harllee - I was all set to pull the trigger on an ice machine, when my neighbor told me she had one she would loan me. It had been on loan to a friend in another state. She had returned it via UPS, and it was due to arrive in a day or two. Then I noticed that I was sleeping through the night, and experiencing a drastic reduction in the amount of pain I was feeling. When my neighbor's ice machine arrived suddenly, it didn't seem worth all the trouble to set it up, and keep it stocked with ice (or ice packs). I decided to try life without the ice machine and, so far, it has been going well. If I had done my homework in advance, I would have realized that I could have really used one in the few weeks immediately following surgery, but I think I left it too late.
Yesterday, my PT measured my flexion at 117°, and extension at a slightly less impressive 7°. However, at 3 1/2 weeks after surgery, she said I was doing fine, and on track to get to zero degrees of extension, and 125° of flexion by the 6 week mark - and more flexion after. Even better, I visited the physician's assistant today, and he was happy with my progress. He was very happy to see my flexion. Then he put me on the exam table to look at my extension. Although he didn't measure it, he thought it was pretty close to 2 degrees today, and a good result for where I am in my recovery. He removed the stitches, and wants to see me again in a month, for X-rays, so they can make sure everything is ship-shape. I now believe that the hard time he gave me 2 weeks ago, was simply to get me to do some serious stretching. I did - and it seems to have yielded some results.
This surgery and recovery has been a physical and emotional rollercoaster ride. I was in a very different place just a couple of weeks ago, and was not a happy camper. In the space of a few weeks, I have gone from regretting the surgery, to developing a newfound sense of pride for my replacement knee. Suddenly, I am thinking of all the long walks I will be able to go on, and the trips - things that would not have been possible with the old knee.
Thank you for asking harllee. In short, I am doing much better!
PS - a quick story. Although my knee pain is much lower, I am still a bit creaky in the mornings. It takes a while to get fully moving. Yesterday morning, some old back issues flared up, just when I least needed them. I got out of bed, and lay on the sofa for a few minutes. Then I thought it would be nice to have a cup of tea. However, with the combination of my bad back and slightly creaky knee, the simple act of getting up off the sofa took quite a bit of planning. It was funny. What can I say? I am gradually falling apart! However, I have a good sense of humor, which always makes the days go by more merrily!
