Chickenminnie’s Weblog

Today was one of those days that makes all the dullness and monotony of icing, elevating, medicating and therapy worth it. My surgical follow-up visit was this morning and I knew I would be getting my bandage off which will go a long way toward bending the knee since I would no longer be working against it. Forgotten from my last knee replacement was the fact that my leg hair would grow into the heavy sticky border of the bandage and removing it would be a very uncomfortable slow-motion waxing which I had to white knuckle through. When it was removed I was astonished to discover that rather than the expected row of staples there was a red line; apparently my knee wound had been glued together through the marvel of modern medicine. I was relieved when the nurse finished up by giving me a row of steri-strips.

My surgeon’s PA Rich saw me in the surgeon’s absence and was delighted by how well I was walking. He also cautioned me about overdoing it especially when I told him I planned to return to work in a couple of weeks which he felt was very ambitious so I will need to modify my request.

Physical therapy is going well and Don is tough on me. He is a good communicator and I have learned a tremendous amount about my body and how most knee surgeries actually go from the standpoint of rehab. I was astounded to learn that a ninety degree bend is considered a satisfactory outcome making me even more pleased with the near-perfect mobility I have with my right knee. Of course the two knees must now match giving me a built-in challenge.