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TKR Turtle still hoping to cross the finish line

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Re: a little reassurance needed

Today I got a pep talk and came to realize I'm doing more than enough for my mom. It's so easy to feel as if one should be doing more. Got her in to be evaluated for urinary tract infection, and the urine was positive, so she's on antibiotics. UTI result in mental changes in the elderly. We'll see. I do know about your father's scenario, Coachie, because a neighbor of mine had that.

Saw my ortho today, and yes, I have bursitis in the medial/anterior knee. I'm supposed to ice it (already am), and do hamstring stretches with my foot turned out. It was a re-assuring visit and I'm glad I went. Also learned that because of my arthrofibrosis, my synovial membrane was thickened, resulting in more joint effusion than normal. But it will normalize over time. Yeah for that.

Thanks for your kind words, Jo & Coachie.
 
Re: a little reassurance needed

Mary,

I am so sorry to hear about your Mom! Having two siblings, especially one who just can't be bothered must be tough!

When I was 24 we found out my Dad had brain cancer.
He went from being a Dad to a little kid in the 22 months he lived.
My sister was a leasing apt manager, so Mom moved Dad into one the the apts in town so that he could be closer to the hospital and hospice. My sister helped take care of him, and after I was finished with my teaching and coaching duties, I would leave for a 3 hour drive on Friday, and stay until late Sunday. It was the toughest two years of my life, but I wouldn't have done it any different!

Your siblings are going to wish that they had be able to take a bigger role, because they are missing out on taking care of Mom,when she took care of them until they left home! I admire your courage and strength! :wow2:
 
Re: a little reassurance needed

Mary, I can completely understand what you must be going through. My dad was taking care of my mother who had dementia in various stages for many years. When it finally got bad, I did get them to move a couple of blocks from me so I could stop in frequently and help. Then dad died unexpectedly from lung cancer and I struggled with deciding what to do for my mom. I had a job and I needed to go back to work. I had been off from September through January when dad died.

Mom needed 24/7 care and I looked and looked for a caregiver that would live in with her....no one to be found. I was so happy when I finally found an excellent Assisted Living facility that would accept her and allow her to stay until she died that November.

The thing I remember most about that caregiving was how all-consuming it was. Even though I loved my parents dearly, it took everything I had to take care of them during that 14 months. Even with my mom in her assisted living apartment with great staff who took fabulous care of her, I still was worn out. I went there every day at least once, sometimes twice, to eat with her, and just spend time. It was usually a couple of hours with each visit plus my regular job.

My husband was an absolute saint. He bore the brunt of our home plus his job all that time and never complained. But it still got to me. Sometimes I would be so tired and frustrated that I would just scream and cry in my car all the way home (about 1/2 mile).

Please try to take care of yourself as much as you can. You need LOTS of rest to deal with all this. God bless you for your love and attention to your mother. I know this is something important to both of you. (((HUGS)))
 
Re: a little reassurance needed

Five months post TKA and two months post arthroscopy, I finally worked up the nerve to have a dinner party. It was wonderful. In preparing for it, I dismantled my little nest where I'd spent much of my recuperation and had still been retreating to several times a day to ice and elevate (still icing and elevating and taking rests though). Getting back some of my stamina, confidence, and a cheerier outlook. The nurse-manager of the OR where I had my TKA invited me to come in and apply for per diem work way back when I had my original surgery. I think I might just do that.
 
Re: a little reassurance needed

Yeah Mary!:yahoo:

It sounds like you are making great progress! Dismantling the "nest" is always a big step!:wink1:

I am so happy to hear about the possibility of your getting a job! That would be great to work part time and get out of the house and get back to what you love doing!:biggrin:
 
Re: a little reassurance needed

Two milestones today . . .

Did a fair amount of yardwork and gardening today.

Even better, I was able to straighten my knee on my own for the first time since early in recovery. Had noticed a while back that my TKA leg was shorter. It didn't occur to me that the reason was it was not fully straight. In church today I could place my weight on both legs evenly!

Josephine, would you be so kind as to change this thread title to "turtle's progress" or something that I can use in the long run?
 
Re: a little reassurance needed

Hi, Mary. I haven't been on for a few days and I just read your thread. Sorry to hear the tough time you have been undergoing. I so understand the issues with the care of an elder parent. My only sibling lives in the far southern USA and so my husband and I had full responsibility for my mother from the time my father died many years ago. My husband also was my rock!! We worked so hard to keep her happy and comfortable for so long, until she passed away a few months before I had my LTKR. I also remember feeling that I had not done enough for her, but a few months before she passed away, she said that I was never to feel guilty because she felt that I had been such a loving and caring daughter - needless to say, my Mom was an amazingly compassionate person. We were so fortunate that her mind remained fairly clear for a long time. But please let go of the guilt and know that your Mom also appreciates everything you are doing, even though she is unable to express it to you. She would also want you to take time off from her care to take good care of yourself. You are an amazing and very caring person!

I'm happy to hear that you are getting back to many of your normal activities. My knee also gets tight from time to time and I have a little trouble getting going each day. But there are also times when I forget all about my TKR and those are great days!

Hope things continue to improve for you. I think of you often and enjoy reading your posts. Take care
Maggie
 
Re: a little reassurance needed

Oh Mary That is the best news!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so happy for you to be able to have the dinner party and then also a little gardening and the prospect of a new job. Looks to me that the turtle is pulling ahead haha !!! I am so happy for you. Good things do come to us who wait. Best wishes for a continued recovery.:thumb:
 
Mary, what fabulous progress! Good for you, girl...I'm so happy to hear you have accomplished some new milestones. And you have more in the basket to get to soon. Excellent!!

I changed your thread title for you. I hope it's okay....let me know if you prefer something else.
 
Mary you are doing great!:yahoo:

It is so nice to hear of the improvements your knee has made!
Keep going and you will be as good as new in no time!


 
Thanks Jamie for changing my thread name. It feels like home now!

I guess I'm superstitious because as soon as I notice out loud some milestone I have a setback. Yesterday lots of pain, took pain meds four times in 24 hours instead of once or twice. Oh well. Temporary!
 
((((HUGS))))).....yes, it is temporary.....keep that thought!!!
 
Indeed it is. And remember that pain management isn't a straight line. It's like a roller coaster ride, lots of ups and downs.

[Bonesmart.org] Turtle still hoping to cross the finish line
​
 
One of my challenges is keeping the faith when I have a low point. I do know I have a fair amount of effusion which is anticipated to take a month or two to resolve. I tell myself I'll flex another 10 degrees more when that happens. Also my knee is so differently shaped than the other. It's a little bizarre looking. I just have to lower my expectations.

The other day I walked along Maine's notoriously rough, rocky shoreline . . . and bushwhacked in the woods yesterday. Last year I had stopped doing much walking and stayed away from rough territory because the knee had become unreliable.

I did not have much pain and disability when I had surgery, unlike so many others who have been miserable for months or years. I have more pain now! But I trust at my anniversary I'll be able to say I'm better than before surgery.
 
Just thinking out loud (comments welcome!) . . . I've been going to exercise class and I'm starting to wonder if some of the things we do are exacerbating my knee. Got pes anserinus bursitis (medial knee area). So I said today to myself, "Self, how about just doing the exercises and stretches you KNOW help your knee, including walks, and leave out the other stuff for now and see how that goes?" I can stretch to 110/115. But each morning when I get my bend to, say, 85, it's stiff and sore and so it takes me a while to get past that. Icing, taking NSAIDs, occasional pain med. I'd like to get out of this stage and onto the next -- maybe even start working a little again!!
 
Mary
My knee didn't start to improve until I stopped exercising my knee and annoying it. My doc (not the OS) told me just to let my activities of daily living gently get my knee back on line.
Although I have been out ice climbing this winter, and playing in the woods (BLACK FLIES:hairpulling:), I have not lifted any weights with my legs and have stopped the treadmill, stopped all the **** that was annoying my knee/ Go figure, it got better!!!! Once they get all the sand off the roads to my liking, will get bavk on my bike.
Best
Sandy
 
Love the roller coaster, Jo.

Jo, I am not able to fit the disclaimer along with my knee history in my signature. Any suggestions?
 
You had too much coding in your signature, that was why. Every time you put in a colour or font and then delete it, the text goes but not the coding which looks like [font = times] etc. A message box can quickly fill up with coding this way but it all counts towards the maximum number of characters permitted and you get a message saying the box if full when there's almost nothing in it! To make this coding visible to us hit the Switch Editor Mode button on the top right hand side of the WYSIWYG Editor bar

(I'm sure you wanted to know that little snippet of information! :th_heehee:)
 
Jo, followed your instructions but still not successful - ?

Oh, now that I posted it I see it all fit. Brilliant!
 
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