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Traveling With My New Knee

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Jamie

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I took my first serious vacation with my new knee and can definitely say it did VERY well!! The knee is 11 months old and I had an easy time of it even with all the walking, hauling bags, and other activity that was out of the normal. We flew from Kansas City to Los Angeles and I did set off alarms in both airports. I did as others had suggested and told the security people immediately as I stepped into the metal scanner. They were so great and my "extra" search only added a few minutes to the check-in. No separate rooms....just an area where I sat down for them to wand both feet and then stood so they could wand around my body and pat my knee on top of my clothes. No need to show my scar at all! I was amazed. I really expected more than this. It was basically no different than when I had been randomly selected for a scan in the past.

We boarded a cruise ship in Los Angeles and had to pass through a metal detector there and at each port. But......my knee NEVER sat that machine off! Not once!!! Go figure. They must have had it set differently. It did catch a camera in my husband's pocket, so I know it was working.

We took a whale watching trip in Cabo San Lucas that was rated as a "physically demanding" trip. It was in a very small Zodiac boat with inflatable sides. I wondered if I'd have any trouble getting in and out of the boat, but it was NO PROBLEM AT ALL!! Hooray!!

We did TONS of walking on the ship and in ports....up and down hills and stairs....over uneven streets and ground. I had a couple of days that I felt the activity in my muscles, but no knee pain whatsoever. It was fantastic!!

So now I know I can do anything I want to. And I know that I still need to work on my muscle development so that I am stronger....and lose some weight so that I can keep moving better!! The trip was a real motivator for me.
 
Jamie, welcome back! And your post is a real tonic! So there is life after a TKR then!!

Expect you'll need some time to catch up with all the posts so I'll talk to you later. Great to see you back. Told you it would all work out alright, didn't I?!
 
WELCOME HOME.JAMIE!!!!! We ALL missed you! So glad you enjoyed your vacation! Can't wait to hear more about it when you settle back in!!
So glad your knee traveled so well!
:)
 
Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii Jamie!!!!!
So glad you are home all safe and sound!!!! I am so happy that you had a wonderful time.
^i^
 
Jamie
So glad you had a safe trip and your new knee was good to you!!
The part that I wondered about was the pat on the knee, should I expect a pat on my hip???
A pat on the back will be ok
Judy
 
Judy, I would expect that you will get a very light pat on the side of your hip area like I did on my knee. Better that than having to pull down yer drawers to show the scar, isn't it!!! It is not intrusive at all....the two women I had do my wanding were very well trained and professional. It didn't bother me at all.

I asked about the body scanners that I had read were located in LAX and the gal told me they were in some of the larger terminals. We were flying Southwest and they didn't have any scanners as of yet.
 
Jamie
I made it through LAX on Delta last summer. Nothing went off. It did go off in florida . I'll see what happens now that I've added some more!!!
I really don't mind, I'd show my scar , well actually all of them.

Judy
 
And you should be proud of those war scars,Judy! You should have accompanying medals to go with each one of your surgeries, but then all the alarms would go off! Oh well! :)
 
Jamie... your thread was very timely for me. My husband and I will be flying Southwest the end of March. It'll only be an hour flight but I'll just be 6 months post-op, I'm a little nervous. Were you able to pre-board on SouthWest and get the 1st row seats? Did you have a letter to show the TSA screeners before going through security? I'm not sure I want anyone to "pat" my knee. I'd rather show them my scar!

Then mid-April we'll be taking a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise. We live in SoCal so we'll just be driving to San Pedro. Your thread gave me hope that maybe I won't set the ship's metal detectors off. Since I'll just be 6 1/2 months post-op, I suspect I'll be taking elevators much of the time, which is no big deal. I'm so looking forward to be waited on!
Sandy
 
Sandy, what cruise line are you going on? We were on a Mexican Riveiera cruise too - Norwegian Star. You should be fine!

The "pat" is really just a light touch....not a biggie and it would not hurt your knee. You probably would be allowed to pre-board if you asked to because your surgery is so new. I didn't because I have no problem with the leg room....one of the benefits of being SHORT!!!

Don't bother with letters or cards to show the TSA screeners. It won't make any difference in what they do. They have procedures to follow and anyone could make up a letter or card saying they had surgery. Just tell them about your knee as you are walking through the scanner. They deal with it every day and it's not a biggie from what they told me. The Southwest TSA staff was especially nice....can't speak for those in other terminals. They will try to accommodate you as much as they can within their requirements.

Hope you have a GREAT cruise!!!
 
Jamie... we'll be on the Sapphire Princess mid-April for my 70th and our son's and daughter-in-law's wedding gift. We're taking the whole family, including our 3 12 year old granddaughter. I think I'm more excited about being with her for a solid week, than the cruise itself... they live out of state so we can't just pop in when we get the urge.

For the flight the end of March, to visit friends, I hope I get a "nice" TSA screener that pats lightly... I intend to have my OS's letter handy just in case. My husband had 2 TKR's, 1st Dec. '07 and 2nd May '08. He wasn't completely healed when I had my TKR the end of Sept. '08. Don't know how the TSA's will handle the 2 of us setting off their alarms.
Sandy
 
Great progress!!

You have you life back and thats great. I am 12 weeks post and I have not traveled but I am doing things now that I have not been able to do in years.

Max
 
You'll enjoy meeting all the new milestones, Max. For me it has been a long time coming to this day where my knee is now becoming "invisible" in my life. What they tell you about the long recovery in my case was really true! Hang in there and smile at those steps forward!!
 
Although I've had my new knee only 8 months, I've had a pacemaker for about 3 years.
So I've been asking for pat downs for a long time. Just for the record I've been carrying around a card which says I have this implant, and I've never taken it out of my wallet. It seems that a pat down is almost viewed as more secure than the metal detector, so once you ask for a pat down the security is happy to comply. This has worked all over the US and western Europe. So go forth and enjoy, especially now that the exchange rate is a bit more reasonable. Condolences Jo.
 
Jamie it so good to hear that you were able to do everything you wanted to. That's what I'm dreaming of now and can see it beginning to happen already -- at only 4 and a half weeks. Before I had the TKR I read here all the posts about getting your life back. And I can really see it's true. People in my gym tell me I'm standing differently and my face looks different -- it doesn't have pain in it. I had no idea my face showed my knee pain and general distress at having to calculate every step. I already am feeling like I'm bouncing off the pavement when I walk I'm so happy. And just to think in time one can go up and down hills and walk and walk like you do when you travel -- it's just wonderful to contemplate. Not to mention going back to work and being able to do subways and NYC streets without worrying ----
I seem to get wanded alot when I fly because I'm always carrying so much equipment, computer etc. so dealing with the knee thing is the least of my worries. I never heard of asking for a patdown.... EDK but that sounds like an excellent idea..... I'll have to remember it ....
 
Jamie... we'll be on the Sapphire Princess mid-April for my 70th and our son's and daughter-in-law's wedding gift. We're taking the whole family, including our 3 12 year old granddaughter. I think I'm more excited about being with her for a solid week, than the cruise itself... they live out of state so we can't just pop in when we get the urge.

For the flight the end of March, to visit friends, I hope I get a "nice" TSA screener that pats lightly... I intend to have my OS's letter handy just in case. My husband had 2 TKR's, 1st Dec. '07 and 2nd May '08. He wasn't completely healed when I had my TKR the end of Sept. '08. Don't know how the TSA's will handle the 2 of us setting off their alarms.
Sandy

Your ship was docked right beside ours at San Pedro (ONE BIG SHIP!!!) and it sailed back to LA alongside us too. You will have a wonderful time. We usually cruise in the Caribbean and I was amazed at how calm the seas were on that run. Most of the time we hardly knew we were moving!!
 
Jamie it so good to hear that you were able to do everything you wanted to. That's what I'm dreaming of now and can see it beginning to happen already -- at only 4 and a half weeks. Before I had the TKR I read here all the posts about getting your life back. And I can really see it's true. People in my gym tell me I'm standing differently and my face looks different -- it doesn't have pain in it. I had no idea my face showed my knee pain and general distress at having to calculate every step. I already am feeling like I'm bouncing off the pavement when I walk I'm so happy. And just to think in time one can go up and down hills and walk and walk like you do when you travel -- it's just wonderful to contemplate. Not to mention going back to work and being able to do subways and NYC streets without worrying...

You ARE doing well for such a short time into recovery! For me, it took a long time before I was really comfortable doing the distances. But the thing I noticed looking back on the trip is how little I thought of my knee through it all. Amazing! You'll get there too!!!!
 
Okay, okay....I'm gettin' there! Recovery from vacation has been almost as much work as TKR recovery! Well, not quite....but just the laundry alone has been days!!! Ugh!!!
 
Ahhhhhhhhhh Jamie,
Back to real life after a wonderful Vacation is always a downer!! Ahhhhhhh but the memories will always be with you.(just in case your memory is not the best, did you take pictures???) LOL
^i^
 
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