Let the Healing Begin....
I am 200 days out from my knee realignment surgery....and am still healing. I am still in physical therapy two times a week, with one of those days being in the swimming pool. I am a little concerned that my knee "clicks" and seems to be mimicking the same behavior as it was prior to this last surgery.
The doctor seems to think it is scar tissue and my physical therapist thinks it is something in there that is a bit irritated. The doc says it should go away in a few MONTHS. The PT seems to think once it settles down it will behave better.
Know what I think? I think I don't know what to think. I'm a little paranoid. The doc says the knee is tracking well and while it feels "tighter" than before, the clicking and whatever is causing it causes it not to track as it should unless I "hold" it in place. That scares me to be honest. I desperately want to be healed. Fully functional. To be able to walk and run without a worry that my knee will buckle and the knee cap will move out of place. I fear the pain of that more than anything.
The doc says that it is possible that he may have to remove it if necessary. Another surgery. I'm not ready for that. I'll do it if it is necessary but I'm not ready to jump right in and do it. I'll work it for a few months. Let's see what happens.
My knee still buckles a bit once in a while. But the kneecap stays in place. I am continuing to build muscle and strength is returning. My legs may once again be my best feature. I have a bit of a limp but anything is better than where I started. Almost $100,000 in the last three years not to mention what was spent on ER visits, doctor visits, etc. prior to the first surgery.
The first few weeks were difficult. It didn't take long for me to remember how to use my crutches. Nor did it take long to remember how best to get in and out of JB's truck with my brace and crutches. JB, however didn't remember right away and kind of literally left me hanging. He's sitting behind the wheel and I'm kind of dangling off to the side with the door wide open. He's looking at me like "Well?" and I'm looking at him like, "Are you serious?"
Finally I had to speak up. "Dude, I need help." Finally, a look of understanding. He forgot. No kidding.
A week and a half after surgery, he went out of state for a roofing job. I was at home with the kids. I had received permission (sorta) to drive if I could do certain things. So I had to prove to him before he left that I could do it. And do it I did. I was going to succeed if it killed me. Getting into the pickup with the brace and driving with my left foot was not really a smart option so I removed the brace to drive and put it on immediately upon getting out. I still had to use crutches. No weight for two weeks....what a pain.
I had 20 staples and had had 10 removed after the first week. Then I had the other 10 removed the next week. I developed a rash of some sort around the knee. It was so strange that the doc called in several doctors to take a peek. They couldn't decide what it was but they could all come up with what it was not. It was not (Praise the Lord) a reaction to the screws in my bone. A reaction would mean removal. NOT GOOD. It was not poison ivy or anything like that but it did itch like crazy. Benadryl did not help it. They finally issued me some steroids and it went away.
A week after surgery I also watched my ankle disappear. I had what my daughter called a "kankle". My ankle had swollen so much that I didn't have an ankle and what toes I had wasn't much. It looked horrible. YUCK. I went into icing overtime with having my leg propped up as much as possible.
I was in my CPM leg machine up to 14 hours a day. No less than 8. I loved that thing. I had one night when it was painful. I was so fortunate to not feel the same level of pain as everyone else. I'm afraid I might not have been a good patient.
The weather affects my knee quite a bit. Since the first surgery, it has been sensitive to the changes in the weather but since this last one, it is SUPER sensitive. If a weather front is coming into the state, my knee tells me. Oh does it ever tell me. It has something to do with the barometric pressure. Today it has been screaming all morning. And all afternoon. All day. I do mean ALL DAY. I'm just beside myself because it really aches. I haven't brought pain medication with me to work for a while. I wish I had some.
I am anxious to know whether the surgery worked. I am sensitive to the fact that it might not have. The "clicking" bothers me more than anything else. I know I promised God I would accept what He gives me. But I will be disappointed.
Just one of those places in the recovery process where I'm unsure. I'm scared. It happened the first time. It'll probably happen again. I just don't know. I will just have to be patient. I pray that He'll heal me for good.
The doctor seems to think it is scar tissue and my physical therapist thinks it is something in there that is a bit irritated. The doc says it should go away in a few MONTHS. The PT seems to think once it settles down it will behave better.
Know what I think? I think I don't know what to think. I'm a little paranoid. The doc says the knee is tracking well and while it feels "tighter" than before, the clicking and whatever is causing it causes it not to track as it should unless I "hold" it in place. That scares me to be honest. I desperately want to be healed. Fully functional. To be able to walk and run without a worry that my knee will buckle and the knee cap will move out of place. I fear the pain of that more than anything.
The doc says that it is possible that he may have to remove it if necessary. Another surgery. I'm not ready for that. I'll do it if it is necessary but I'm not ready to jump right in and do it. I'll work it for a few months. Let's see what happens.
My knee still buckles a bit once in a while. But the kneecap stays in place. I am continuing to build muscle and strength is returning. My legs may once again be my best feature. I have a bit of a limp but anything is better than where I started. Almost $100,000 in the last three years not to mention what was spent on ER visits, doctor visits, etc. prior to the first surgery.
The first few weeks were difficult. It didn't take long for me to remember how to use my crutches. Nor did it take long to remember how best to get in and out of JB's truck with my brace and crutches. JB, however didn't remember right away and kind of literally left me hanging. He's sitting behind the wheel and I'm kind of dangling off to the side with the door wide open. He's looking at me like "Well?" and I'm looking at him like, "Are you serious?"
Finally I had to speak up. "Dude, I need help." Finally, a look of understanding. He forgot. No kidding.
A week and a half after surgery, he went out of state for a roofing job. I was at home with the kids. I had received permission (sorta) to drive if I could do certain things. So I had to prove to him before he left that I could do it. And do it I did. I was going to succeed if it killed me. Getting into the pickup with the brace and driving with my left foot was not really a smart option so I removed the brace to drive and put it on immediately upon getting out. I still had to use crutches. No weight for two weeks....what a pain.
I had 20 staples and had had 10 removed after the first week. Then I had the other 10 removed the next week. I developed a rash of some sort around the knee. It was so strange that the doc called in several doctors to take a peek. They couldn't decide what it was but they could all come up with what it was not. It was not (Praise the Lord) a reaction to the screws in my bone. A reaction would mean removal. NOT GOOD. It was not poison ivy or anything like that but it did itch like crazy. Benadryl did not help it. They finally issued me some steroids and it went away.
A week after surgery I also watched my ankle disappear. I had what my daughter called a "kankle". My ankle had swollen so much that I didn't have an ankle and what toes I had wasn't much. It looked horrible. YUCK. I went into icing overtime with having my leg propped up as much as possible.
I was in my CPM leg machine up to 14 hours a day. No less than 8. I loved that thing. I had one night when it was painful. I was so fortunate to not feel the same level of pain as everyone else. I'm afraid I might not have been a good patient.
The weather affects my knee quite a bit. Since the first surgery, it has been sensitive to the changes in the weather but since this last one, it is SUPER sensitive. If a weather front is coming into the state, my knee tells me. Oh does it ever tell me. It has something to do with the barometric pressure. Today it has been screaming all morning. And all afternoon. All day. I do mean ALL DAY. I'm just beside myself because it really aches. I haven't brought pain medication with me to work for a while. I wish I had some.
I am anxious to know whether the surgery worked. I am sensitive to the fact that it might not have. The "clicking" bothers me more than anything else. I know I promised God I would accept what He gives me. But I will be disappointed.
Just one of those places in the recovery process where I'm unsure. I'm scared. It happened the first time. It'll probably happen again. I just don't know. I will just have to be patient. I pray that He'll heal me for good.
posted by Unknown @ 11:45 AM
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