The Saga of Becoming Bionic

Here I am at week 11. It's been almost three months since my knee replacement surgery. As a relatively young joint replacement patient, I've certainly underestimated the length and ease of recovery. It's been a tough road that has tested my patience at every turn. Patience has never been my strength and I hate the uncertainty of waking up each day wondering how my knee will feel. A fellow patient recently sent me this meme, which sums it up perfectly.

Since it's been quite a few years since I've blogged, I'll share a bit of history for everyone. In July 2015 I had my first hip replaced and in July 2017 my second. While these were also major surgeries with fairly difficult recoveries, by 12 weeks I was mobile without a cane and feeling mostly back to normal. I was able to travel, there was no swelling, and no more need to ice and elevate. I remember feeling such a relief from the pain of bone on bone, that the recovery from surgery felt like something I could handle. Once my hips were fixed, it became evident that my left knee would be next. After years of compensating for my out of whack hips, this knee was crooked, weak, and completely void of cartilage. I had very little range of motion and got to the point where every day held some type of pain and stiffness.

It seems July is the month for my joint replacements. I felt very prepared for this one. Since I'd been through replacement of both hips, I figured this would be similar. My wonderful mother is a teacher, so she can take some time to come help me with the first couple of weeks of recovery. There really is nothing like having mom there when you're recovering from surgery. The early weeks were pretty similar. Ice, elevate, take pain meds, eat, nap, try to focus on TV or books. We had a major heat wave in Virginia, so I'm sure my mom was going stir crazy. But 100 degrees was too much for me and I wanted to be inside, close to my ice machine. But by the start of week three, I felt confident that I could be independent and my mom went home (my poor dad sure did miss her!). 

Other than the typical post-op blues and frustration of the slow healing process, I felt like things were  progressing at least. I had a wonderful vacation planned (a Mediterranean cruise!) at week 9 and my doctor said I'd be fine, just to take it slow. My vacation was amazing...hard at times with a lot of walking...but amazing! I even managed to hike up to the Parthenon in Athens! Ms. Knee was feeling great and getting stronger each week. Until week 11.

Here I am at week 11. Feeling new soreness and stiffness. My range of motion is still lousy. I still rely on my cane more than I'd like. I still have to ice and elevate every day (sometimes more than once). It feels like one step forward and a million steps back. So, I continue to cultivate patience. I pray for comfort and healing power. I listen to my body and try to find the balance between gaining strength and taking it easy. And have I mentioned I'm trying to be patient?