My home PT regimen consists of a series of leg flexing and extending exercises I can do on the bed in the spare bedroom (if I tried to do them on the floor in my present condition I’d never be able to get back up). Ten to twenty repetitions of each, two to three sets per session, two to three sessions daily … each session followed by half an hour with my bad leg up on a box and a bag of frozen peas on the knee to reduce swelling. The actual outpatient PT sessions, which will be twice weekly for the next month, will probably involve stairs and stationary bikes, as well as some more painful leg flexing and extending exercises … things I couldn’t do at home without help.
I’m venturing out for the first time today, if you don’t count visits to the doctor or the lab for followup blood work. We’re going to my monthly book club meeting. I can’t drive yet, so Donna’s hauling me there. Sunday we’ll meet our bicycle group for a potluck lunch after their scheduled ride. I hope, by the time Donna flies to Seattle for a week-long sewing workshop and conference, I’ll be able to drive myself around again. She leaves on the 27th. If I still can’t drive, Polly has agreed to be my chauffeur.
Never thought I’d be one of them, but I now have a handicapped parking placard in my car. It expires in August, right about the time I’ll be getting my other knee replaced.
I’m still relying on Donna to help me put on pants and socks. If I show up at your place barefoot and naked from the waist down, it’s probably because I need a ride. If it’s in the middle of the night, it’s because I’m having trouble sleeping … the knee starts aching about one in the morning and I’m intermittently awake the rest of the night. Hope that part goes away soon.
On the home front, I’m able to get in and out of our comfortable recliner again, so the hard office chair is back at the computer where it belongs and the big green La-Z-Boy has reclaimed its place in the family room. I’m still using the walker, but not as much as before. My therapist says I should continue using it because sometimes the quad muscles lock up. If they do I might fall, and that’s one thing I don’t want to do at this stage. Yesterday I limped out into the back yard to refresh spa chemicals and pick up dog poop. Never fear, Donna was watching over me the whole time.
Okay, that’s probably way more than you wanted to know. Like anyone else who has had a knee replacement, I’m starting on the road to recovery and things are going about as well as could be expected. I’m particularly blessed to have an understanding and loving wife, and the best doggie nurse in the world, Schatzi. Schatzi sits with me when I’m using the leg flexing machine and when I have to lay there with my leg elevated after an exercise session. Yesterday we were joined by our old cat Chewie and a temporary truce was declared. I tried to capture the scene with the camera in our iPad:
