Lunch and Shopping

Beginning Monday, there will be more TKR-specific news because that's when I begin out-patient physical therapy. I have very little idea about what to expect from this, so we'll all be enlightened after my first session on Monday. For now, however, I will report on daily life, 18 days after TKR surgery.

Is life back to normal? No....but almost. It has been (aside from the incredible, awful heat) a lovely day. Stan and I had a normal morning: breakfast, email and web browsing, exercise. While I went upstairs to shower, do laundry, and watch TV, Stan went out in the yard to do some prep work for a short walkway he's installing. At 11:00, we left to drive to Manassas where we went to one of our favorite restaurants for an early lunch (Red, Hot, and Blue) and then we went to Kohl's to shop. You know, it's not a big deal to wander around a store, pick out a few items, try them on, and then purchase some of them. At least, it's not a big deal until you've had knee surgery and you weren't sure if you'd even be able to walk more than a few steps just 18 days later. I'm delighted to say that I did just fine, didn't get particularly tired, had a good time, and bought three cute new blouses. What a nice, normal outing! Although I feel confident I could have gone elsewhere and done more, Stan and I decided not to push our luck, so we drove home. Before I leave this topic, I'll mention that, after much internal debate, I took one Percocet before leaving home so that I would be able to walk around and enjoy the day. I wasn't in any pain or feeling particularly stiff or sore before we left, and I almost didn't take it, but in the end, I did. Would I have done just as well without the Percocet? I sort of think I would, but I don't know, of course. It's the only Percocet I'd taken in over 24 hours, the Bufferin and ibuprofen having been sufficient around the house. Just thought I'd mention this.....

After getting home and trying on my clothes, Stan persuaded me to go downstairs to the basement to take a nap. It's really cold down there which, on this miserably hot day, seemed like a very good idea, so down I went. After watching TV and then reading for about 45 minutes, I fell asleep in the nice, big, soft bed and enjoyed the feeling of snuggling under covers. What a treat in the middle of summer!

Stan has been working outside, but the heat finally drove even him inside, so now it's almost evening. It's the time of day when we start looking forward to the sun going down so that the world can start to cool off a little. Another round of exercises still to come, but that's about all that we have planned for the rest of the day. But how nice to have a normal Saturday!