My right knee is fine, but that left knee is showing bone on bone which is classic arthritis.
I’m four months out from my total left knee replacement. Now, I’m happy about my new knee. I couldn’t have said that just a few short weeks ago. It’s no easy undertaking. It’s been a process of years, but the changes and improvements are developing quickly now. Initially, I fostered denial that I was actually ready for TKR. I’ve been in denial for years. I was willing to allow my quality of life erode, and to accept increments of limitation to my normally very active lifestyle, as long as I could do the things I always used to do. I just kept on keeping on, compensating, ignoring the unpleasantries of pain with which I lived. Pain becomes a companion, an ally. I found that I did things around the pain that ramped up subtly over the years until I could no longer ignore it. So I had surgery at Mayo Clinic on May 7. Since then, I’ve gone through the early, more difficult phases of recovery and rehab. In subsequent posts, I’ll share total knee replacement from start to now. I can’t yet say finish, because I’ll be actively rehabbing another year or more. And then the constant, chronic maintenance of conditioning awaits me. I anticipate it with optimism. Only a breif four months post-surgery, I look forward to keeping my renewed knee conditioned and healthy. It’s been worth the trials. If you want to know what it’s like, I’ll share it with you. Subsequent posts will cover:
- Preliminaries
- The reason why
- The years since
- Approaching the thresh hold
- Tipping the balance
- The last five months
- Surgery
- The first week
- Pain report Weeks 1-2
- On the Stationary cycle by Day 14
- Drugs
- Home recovery
- Early rehab/flexibility exercises
- Walking progress
- Going to the lake (expecting the miracle cure)
- Five week landmark (June 11)
- Diet and weight loss
- Weather and ice
- The longest day of the year
- Eight weeks by my Bday
- No travel on the Fourth
- Eight week check up July 9
- Back to work
- September in the Boundary Waters