Not that it has anything to do with knees or health, but I simply must mention the weather. Today the temperature here reached 105 degrees, the hottest it's ever been on any day ever here--not the highest temperature for this date ever, but the highest temperature ever. I worry quite a lot that the electricity will fail, and I cannot imagine how miserable that would be, so let's all hope that the electric grid can hold out for at least another day.
Back to the topic at hand, I must say that this has been an excellent day. Before TKR surgery, one of my persistent questions was, "When will I.....?" When will I be able to stand up? When will I be able to climb stairs? Use a cane? Take a shower? Go outside?
The question of when I would be able to go outside was answered this morning, and the answer was that it occurred much earlier than I would have imagined. At Stan's suggestion, I walked out the front door this morning, down the steps, and got into the car. Just for a bit of diversion, Stan drove us around a couple of surrounding neighborhoods. Actually, the angle at which my knee was positioned in the car became uncomfortable after about 15 minutes, so I asked to go home, but it was very nice to get out and see the world. Once we returned to the house, I walked (with my cane) about halfway down the block, then turned around and came back to the house. Had it been a nice, cool morning, I would have walked farther because it feels VERY good to walk, but it was already so hot that I was uncomfortable enough to want to return to my air conditioned home.
After a brief rest to drink a soda and check my email, I went upstairs. Before I continue, I'll just mention that every since the second day I came home, I have not been able to tolerate coffee, and I've been a big coffee drinker my whole adult life, so in lieu of coffee, I'm drinking Diet Coke for my morning caffeine fix. I hope this is a temporary anomaly and that I'll be back to my coffee drinking ways by the time school starts! Anyway, after my rest, I went upstairs to take another shower, to wash some more clothes, watch a couple of HGTV shows, and to goof off.
At 11:30 I came down and faced my daily ordeal of taking Percocet, followed immediately by a cheese sandwich for lunch. My theory is that cheese helps to protect the stomach against the side effects of the medicine. After lunch, I rested for about 45 minutes (although I didn't sleep), waiting for my physical therapist to arrive. He was a little late today, and if it hadn't been for the pain I knew he was about to inflict on me, I would have felt sorry for him. Friday traffic around here is always bad, and add to that, the heat is so enervating that he looked quite "done in." We did have a challenging PT session with him pushing my knee back and back, and that hurts, but the rest of the exercises are mostly to increase the strength in my legs, and I'm finding those exercises increasingly easy.
After my busy morning and a good workout with PT, I was ready to get into my cool bed with an ice gel-pac and my leg elevated. While I read myself to sleep, Stan left for a little time to himself going to the pool. I slept two hours, and now, finally, the day is starting to draw to a close. It will be another couple of hours before the sun goes down, but on a day like this, it's a relief to have the brutal sun exit for several hours. I'm waiting for my daughter-in-law to come give me my shot, and then she and our son will stay and we'll order something (cool!!!) for a light, take-out dinner.
Did I expect to be at this point just 10 days after surgery? Honestly, no. I thought my recuperation would be more painful, more restrictive, and much lengthier. I'm surprised that I'm doing this well, although I'm still not able to get through a day without one (or two) substantial naps. My physical therapist is excellent at pushing me, encouraging me, and setting definite goals for me. Stan is an outstanding coach who really does an exemplary job at making sure I do everything I'm supposed to do. I'm sure I would have sloughed off my exercises left to my own devices, but between my PT and Stan, I'm being gently pushed toward recovery, so thanks to both of these guys!
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