First Physical Therapy

My day is almost over. It's 6:30 and I'm just finishing up my dinner. Stan, our son, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters have just gone down to the hospital cafeteria to have their dinner, then once we've all finished eating, they'll come back to my room to visit a little longer. I am supposedly being discharged tomorrow, which means that I'll be blogging from home this time on Thursday.

To take up where I left off, Stan and I ordered lunch and waited for the therapist to come take us to the group lunch and therapy. When we got to the JIM (Joints in Motion) room, we found nine other patients and their coaches. An orthopedic nurse talked to us about 15 minutes and then lunch arrived. The food is plain here, but quite good. I had a cheeseburger, chips, side salad, and fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt. Stan had a grilled cheese sandwich, chips, a side salad, and a piece of carrot cake. Once we had gulped down our food, therapy exercises began. Even though I'll be honest and say that some of the exercises hurt, it was entirely bearable. I was taken off the IV drip (morphine), but was given a percocet tablet right before therapy, so that also helped with the pain associated with therapy. If you are undergoing TKR, I would strongly advise you to take any pain medication that the nurses offer. I did very well in therapy and it did hurt, but without medication, I doubt I could have done any of the exercises. As it was, I could lift my leg 10 times quite easily. I could bend my knee, but this is the exercise that hurt. Stan was told to press my knee backward and he did, but it hurt. The other exercises were relatively simple: making "snow angels," doing heel slides, and completing many isometric exercises. When all of that was finished, it felt really good to stand up and walk out to the hall (using my walker, of course).

Although I wish I could have exercised more and walked more, I was taken back to my room and have been sitting in bed since 2:00. Not to be too indelicate, but suffice it to say that I can take care of all my bodily needs by myself now, so that's a relief! Stan has been with me all afternoon, of course, and we have had a pleasantly quiet, relaxing afternoon.

As soon as the family finishes their dinner, I'll send everyone home. Even though I consider that I had a good night last night, I'm pretty sleepy so I'll wish everyone (including me!) a good night's sleep.