Thursday, January 19, 2017

#1819 it's been one week

Hi everyone! It's been one week since I had my knee joint replacement surgery, and I'm happy to say that everything is going well.

The surgery happened last Thursday, the 12th, around 9 AM. I had anesthesia through a shot in my spine which made it so I couldn't feel my legs at all, but I wasn't completely out. I did have a good sedative, so I slept through most of it, but I do remember waking up - very groggy - toward the end and at the very end. I was awake and coherent when I was wheeled through the halls to post-op. Another thing that is kind of weird is that I listened to music from my beloved iPhone during the surgery. I think I listened to the Hamilton Mix Tape, but then I thought it was over and asked someone to change it to Beyonce. I don't remember hearing Beyonce, though.

I was in the hospital Thursday and Friday night. There was a possibility of going home Friday night, but I did not feel ready for that. I was definitely ready on Saturday. On Friday I slept quite a bit through the morning, then had good physical therapy on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. The nurses and aides that took care of me at University Hospital were very good and I think their care had a lot to do with my being so ready and able to leave on Saturday.

My mother-in-law was here with me on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. MT has been hanging out with me yesterday, today and tomorrow. It's not that fun to hang out with me. I'm needy or I'm asleep or I'm just laying there. When I'm up, my Care Coach gets to bring me ice water to drink and fill my ice bucket that I put on the knee to reduce the swelling. He also gets to spot me as I walk up or down the stairs and carry the crutch. He prepares my meals and takes care of the dog and all the house stuff.

Home nurses and physical therapists come about every other day. The nurses check my vital signs and check my INR level. The INR level has to do with blood coagulation since I am on a blood thinner to help prevent blood clots. So far so good there. The physical therapists come over to check my mobility and give me exercises to start getting the knee to bend to a specified number of degrees as measured by a cool little protractor and also to be flat when it is straight. Neither of those things are happening just yet, but I'm working on it. I also have exercises to strengthen the quad muscle above the knee and to help with my balance. I do all of those exercises three times a day, plus I walk around the house with my crutches. I feel stable and mobile with them.

There is only one thing that concerns me. I have a little rash on my left arm. I noticed it on Monday and have been watching it. Today it seems a little more red and like it has spread a bit. I called the home nurse office and I'm sorry to say that no one called me back. Tomorrow a nurse will be here, so I'll be sure she takes a look at it. I think the rash was caused by the adhesive of the tape that held my IV in place. The adhesive is very sticky and even though I have scrubbed, the marks of the tape can still be seen. The rash doesn't itch, but it may or may not be cause for concern. I'll keep you posted.

That's pretty much all I've got for tonight. It's the first time I have felt like sitting up at my computer and writing a little bit. Honestly, it's hard to lay down all the time. I feel kind of caged, but also unwilling and not ready to go out of the house. Today has been snowy and cold. I told my friends at work that the good part of having knee surgery in January is that I don't have to drive in the snow. The bad part of having knee surgery in January is recovering from the knee surgery.

Now that I've been sitting here for a few minutes with my knee bent, I feel it stiffening up which is my cue to move around. I'm also due for some pain meds. The pain hasn't been bad as long as I stay diligent and listen to what my body is telling me. You can't let the pain get ahead of you because it's hard to catch up.

Hope you are all doing great!


2 comments:

Kteach said...

yOU'RE DOING GREAT! i HOPE THE RASH GOES AWAY WITH THE CREAM :)

emtes said...

Glad to hear everything has gone well and it seems you are well taken care of. I wish you a really speedy recovery and hope you will be running around soon :-) It is a good time of the year to have the operation though because I think it's easier to heal when it's cold outside and you will be ready for spring and summer when you are healed.
Take care and I send you a big get well hug from Sweden
Love you,
Mia :-)