A day at the hospital, non-emergency

[lowrider]

I've had a lot of orthopedic surgeries. When I had my bilateral hip replacements, I was sent home from the hospital with some strong stuff. I didn't like it and found that plain ibuprofen was enough to take the edge off.

Maybe she can try it.

Thanks for the update!

[Bob Womack]

Today was a major step forward with less pain and greater range of motion. She was able to reduce her pain meds. We wrapped her knee in Glad Press 'n Seal as directed and she was able to take her first shower. That was important to her because her leg was covered from upper thigh to toes in orange Betadyne antibacterial, making it look like a carrot! Now most of that is gone.

She also dabbled in her primary hobby, baking, creating biscuits for us to go with a supper of... breakfast. Yum! Just like at the end of a day of hiking, her appetite and tastes are unpredictable.

She is still spending most of the day in a recliner, icing the knee and wearing her "moon walker" circulation cuffs between her dogged sessions of physical therapy, but all-in-all it was a rewarding day!

Bob

[12barBill]

Glad to hear that Bob. Attitude is huge in this process. The first stage in the rehab for this is 4-6 weeks -- Decrease in swelling, increase in range of motion, decrease in pain with diligent PT (and the shoulders of a beloved husband to lean on). I hope progress continues.

[john57classic]

Bob, two things, first I’m glad overall things are going as well as they have been. I admire your dedication and her obvious tenacity.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, thank you and the wife for being so generous in sharing the experience. As someone who is apparently hurtling toward aTKR x 2, I truly appreciate getting real insight into the potential road ahead.
Thanks again and take care (both of you)

[rmp]

All good news Bob-- happy to read these results so far.

[Bob Womack]

Today was a mixed day. She is an active lady who typically spends her entire days on her feet. She is also a do-er. She is independent and is always up to something, so all this sitting around between physical therapy sessions to let things heal is agonizing to her.

I took her out in the car to try to stave off cabin fever and she enjoyed the expedition. We went to the grocery store where I picked up two items and she stayed int he car. We then went to a little cafe' where I went in and ordered a treat for lunch. Fun!

Also on the good side, she and I prepared dinner together - homemade burritos, our way.

She's one of those people who is only satisfied if she is the leader in her class. It is in her character to always push for excellence and superior performance in everything she does. In this case, that means she is always pushing her PT right to the edge. Today it finally caught up with her. On her third and final session of PT, the exercise that demanded the most flexion coupled with pressure became intensely painful and caused muscle cramps, and she had to end the session before the last exercise. I had tried to get her to moderate things a little but she felt she needed to push. After icing, things felt better.

Tomorrow the physical therapist comes and she'll be able to compare her progress to the norm and find out whether or not she's ahead of the game.

Bob

[Bob Womack]

The therapist came again yesterday. Her first step was to remove the last bandage, basically a ten inch long bandaid. With the bandage off, there is only a piece of clear surgical tape remaining and the incision is revealed. Our surgeon doesn't use stitches, instead opting for "surgical adhesive," ie. superglue, so that it leaves less of a scar. Before they go in, they determine the limits of the incision and mark them with a permanent marker. Soooo... She's got a bright livid purple "I" marked on her knee under the clear tape, with the vertical bass of the "I," the incision, being eight inches long. Flowing out from the "I" is a lovely sunburst of a bruise with yellow in the center and blue around the edges. The bruise is spreading all the way around her knee and involves a lurid green on the outboard side. She is still alternating therapy, and short runs of walking in the house with wearing the ice pack and "moon walker" circulation booster cuffs. She has been trying to limit her use of pain killers and as a result has been experiencing some pain. She has also noticed a lack of feeling in a patch on the outboard side of her knee, and some sharp tingling around the knee.

The therapist observed her range of motion, her ability to walk, and some of her exercises. They actually have a protractor-like device that they use to measure the range of motion, with a straightened knee being at 0' and the final goal of flexion rearward being between 120' and 130'. Seeing how hard my wife was pushing at the exercises the therapist said, "We want you to focus on your walking rather than the exercises." She also said, "You are WAAAY ahead of the curve of healing by about a week and a half." Of course, being a high-achiever, my wife beamed and felt much better about herself. The therapist also told her that she shouldn't stint on the pain meds because she can still expect pain, being only one week out from surgery.

After that, the therapist introduced a new exercise - she took my wife and I out on the road in front of our house and had my wife walk down to the end of the street, about one hundred yards, and back, observing her walk and coaching her to how to retrain her leg to walk properly. It was refreshing for her to get out and enjoy the first day of relatively moderate temperatures we've had. My wife was wearing a calf-length dress so she just looked like a gal with limp and a cane. My wife asked the therapist questions about the numbness and tingling and found out that it is normal to have some temporary loss of feeling because nerves have been cut and the tingling is them regenerating. The walking caused some pain so we iced and treated with meds.

Today we repeated the walk but she was wearing a miniskirt that showed off her incision brazenly. With her white sneakers and red skirt she was striking. It was fun to walk once again. Later she worked on the budget at the dining table for a while.

All in all, she feels better about her progress now.

Bob

[12barBill]

That's good to hear Bob. I hope the progress continues. I'm sure walking 100 yards down the street and back is, in a way, a feeling of accomplishment and maybe gives some reassurance that "this will pass."

[Bob Womack]

We've reached another milestone, for those of you who are reading along:

Two weeks since surgery.

Yesterday featured another physical therapist visit. The therapist brought new exercises, these performed in a standing posture. The flexibility measurement was 0'-110', meaning that my wife can now straighten her leg all the way but is still slightly limited in her rearward flexion. Those weren't supposed to be introduced until her third week, but the therapist is quite enthused at her progress. According to her, she will visit twice more and then discharge my wife. We did get an interesting piece of news from the Therapist: she suggests that for the rest of her life my wife holds the handrail when walking on stairs. Interesting.

We have also taken several small excursions. Wednesday we went to the grocery store. I dropped my wife at the door and she got on one of the motorized scooter/carts as we shopped for a few items. She is really enjoying not being home bound. The pain continues as she pushes through the barriers but it is good to know that this is to be expected. Yesterday we went down to the pharmacy and picked up a refill for one of her pain meds. She has worked herself down to using the lightest pain med during the day and then taking one of the higher pain meds per day at night before she goes to bed. She still has nights where the pain wakes her up a bit. Monday we had our first "date" since surgery. I took her out for Mexican food and we sat and looked into each others' eyes while eating. A small triumph!

We are taking regular walks around the neighborhood these days and she stops to talk to the neighbors without additional pain. So, great progress again.

Bob

[12barBill]

I am reading along and have had you both in my thoughts.

Her motivation and your support is a key to success. It seems she is doing great for two weeks post surgery. A six week time frame is a marker for outcome. She is on course for great results, and you are part of that. Ultimately, six months is a target for things to return to some physically normalcy. It seems your partnership is a guiding force in getting her through this or you would not be offering these updates. Bless you both. Thoughts and prayers to you both.

[Photojeep]

So great to hear about her progress! Very impressive for sure. She is way ahead of where I was at the same time post-op. The ice will continue to be her friend for awhile yet, at least it was for me. From your description of her bruising, she's also way ahead of my progress as well (I'm sensing a pattern here ...)

I remember how wonderful it was to go out to eat the first time after the surgery so I'm very glad to know you're taking her out.

I wish the very best to you both (and I'm a little jealous that she can fully straighten her leg this soon. It took me about 8 weeks so I gotta give her props for that!)

Best,
PJ

[lowrider]

Bob, hope all is still going well.

I have two things. I remember when I was recovering from my bilateral hip replacements and starting with the cane, the PT told me not to limp. If you limp, you'll have to unlearn the limp.

Also, this one I discovered on my own. Take her to the supermarket and let her walk with the carriage, looking down the aisle. She'll be able to see if she's rocking and the carriage will give her a little support.

Good luck to both of you. Keep up the good work!

[Bob Womack]

So, here we are at three weeks post-op. My wife has been to a restaurant, visited Tractor Supply for bird seed, and has become stir crazy enough to begin cooking. Of course, it might have been the quality of my cooking. Her therapists have said she no longer has a balance issues but they suggest she take her cane with her in public because people tend to give people with canes a wide berth, and that could prevent someone from jostling her and knocking her down.

Therapy is progressing, with the last measurement of her flexion being 0'-120'. The home therapists are ready to discharge her and she will be moving to outpatient therapy at a clinic. Meanwhile, the latest round of exercises are pretty brutal and she's experiencing much more pain as a result of them. We are still icing and she is using mild pain killers and anti-inflammatories. Sleeping time is when she has the worst discomfort. We will be seeing the surgeon on September sixth. Before that she is unable to drive.

Thanks for you interest!

Bob

[lowrider]

I'm glad that things are progressing and more exercise causes more pain. She just shouldn't overdo it. It looks to me like she is doing a great job with her recovery.

Congratulations to her, and keep up the good work!!

[Nymuso]

Glad to hear she is progressing, Bob. I used to live in your area so you might or might not have gone to the hospital where I worked as a CRNA for over thirty years. So when my wife needed a hip we knew which doc we wanted and who we wanted on the OR team.

All rehabs are unique, some easier than others. I will say that two years post-op, when we flew last spring, it took my wife several minutes to figure out why she kept tripping the metal detector. In time, so will your wife.