Oh, my goodness! I’ve ignored this story for a long time. I can’t believe it’s been two months since I last posted an update. So this will be a short post covering a long period of time.
I continued to get really positive feedback from my surgeon and my physical therapists. They all said that my recovery was more and faster than they would have expected. The last two areas of challenge were balance and stair-climbing. I have exercises that I can do at home to work on balance; that will be a long-term project, I think. And stair-climbing: it seems like all of a sudden, I am able to walk stairs in the “normal” way (one foot after the other) rather than one step at a time. I don’t always remember, though; I’ve been taking steps the other way for so long that I have to stop and remind myself that I can just walk up or down without a lot of drama.
I have officially “graduated” from physical therapy. I got a T-shirt and everything. At my last appointment, the therapist said something that was wonderful news. I was doing one exercise, and she commented “If I couldn’t see the incision, I wouldn’t know which knee had the surgery.” That was amazing! And besides that, I’m almost completely pain-free. I only have pain if it’s been a really long day or if I’ve been doing more than I am used to.
So the story of my knee replacement is, I think, at an end. There will be even more healing over the next several months, of course; but the biggest part of the healing is done. I am grateful to my surgeon and his team, the physical therapists who coached me back to increased activity, and the dozens of friends and neighbors who brought food, gave me rides, or cheered me on.Now I have no good reason not to get out for a walk with Miss Sadie.
An Explosion of Color and Texture 