Yet another knee surgery thread

W2R,

Congrats on your quick recovery.

When I lived in Metairie I enjoyed running on the levee next to Lake Pontchartrain.
 
Moemg said:
Glad to hear you are doing so well ! You rocked that surgery !
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Thank you!!! It sure is a tough surgery, and the initial recovery is tough too. But now I am getting to the fun part, becoming more active and being able to do much more than before. :D

You should have seen me zipping down the corridors in my surgeon's office suite! I was being cautious and not going faster than was safe for me. But still, F was having a hard time keeping up with me. I have to admit that I was secretly giggling about that. Mobility is so much fun. :)
 
W2R,

I've read that beignets and cafe au lait promote faster healing.

Laissez les bon temps rouler!!
 
W2R,

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you are making GREAT progress. It has to be such a thrill for you to be able to start walking longer distances with your rollator and even driving! :dance:

And you're already making plans for your other knee next year. Yay you!

(Hard to believe it's only been 7 weeks.)

omni
 
omni550 said:
W2R,

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you are making GREAT progress. It has to be such a thrill for you to be able to start walking longer distances with your rollator and even driving! :dance:

And you're already making plans for your other knee next year. Yay you!

(Hard to believe it's only been 7 weeks.)

omni
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Thank you! I know I still have a lot of work to do, building up my walking distance from 100 yards to a mile and then more, but it's going to be fun as well as hard work.
 
You are doing well. Give the knee time to heal itself.

Soon you will start hitting those inflection points where you suddenly think, "Two weeks ago I could not do this and that. Today, I did them and it happened so fast and easily that didn't even think about it."

It's kinds of like boiling water. You spend a quite a bit of time and energy increasing the temperature more and more and very little happens. The water stays a liquid. Then it hits a temperature where it starts to boil like crazy and turns into vapor.
 
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W2R--
Great update, sounds like you are healing wonderfully!
Take care and enjoy those walks to continue to build strength :)
 
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W2R,

What a wonderful progress report! I'm so glad all your hard work to this point has paid off so handsomely!

Before you know it you'll be dancing in a Mardi Gras parade. :dance: :D
 
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Your post made my heart happy. ;) Your progress has been encouraging to follow. I'm at 12 weeks now, and and can't believe how much changes from week to week. My stamina is almost back to normal. I see my OS on Friday and hope I don't have to go back until I'm ready for the right knee.

If I ever ended up seated on the floor, I am not sure how or if I could ever get up. One of these days when F is over here I'll work on that dilemma and figure it out.
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I've been taking yoga for years, and I had the same concern. My yoga teacher reminded me it was as easy as doing downward facing dog. It was tough at first, but as my flexibility got better, it really was the answer. And get next to something to brace yourself, like a table, or a sturdy chair, just in case. https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/downward-facing-dog
 
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Wow, impressive. Glad to read that things are going so wonderfully for you.
 
Thanks, all!!

F took me for some driving practice at a big empty parking lot, after which I drove 10 miles down the busiest street in town to get us back home. My reaction time was great, and my knee didn't hurt a bit. So now I can drive. :dance:

Then he adjusted the length of my cane to see if that will make it more usable for me.
 
W2R said:
Thanks, all!!

F took me for some driving practice at a big empty parking lot, after which I drove 10 miles down the busiest street in town to get us back home. My reaction time was great, and my knee didn't hurt a bit. So now I can drive. :dance:

Then he adjusted the length of my cane to see if that will make it more usable for me.
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Happy to hear of your progress. Getting out and about without help is a real milestone - and morale booster.
 
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MichaelB said:
Happy to hear of your progress. Getting out and about without help is a real milestone - and morale booster.
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Thank you, MichaelB!

My big accomplishment for today is that I drove us to lunch, and on the way home we stopped by Trader Joe's and I bought some eggs and yogurt. This was just a test run to see if I could do it independently later on.

So I am not only getting back to normal, I am getting better than normal since I couldn't do things like this before my surgery. :D

Then we came home and I did a big load of laundry and put it away.
 
Well, look at you, W2R!

Driving, shopping, laundering, all on the same day, no less. What's next?

Congrats, you're well on your way to independence! :dance:

omni
 
OK, here's the bottom line:

I know everybody is wondering what this costs since we all have a head for money, or we wouldn't be here.

I think I have all the information about costs (famous last words! :LOL:).

Anyway, to sum up what I think is the total, including surgeon visits and lab tests before and after surgery, PCP visit in the hospital, surgery, anesthesia, hospital stay, medications, and just everything:

$61,763 costs submitted
$12,312.62 costs allowed

Of these costs allowed, $8255.45 went to the hospital, $1121.69 to the surgeon for the surgery itself, and the rest went for various other stuff.

Here's who paid:

$10,302.43 paid by Medicare (Medicare is primary for me)
$1,995.19 paid by federal employee/retiree BCBS Standard insurance
$15.00 paid by me (for my share of the cost of medications from Walgreen's after returning home from the hospital; covered by BCBS)

According to edmunds dot com, the MSRP for a Toyota Corolla starts at $19,600. So, my knee cost less than a Corolla. Now it may not be quite as speedy, but it sure is fun to "drive" as I get back into my happy, normal retired life.
 
According to Medicare a lot of the charges for my knee where paid for as part of ‘another payment’. Exactly what that payment is and when it was paid is not on any statement I have seen.
 
Congratulations W2R. My daughter had both knees replaced (not at same time) and it took a while to heal. Now she walks several miles every day. She thinks the surgeries were well worth the recovery misery.
 
Chuckanut said:
According to Medicare a lot of the charges for my knee where paid for as part of ‘another payment’. Exactly what that payment is and when it was paid is not on any statement I have seen.
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That's sure puzzling!

I have been getting regular info from BCBS, which is where I got all the dollar values from. Medicare really hasn't sent me anything, maybe because they know BCBS is doing that.

BCBS broke down the charges further, but wasn't terribly specific. For example, the hospital charges include sixteen separate charges for unspecified prescription drugs and sixteen lines of charges for unspecified diagnostic lab tests, all paid to the hospital and incurred during the time I was in the hospital.

And then, there was a charge by the hospital for surgery (probably for the availability of the operating room and OR nurses and other staffing and insurance?) and another one for anesthesia, both very substantial charges. My surgeon used the hospital's nurse anesthetists instead of an anesthesiologist, so I am assuming that there wasn't an additional multi-thousand dollar fee for that, that I don't know about.

Eagle43 said:
Congratulations W2R. My daughter had both knees replaced (not at same time) and it took a while to heal. Now she walks several miles every day. She thinks the surgeries were well worth the recovery misery.
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Thank you! I am very happy with my knee so far, even just 7 weeks into recovery. I can do so much that I couldn't previously do. My surgeon, on the other hand, wants me to be able to do more and have a huge range of motion. But really I am not an Olympic gymnast and I can already do all of my normal life activities (many of which I couldn't do before this surgery) like drive to a store and go shopping, cook, clean house, go for a walk, and everything else that is relevant to my particular life. I do need to build up my walking time and stamina, but that will just take time and persistence.

Also I have not been to the gym yet because it is too soon for that, but that is an activity I am looking forward to in the future. I'd love to get back to weight lifting if/when my surgeon gives me the OK for that. If not, I can accept that.
 
W2R said:
I know everybody is wondering what this costs since we all have a head for money, or we wouldn't be here.

I think I have all the information about costs (famous last words! :LOL:).

Anyway, to sum up what I think is the total, including surgeon visits and lab tests before and after surgery, PCP visit in the hospital, surgery, anesthesia, hospital stay, medications, and just everything:

$61,763 costs submitted
$12,312.62 costs allowed

Of these costs allowed, $8255.45 went to the hospital, $1121.69 to the surgeon for the surgery itself, and the rest went for various other stuff.

Here's who paid:

$10,302.43 paid by Medicare (Medicare is primary for me)
$1,995.19 paid by federal employee/retiree BCBS Standard insurance
$15.00 paid by me (for my share of the cost of medications from Walgreen's after returning home from the hospital; covered by BCBS)

According to edmunds dot com, the MSRP for a Toyota Corolla starts at $19,600. So, my knee cost less than a Corolla. Now it may not be quite as speedy, but it sure is fun to "drive" as I get back into my happy, normal retired life.
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So honestly this isn't a lot of money is it? Actually it's pretty lowball. Your surgeons bill most likely included pre-op and post-op visits and everything in between.

When my DH has his surgery gone wrong he was in the OR on a by-pass machine for around 8 hours he then spent 3 night and 4 days in the ICU and another 5 nights on a dedicated cardiac ward. He had numerous and plentiful lab work, xrays, meds and 3 therapists. Not to mention a few blood transfusions. After the hospital appealed the initial amount medicare paid, they settle on a grand total of 60K for ALL care given in the hospital. Frankly I don't that's a lot of money considering what all this actually costs the hospital in wages, facilities, and supplies. We did not receive an actual breakdown of the costs from either Medicare or BC, but I imagine the Medicare knockdown was substantial.

This is a world class nationally recognized heart care hospital and frankly if my DH hadn't been there he probably would not be here today. I'm not certain how theses places are supposed to improve care and actually make enough money to keep their doors open. Just another sign of things to come in health care I guess...
 
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