#1236 two years

It was two years ago today that I had my right knee joint replaced. When I think back to that time, I mostly remember not pleasant things. In the hospital, the pain medication I had made me sick and I worried that I would fall or not make it to the bathroom in time. The good thing is that my husband and my doctor recognized what was happening and the medication was changed and I did a lot better the last day and a half that I was in the hospital.

I also remember clearly the first two weeks I was home. My mother-in-law came to stay with me for the first week and I was so glad to have her here. I had high blood pressure that was brought on by the meds and the stress of the recovery, so she took me to the doctor and really helped a lot around the house.

The second week, my sister came to help. It was a blessing to have her here. I wasn't able to drive yet and I had to go to a clinic to give blood and to the physical therapist for a consultation. It was wonderful to have both Linda and Lizzie stay those first two weeks. I would have been miserable without them.

The week of the surgery and the next two weeks were definitely the worst of the whole affair. I was mobile again fairly quickly, especially after I started doing physical therapy. The PT itself wasn't that hard, there was just a lot of it.

When I have my left knee done, sometime in the future, I will not do it in mid-August. I will be more thoughtful about the time I am away from my work. I was just in so much pain by the time I finally decided to have the surgery, I just wanted to get it done as soon as the surgeon could get me in. Next time I won't be so desperate and I will plan my absent time to coincide with a slow time at the office.

Overall, the new knee feels really good. I no longer have any pain in my right knee. I walk without a limp. It bends really good and when I straighten my leg, the back of the knee touches the floor (not the case with the left knee).

The scar has faded and you can't really see it unless you're looking for it. I wasn't sure that would be the case. The cut was really straight (thanks Dr. F!) but it was pretty gruesome the first month.

Here's a pic of the cut that I took on August 28, 2012:

I picked the least yuckiest picture I could find from that month :)

Here's the scar today:

Anyway, I was thinking about where I was two years ago today, and just thought I'd share.