapped me out of it. But I was told I was combative as well. The rehab people were about to put me on a different floor with the "difficult" patients when my son intervened and talked it over with the head nurse. The nurse and the rehab doc decided the whole picture reflected an adverse reaction to the pain med, and took me off the oxy and put me on Tramadol. There was an almost immediate difference. Also I forgot to mention that in addition to the psychological problems, I began to vomit copiously. So, it was with great relief I got my tummy problems back to normal. No more oxy for me ever, I now list it as a med I am allergic to.
ML
OP
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SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
Oh, you should write about your reaction to oxy in your thread, too, Mary Lou. Many people read these recovery threads before their surgeries. 
What they read comes in helpful later should they run into that same thing themselves. Your thread is still about earlier recovery, whereas I fear lots of people will never read this far into mine. It’s such a long thread, you see... and at this point I have very little to say (here) that impacts early surgery.
I noticed you were a lawyer. I’ve told my husband I think I would like being a judge (though I’m sure there are a thousand downsides), but a lawyer not so much. He too is an unpublished writer. I’ve found that lawyers in general are good with words and complexity, which is useful for plots and characterization. People are endlessly fascinating.
And our left knees must never be allowed to get any ideas. Mine has finally settled down to become useful!
What they read comes in helpful later should they run into that same thing themselves. Your thread is still about earlier recovery, whereas I fear lots of people will never read this far into mine. It’s such a long thread, you see... and at this point I have very little to say (here) that impacts early surgery.I noticed you were a lawyer. I’ve told my husband I think I would like being a judge (though I’m sure there are a thousand downsides), but a lawyer not so much.
He too is an unpublished writer. I’ve found that lawyers in general are good with words and complexity, which is useful for plots and characterization. People are endlessly fascinating.And our left knees must never be allowed to get any ideas. Mine has finally settled down to become useful!
OP
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SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
Six Months: My Knees Weather the Vile Virus From Wisconsin 
All right, so my grandkids gave me a virus. I accept this. Spreading viruses is what kids do. If there is ever a zombie apocalypse, it will be started by adults who should know better, but it will be spread by children. In any event, the very day I return to Philadelphia I brought me a nasty head and chest cold. Mr. Shoes and I have been coughing for a week.
My knees laughed at the head cold --minor joint aches only, just like the rest of the body-- but have missed their long walks. And boy, do the knees get grumpy if they miss their walks! Two days of inactivity caused them to feel stiffer and swell just a bit, just enough to make the incision area feel tight. I find this annoying, plus the swelling brought to my attention that my scars are... dry. Flaking. With the advent of long pants, I have been paying less loving attention to them. So this week I used a loofah to scrub away the dead skin and have been applying cocoa butter. Much better.
Anyway, the reason I wasn't walking the knees was because my lungs were close to being declared uninhabitable. Yesterday was the first day in a week I didn't cough every five minutes. Needless to say, I also had no voice because my vocal chords were in shreds. Fortunately, very little in my life requires speaking.
Happily, my lungs are much clearer (not 100%, but easily 90%) and this morning I resumed my morning walk. Brisk and autumnal, the perfect walking weather. I took a shorter route, a 3/4 mile walk that kept me near my house in case I found out I had made a mistake. But no, the lungs were good, just a little tight at the end, and the knees were thrilled to be out and about. We practically skipped our way down the street. Well, I tried a skip and it wasn't very graceful, so I stopped that and just walked.
So my observation from the sickroom: A week without walking actually set my knees back, though only in the sense that they missed the activity. I elevate them on an ottoman throughout the day, not constantly, but a lot. Getting up to walk around the house just to walk, and daily use of a floor pedlar, makes them happy and is an okay substitute for daily walks whenever housebound due to sickness.
This week... preparations for Thanksgiving! Hope everyone is having fun!
All right, so my grandkids gave me a virus. I accept this. Spreading viruses is what kids do. If there is ever a zombie apocalypse, it will be started by adults who should know better, but it will be spread by children. In any event, the very day I return to Philadelphia I brought me a nasty head and chest cold. Mr. Shoes and I have been coughing for a week.
My knees laughed at the head cold --minor joint aches only, just like the rest of the body-- but have missed their long walks. And boy, do the knees get grumpy if they miss their walks! Two days of inactivity caused them to feel stiffer and swell just a bit, just enough to make the incision area feel tight. I find this annoying, plus the swelling brought to my attention that my scars are... dry. Flaking. With the advent of long pants, I have been paying less loving attention to them. So this week I used a loofah to scrub away the dead skin and have been applying cocoa butter. Much better.
Anyway, the reason I wasn't walking the knees was because my lungs were close to being declared uninhabitable. Yesterday was the first day in a week I didn't cough every five minutes. Needless to say, I also had no voice because my vocal chords were in shreds. Fortunately, very little in my life requires speaking.
Happily, my lungs are much clearer (not 100%, but easily 90%) and this morning I resumed my morning walk. Brisk and autumnal, the perfect walking weather. I took a shorter route, a 3/4 mile walk that kept me near my house in case I found out I had made a mistake. But no, the lungs were good, just a little tight at the end, and the knees were thrilled to be out and about. We practically skipped our way down the street. Well, I tried a skip and it wasn't very graceful, so I stopped that and just walked.
So my observation from the sickroom: A week without walking actually set my knees back, though only in the sense that they missed the activity. I elevate them on an ottoman throughout the day, not constantly, but a lot. Getting up to walk around the house just to walk, and daily use of a floor pedlar, makes them happy and is an okay substitute for daily walks whenever housebound due to sickness.
This week... preparations for Thanksgiving! Hope everyone is having fun!
rubyyarn
graduate
Hi, @SusieShoes, happy Thanksgiving!
I've noticed since I've been involved with Knee #2 that Knee #1 has regressed a bit. They now ache in tandem. Sympathy pains? Kneebling rivalry? It's pretty funny.
I'm glad to hear you've licked the Crud from Wisconsin. Cruds are no fun, wherever they come from.
I've noticed since I've been involved with Knee #2 that Knee #1 has regressed a bit. They now ache in tandem. Sympathy pains? Kneebling rivalry? It's pretty funny.
I'm glad to hear you've licked the Crud from Wisconsin. Cruds are no fun, wherever they come from.
I remember how my new knee complained after I broke my right ankle/foot when my knee was just shy of a year old. Being non weight-baring for over 4 weeks really made it hurt. You are so right Susie, these new knees want to walk!
I love it!
jboles
graduate
I just caught up on your thread, seems like you had a wonderful vacay with family. Did you set off the scanners at the airport, or did you get to bypass those? I'm hoping to be able to do some traveling again maybe next summer after I get righty done in January. By the way, you have lovely grandchildren. Bet they were super excited their grandma was able to chase after them.
jaschembra
post-grad
Glad you’re feeling better!
liam2015
post-grad
those are lovely photos of your grandchildren and i love the one of you and your grandson. they must have been so happy to have grandma there to give them all that attention. wow, they had a fair bit of snow. it's cold and windy (-4C/24.8F) but no snow here in the city. i hope you're feeling much better from the virus you had. happy thanksgiving to you and yours.
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SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
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OP
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
With another grandchild to come as I head to Cleveland this week. I’m having a whirlwind November between grandkids and the Great Wisconsin Head Cold (which refuses to leave). The best things going in my life right now are my knees! They’re doing 100% great. 
One of the beautiful things about recovery is when the milestones become the norm, and the knees are, finally, just knees. Some tiny reminders remain, like the tiniest stiffness after sitting for very long periods, but more and more, I find that other things bother me more.
One of the beautiful things about recovery is when the milestones become the norm, and the knees are, finally, just knees. Some tiny reminders remain, like the tiniest stiffness after sitting for very long periods, but more and more, I find that other things bother me more.
