Knee, Part 2

Aug 10, 2023

Three weeks ago, I wrote about having my total knee replacement.

Since then, I’ve had some pretty darned good experiences.

Between getting my hip replaced 16 months prior and hobbling around the house with two bad knees, I’ve been pretty practiced at performing normal activities. Like climbing stairs, walking the dog, getting in and out of the car. With the new knee, it was like “ok, so what’s different?”

My first night out of the hospital I was able to climb the 30 steps to my bedroom on the third floor. Oh, and I could come back down the next morning. Whew!

I started off using a walker. Fortunately, the VFW has them available to borrow so I had one for each of the three floors. Convenient!

After about 5 days I started using a cane in the house but kept using the walker outdoors. This lasted for another week and I jettisoned the walker.

I’m now using the cane outdoors and am able to get around the house without it if I’m careful.

Life was good.

And then physical therapy started.

Here’s the table where pain is administered:

Oh, the torture! Lay on my back, take a strap, put it on the foot of my bad leg and lift the entire straight leg 45 degrees in the air. PAIN! Hold it 20 seconds. MORE PAIN! Do that three times. ARRRRRRRRGH!

Or, lay on my back, slide my shoeless foot back to my butt. 10 times, rest and repeat two more times. OUCH!

Here’s a good one. Sit on the side of the torture table with my legs dangling. Cross my good leg over the front of my bad leg and push the bad leg back. Pain! Now, use this roller thingy to massage my thigh. Like a freakin’ meat tenderizer! Oh, and run the roller on my thigh for 5 minutes! Cannibals are salivating over my now very tender thigh.