While there are a few personal accounts of Total Knee Replacement (TKR) experiences out there on the internet, several questions I had were not answered. So, from a “girl” point of view, I offer up an account of my TKR surgery from a more practical point of view.
Although you don’t need to know a lot about my personal history or circumstances, I will tell you that I am a public school elementary teacher who has been experiencing knee pain for about 6 years. Until about 18-24 months ago, it was controllable by taking Bufferin (my favorite pain killer) and ibuprofen. I was able to do just about anything I wanted to do except run (which I never did anyway). During the last 18-24 months, however, my knees started feeling much worse. I still took painkillers and I still led a very busy life, working all day, going to all those faculty and committee meetings in the evening, and teaching an adult ed class two evenings a month. My husband (let’s call him Stan) and I keep quite busy helping out with the grandchildren (2 early elementary girls) and spending time with our son and daughter-in-law who live a couple of miles away. We go as often as possible to visit/help my mother who is in her mid- 80s. She lives 650 miles away, so it’s a long haul to get there, but we try to drive to see her every 6-8 weeks. Although she lives in an apartment building that is restricted to senior citizens (62+ years requirement) which has the convenience of a good cafeteria and the amenities of social groups and activities, I’m an only child, so I feel a great obligation to do whatever needs to be done for her that she can’t do for herself. We also have a son who lives 750 miles away with his wife and two preschool children, and we drive to visit them three times a year. Once (or sometimes twice) a year, we have the whole family in our house for a holiday (sometimes Christmas, sometimes July 4, even Halloween!).
The point of all this is that I want you to understand that I felt I was too busy to go to an orthopedist, and certainly too busy to have TKR. There was never a point in my year when I had 6-8 weeks free and clear for surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation. That all changed two days after school was out this year.
On June 22, right before we were due to leave on a family visit tour, I went to an orthopedist, thinking he would give me a cortisone shot, maybe recommend a few weeks of physical therapy, and that would be that. Instead, I was told that my left knee was in such bad shape that I was in danger of suffering much more extensive damage. Because I’m a teacher and have to go back to work late in August, and because of the precarious condition of my knee, I was scheduled for surgery on July 12. My surgeon gave my right knee a cortisone shot, told me to enjoy my visit with the family, and that he’d see me July 12. I was in total shock and almost numb with the sudden and unexpected bad news, but there was too much to do to dwell on my shock for very long.
For the next two days, I was in a panic. We were scheduled to leave on a two week visit to family (our son, and then after 8 days there, to my mother’s for 5 days), so I had two days to get my pre-operative physical and all my lab tests completed. Added to this, I was still working mornings, writing curriculum for my school district. By the afternoon of June 24, however, everything had been accomplished and, Saturday noon, June 25, we left on the first leg of our journey. Over the course of the next two weeks, I had a wonderful time with my family, celebrated my 62nd birthday, and once at my mother’s, worked hard running errands for her, attending to her medical needs, and visiting with other friends and relatives in my hometown.
My husband and I drove home, arriving on July 10, and on Monday morning, July 11, I took care of several items of business related to my impending surgery. There was also much unpacking, washing of clothes, and organizing and, in addition, we babysat our two granddaughters all day. In a way, it was a little hard not to have a quiet day to make sure everything was in order, but on the other hand, I’d probably have been in a tizzy and would have gotten myself more and more worried, so we enjoyed the day, had a fun little-kid lunch out at McDonald’s and generally tried to survive the oppressive heat. It's comforting to be back in a normal routine, even if it is only for a day.
My last evening at home will be spent going over final preparations around the house, showering with Hibiclens, washing my hair, and watching a little TV. There comes a point when you just want it to be over!
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