Day Seventy-Five

First I thought yesterday's massage was a big mistake because just sitting this morning both knees were more swollen and painful than normal.  blah blah blah.  A few hours later they seemed normally swollen/painful and now they feel pretty good.  Nothing is ever more than a coincidence as far as I'm concerned but right now I'm thinking the massage may have done something good.

Rode about 2 hours, in almost sunshine, on the Stowe bike path while Vince was sprinting, after a half hour on his mountain bike, to get back to the house before it hailed.

Protractor goniometer.  No home should be without one. 

Hard to tell without a protractor goniometer to measure flexion, but the right knee felt tighter than usual today while the left knee, even with the hitch, is setting flexion records.  Seriously.  I can't even think of a coincidence to which I could attribute it but it looked close to 135 today.

I'll be the first to say that speculation is good for nothing but if I was a speculator, I'd say that in 6 weeks I'll have to have my dancing shoes ready.

Day Seventy-Four

Booked a one hour massage* that lasted an hour and a half with Kim at the Center.   Worked mostly on the hitch, the IT band and the right flexion...below the waist the whole time.  I can't tell if I am moving better now or not but I went in with fairly low expectations so whatever is OK.

You'd think riding back and fourth on a flat section of hwy 14 a couple of times for an hour forty five would get old but it was fun the whole time.

 My friend Stewart, that hadn't seen me since I was in the hospital, stopped by and couldn't believe I was even standing.  As far as he's concerned I'm a knee poster child.

Tested my massage with a walk on the ski trails with poles.
The right flexion still sucks.

*I must sound so spoiled.

Day Seventy-Three

Rode 2 1/2 hours on the Stowe bike path if I count the half hour spent wandering around the Farmer's Market. 

Worked on extension, flexion, IT band and adductors a couple of times each. 

Recently, normal daily living has a whole new function as important mental and physical therapy.  It wasn't until I stopped dwelling on not being able to move around perfectly that I really started healing.

Day Seventy-Two

Today's ride.
Turned around at the bottom of the big hill on 'Linda loop #1'*, went the rest of the way around the lake, up to the Common and home.  Not sure how far it is but far enough to be hungry by the end of it.  I'm sick of eating without being hungry so dinner tonight will be fun.  I'm sauteing the hen-of-the woods mushrooms from the Farmer's Market...where I shopped without the support of my poles...and having them with pasta.

Icing now.  Both knees are a bit swollen after the hills but not bad.  I'm thinking I'll try limiting myself to rides like this a couple times a week until my 3 month follow up with the surgeon, June 8.  Can you believe it's been almost 3 months?

PT now (at home and with Vinny the therapist) is mostly IT band stretching, and right/left flexion and extension work.  The right flexion is pretty tight and painful.  If I sit with my legs straight out in front of me and slide my heels up to my butt, I can get the left heel about 4 inches closer to my butt than the right.  Doesn't that seem like a lot?  Interesting how differently the two knees are healing. 

*we name some of our rides after our friend Linda who showed them to us and owns the Galaxy Bookshop in Hardwick, Vermont.

Day Seventy-One

Physical therapy was so painful today.  Sounds like I'm complaining but I'm not.  Vinny the therapist was giddy when I told him that I wasn't positive but whatever he did last time may have worked a teeny bit in smoothing out my gait.  With that he hit the ground running, administering an intensified version of Wednesday.  Some of the pressure points were still sore from last time but I grit my teeth and let him go.  I left the session with elevated spirits and more blue tape than you can imagine.

I feel a tendony thing in the back of the right knee.  I hesitate to use the word 'snapping' to describe what I'm feeling but that's what it is.   

Left flexion was 130 without much trouble.  The right was115 to start. :(.  We got it up to 122 with him pushing on it, which seemed sort of fake since I was on the verge of screaming/tears when he took the measurement.  The right knee doesn't seem to be swollen.  Just doesn't bend well.  Still painful tonight from the 122.    

Everyday is different.

Rode 20+ miles on the Stowe bike path since Vinny the therapist said if I ride I don't have to do squats.  Vacuumed up some bugs then walked on the ski trails using poles with Vince and Max.  

Days Sixty-Six, Seven and Eight

Started day sixty-six with an almost windless (20 mph breeze) ride around the Guida loop followed by a dance at the Elkton, South Dakota Senior Center at 2 o'clock in the afternoon with my aunts and uncles.  Polkas and fox-trots were out of my knee's comfort zone so I spent the afternoon sitting in a folding chair at the end of our table. 

Day Sixty-Seven we left the house with a 40 mph tailwind on our way around the, guess what?...Guida loop, before heading to Sioux Falls and the airport.  We left in time to stop at Breadsmith for fresh bread which is right next door to the food co-op where I ground some high calorie peanuts for peanut butter that I hoped would make it through security.  (one time they identified and took it as a security threat)   Hope my knees don't suffer from 2 days of skimping on PT but I haven't felt it's been doing me a whole lot of good lately anyway. :(


Day Sixty-Eight, Plainfield MA.  We're here to assess and spiff up the house* for the booming western Mass real estate market.  I didn't think I'd be able to participate in the spiffing and was happy when I realized I could pick up branches and pull weeds like a really slow normal person.  Walked Max at Bear Swamp on a familiar mildly technical trail that took longer than it did in the old days but something I couldn't have done a month ago. 

Hope you realized I was kidding when I said the days 66, 67 and 68 were really interesting.

*the house we built and lived in for 20+ years

Day Seventy

Yesterday I promised myself that today I would ride to the post office.  Even though it's only about a mile and a half from the house, it would be a big mental hurdle for me since it's uphill on a dirt road instead of flat on a paved path.  Rolling down the driveway I asked myself why I was riding to the Post Office since it had been closed for two hours, got to the intersection and took a right toward the lake instead of a left toward the PO.

So anyway...I RODE AROUND THE LAKE!  When I took the right I figured I could get off and walk if I had to but I rode the whole hilly 9 miles* sitting in the saddle.  It took an hour but I had an hour.

Wondering if I'll suffer tomorrow or tonight more than usual while trying to sleep but I don't think so. 

Still walking like Festus but the blue tape and fabric compression tube seem to do something?

I remember Festus from Gunsmoke because of his endearing limp :(

*funny how a measly (I've never had to spell measly before...does it look right to you?) 9 mile ride can be such a big deal.  I sort of enjoy these new goals.

Days Sixty-Three, Four, and Five*

Day Sixty-Three was 5 hours of driving to Bradley Airport (Connecticut), Max's favorite walk (Hawley, Massachusetts), an hour bike ride on the Northampton (Massachusetts) bike path, 2 hours of  airport, 4 hours of flying and another hour and a half of driving from the airport in Sioux Falls, South Dakota to my dad's house in Minnesota.  My knees told me the driving was their least favorite part but survived.

I forgot.  Yesterday Vinny the therapist measured my left flexion at 128 before stretching and my right flexion at 122 (125 after stretching).

All that carpeting and all those La-Z-Boys.  It was easy to find a comfortable spot to do some PT in my dad's house on day sixty-four.  Hiked up an abandoned rope-tow ski hill faster then I walked down and rode Ada's (Dad's third wife) bike about 3 miles before our niece's birthday party.  I make it sound like a bigger/harder day than it was.

Doesn't have a whole lot to do with knees but photos are fun.  The humidity only effected the lettering.  The cake was delicious.

Day Sixty-Five.  Rode twice around the 9 mile? Guida loop from Dad's house.  The first time we had a 35 mph wind from the north and the second time we had a 35 mph wind from the south.  Minnesota hills (cliche').  Did an hour of PT on the carpet and a couple hours of reading in one of the recliners.

Proudly, I really felt like I'd put on a few pounds** and Dad said he had a scale.  He pulled it out and adjusted the needle from 10 pounds to the left of zero (I know that trick Dad) to where it should be.  Fully clothed I stepped on the scale.  Damn.  112.  Maybe 113 if I tilt my head more the side.  "That has to be wrong." I said.  Dad said it was right, stood on it and thought it was wrong too...but in the other direction. 

*sorry.  thought I'd catch up today but didn't.  66, 67 and 68 are still coming and really interesting. :)
**remember I'm trying to gain some weight
 

Day Sixty-Nine

Poor Vinny the therapist is almost more bummed about my left knee than I am. 

He's bummed because we can't really start working on my strength as long as I have this left knee hitch to deal with.  Today as he watched me dragging my left leg behind me across the parking lot (I don't try to grin and bear it anymore, like it doesn't hurt, like I used to) he got to thinking again that it may be the IT band.  He poked and stretched me even more than usual.  I got more blue tape....this time just around the knee, ultrasound, new exercises, foam roller training (ouch!!), another hit of iontophoresis and an hour later I limped out to the car.

My right knee was cranky today.  Flexion was 115 (it was 125 a week ago) before stretching and 122 after.  It wasn't swollen but it was pretty achy.  Left knee was 127 which is not a misprint.  You'd think the flexion would be less on the left since it is the one giving me all the trouble but it's not. 

So.  I limped from the car and to the car...but the limps felt a bit different.  Later when we walked Max, I really tried to focus on bringing my left leg through smoothly and I kind of could.  Some of the time. Maybe.  It still hurt a bunch so I'm not completely psyched but a little perceived improvement is good.

Then for a glorious hour and a half on the Stowe bike path everything is good.  Thankfully I can ride like a fairly normal person.

Note:  I recently took a few days away from 'Kathy's New Knees' and you were either thinking that 'no news is good news', 'something bad happened' or you didn't notice.    I'll hit some high-points (high-points is kind of a stretch) of the time off tomorrow.



 

Day Sixty-Two

My first outside bike ride.  Taken a month ago by Vince.

Now Vinny the therapist isn't sure my hitch is an IT band problem.  I appreciated him admitting we may have been going down the wrong path instead of pretending it was the right path to save face.  You know how some people do that?  We're not giving up on the IT band therapy but we're adding ultrasound and heavy duty scar massage in order to soften and break up vulnerable scar tissue.

Returned Cryo Cuffs and a triangular support pillow to Elinor and George.  Also dropped off Susan's walker and commode.  I'm hanging on to Margie's rocking chair for another couple of weeks. 

Rode 1 1/2 hours on the Stowe bike bath, got coffee and walked with Vince and Max.  Birds, river, sunshine and a million shades of green.  Incredible day to be out.

Day Sixty-one

I'm guessing that you're probably tired of hearing over and over about the hitch in my left knee.  So here's what I'm going to try to do....unless I tell you differently, you can assume that it's not getting any better.  It'll make for some short posts but whatever.

Yesterday when I was being such a baby because my knees aren't getting any better, Vince put this photo under my nose....

A picture from the photography class in which Vince got an 'A'.*

Today.  Knees pretty swollen.  It rained all day...does that make a difference?  Did 23 line items of PT.  No riding.  Maybe riding makes them swell.  Walked with Max and Vince at Barr Hill, a place that couldn't be any prettier.

*you really have to click on the photo to get the full effect.

Day Sixty

 

If I ever feel sorry for myself again like today, slap me.  Moods like that are such a waste.  They benefit no one.

At first I thought that maybe subconsciously it had something to do with turning 56 tomorrow but I love having birthdays so that's not it.  A weepy second later I resigned myself to what I already knew...my left knee hitch isn't getting any better/looser. It only needs to be improving a little and not even every day.  But it's not.  I don't know what to do.

Made a 23 line item chart of my PT routine.  23!*  Rode the trainer 20 minutes and the bike path 90 in a teeny gear.

Got my Vitamin E in the mail today so that's exciting even though I don't think it really does anything. 

*many many of the line items are designed to stretch out the left knee hitch........

Day Fifty-Nine

My knee, especially the right one, was a bit more swollen than usual. (blah blah blah)   Instead of icing with my no-fuss gel packs, I tried a borrowed Cryo Cuffs on each knee to see what all the fuss was about.  Wow, was that cold!  So if colder is better, Cryo Cuffs win.  They were comfortable and seemed effective but compared to the gel packs, a way bigger hassle.  Maybe more of a hassle than I feel like dealing with.

Walked Max today on the ski center trails and because it was in public, I suffered through my very best, deliberate, grit my teeth, pretend it doesn't hurt gait.  Even with that, someone I didn't recognize saw me walking and asked me if I'd hurt my knee again. :( 

Did lots of IT stretching (don't ask me if it's working because I can't tell).
20 minutes on the bike trainer.
Walked to neighbor Linda's to return a book and sit in a family 'Clue' face-off.
Normal PT.
Resting pulse is still really high (78) but not really really high.  It was almost 100 in the hospital, so it's better now, but normally it's around 60......50 when I was racing a lot.   
 

Day Fifty-Eight

Nothing new to complain about.

Walked Max with hiking poles and Vince. 
Finished 'Bart Got A Room' on the bike trainer.
Iced and nodded off to a Pimleur Spanish tape.

Day Fifty-Seven

Before I forget, I wanted to show you how good my incisions look.

Today was my last pool therapy :(  in which my gait is starting to look pretty good.

Vinny the therapist has been working so hard on fixing that creepy tight band feeling around my left knee.  Even before he said hello this morning he asked if it was feeling any better.  I wanted so badly to tell him that I couldn't believe how much better it was feeling, since we'd spent all of Wednesday's session working on it, but there was no difference.  I hope I didn't hurt his feelings.

He said it would take a while, showed me six more IT band stretches and told me to do 3 sets, 3 times daily which brings me up to about 18 hours of PT a day.   Whatever that tightness is, it mostly bothers me when I walk.  So.  If I could just figure out how to get around with never having to walk, it wouldn't be a big deal.

Chilly, sunny afternoon.  Had coffee after riding 1:20 and walking Max on the Stowe bike path.  After the ride, the back of the right knee was a new type of stiff/sore and the left didn't extend right away but both feel OK now.

I'm sure I've complained about the annoying numbness around the incision etc. and I'm happy to report that it's either getting better or I'm getting used to it.  Either way is good.

Day Fifty-Six

Today I watched the second 30 minutes of 'Bart Got A Room' while riding the bike trainer.  Such a great flick, even the seventh time.

I just realized the only fresh air I got today was when I shook out Max's blanket.  Even though I'm proud of being able to shake out his blanket, I'm not proud of letting the day go by without getting outside.  Who am I these days?

Did my normal at-home PT (while having a conversation with the third Pimsleur Spanish CD) and ice.  My right knee is pretty swollen again tonight but no more than it has been.  The left still feels like it has a big rubber band wrapped around everything.  (IT band?)

Yesterday Vinny the therapist put this blue tape along my IT band.  Other than looking cool, I forgot to ask what it does.  If the problem with my left knee is the IT band, and it's fixable with PT, I'm sure Vinny will fix it.

Wouldn't it be nice if this blue tape just fixed everything?

I asked Vinny if it was OK...since trying to walk correctly was so uncomfortable and slow, if I could just walk keeping my left leg straight and he said he didn't care how fast I could walk with a limp.  I guess that means no.

Day Fifty-Five

Therapy today was brutal and while Vinny the therapist sweated as he twisted and pulled, I didn't have to lift a finger.  Most of the session was him working on my left IT band again.  First he ultra-sounded it.  Then twisted and pulled.  Followed by iontophoresis while manipulating my right leg and knee (like washing dishes in the dishwasher while vacuuming).   He watched me walk.  My gait seemed a bit better (maybe...I don't even know anymore) when he had me sort of march.  I felt like I was in a marching band but he said it looked plain old normal.  The pain is too profound for walking to be fun (I dread it) but I think my technique is a bit better.

Tonight I have good tired pain on the right while the left is still way too stiff and bound.

I just did some online research, googling tkr and tight IT band.  It is a 'thing', I'm not the only one that has it and it sounds like it can get better.  

My 3 month follow-up with Doctor Huber is in 3 weeks...2 months and 3 weeks after my surgery.  I have to be all better by then.  

flexion left = 125 before stretching
flexion right = 115 before stretching/120 after stretching...and I think I've gained a few pounds.

Days Fifty-One, Two, Three and Four

Thought I'd give you a break from my complaining but SURPRISE...

Day fifty-one was the day we flew to Ohio, my first trip through airport security with new knees...and the machine didn't even notice them!  No flashing lights or sirens.  I was bummed.

Airports are good practice for doing normal things like walking.  It was slow and painful but I felt like it was good for me.  At one point I even willed myself into passing the woman walking in front of me.

Next time we'll drive to Athens (Ohio) so I have my luggage when we get to the hotel.  I was led to believe my lost bag would show up at the hotel in a few hours and when it got to be around midnight I called the airline baggage people.  They said they had no way of knowing where the bag was or when it would be delivered since they had released it to a sub-contractor that they had no way of contacting.  Does that seem weird to you?  I waited a half hour then called again, told them about my knees, that I had medication etc.* in the bag and needed some details.  They classified my situation a 'medical emergency' and 5 minutes later the driver called me with an update.  Imagine that.

I did some PT during the Burlington airport delay and practiced my gait on a hotel treadmill where unweighting just that little bit allows me to walk pain free. 

*The medication was the Celebrex (no emergency but at least I wasn't really lying) and the etc. were my hiking poles.

Most of day fifty-two was spent with a realtor.  A lot of slowly in and out of cars and slowly up and down steps.  Good practice like the airport.  Ended the day on rented one-speed cruisers for a couple hours along the bike path followed by lots of ice.

We rented one-speed cruisers to start day fifty-three and rode the bike path for an hour and a half.  It was a little harder for me today than yesterday like I thought it might be but a couple of ice filled 'fresh scented' doggy poop bags on the way to the airport had me pretty comfortable (and my knees smelling like cheap perfume).

Day Fifty-Four.  My PT included 20 minutes on the stationary bike.  I'm getting better at squats.  When I flex my quads, I can actually see them move.  The hot spot on the lower inside of the left knee is still squeaky feeling but maybe? hurts less.  I still have the hitch.  Maneuvered through making dinner, laundry and vacuuming.  If I didn't have that hitch I would be starting to think that maybe I'll get better.  Flexion is still a lot better in the left (yes left) knee.  The right is pretty swollen.  Still don't look forward to trying to sleep or having to get out of bed but the other parts of the day aren't bad.

Day Fifty

Pool therapy this morning.  I did my best to explain the left knee hitch to Vinny the therapist.  He takes his job so seriously and really wants to make me better.  First he suggested to cut back on the bike trainer a little and no going hard.  Second, he thinks it could be the iliotibial band (IT band).  If that is the case we should be able to fix it.  I'm all too familiar with the IT band syndrome and that's not what it feels like to me but it's a place to start.  If I'm going to be able to walk normally and pain free, something has to be done.

Walking wasn't much fun today.  I kept the left leg stiff just because bending it was so uncomfortable. The right knee had decreased mobility due to being more swollen than usual which isn't a big deal.

Walked Max using ski poles on soft trails with wonderful spring smells and flowers then rode the trainer for 20 minutes.

Walking is fun half the time.....when I'm on my right leg.

Day Forty Nine

Besides a big bunch of in-home pt, I walked Max on the ski trails with Vince.  Just my legs, no crutches or ski-poles (progress).  My walking is as stiff and painful as it was a month ago. :(  I'm hoping walking is just taking me longer for no particular reason and it's not something else.  No one on my panel of knee replacement survivors seems to remember having a lot of trouble walking.  But then no one probably kept track of every single day of their recovery.

It's the left one.  Hard to explain but even though the right one is more swollen and has less flexion, it's way less painful and more normal feeling.  The left has the hot spot but even more debilitating is what feels like tight bands surrounding the knee itself, along the outside half way up and below.  Then there's this obnoxious hang up/hitch at about 35 degrees as my knee comes through from the back of the stride to the front.  Am I thinking too much?  I'm really not complaining....just waiting for someone to read this and tell me they know exactly what I'm talking about and it goes away at about seven weeks.

We just got plane tickets to Ohio.  You can imagine how excited I am to go through security.

Day Forty-Eight

If you are sick of me talking about my pain, stop right here.

The very first thing I do every day is wonder how much longer I will be waking up with an 8 or 9 pain-scale pain.  Other than the meloxicam (same thing we give Max) this winter, I've never known an anti-inflammatory to work for me.

If I was to draw my morning pain, it would be something jagged.  Chaotic, mean and ugly.  So, this morning between moans I swallowed a 200 mg Celebrex tablet and focused.  Gradually the jagged-ness became  smooth and even though I attribute everything to coincidence, I don't think this was.  

Therapy was invigoratingly brutal again today.  Vinny the therapist didn't do as much bending and pulling as usual.  Instead, he showed me ways to torture myself at home which I'm sure he would have done even if he hadn't had pink eye.  Lots of quad strengthening and stretching.  'Good pain' exercises.  I told him that a lot of my pain (sometimes, most) was in the hip flexor area and he spontaneously told me it's likely related to the knee.*

Did some treadmill.  It allows me to unweight enough to focus on my gait rather than my pain. (there's that pain topic again).

Rode a wonderful hour on the Stowe bike path.

Today's progress: Celebrex discovery.

*I'd been worrying it might be a whole other problem so he made me happy.

Day Forty-Seven

Went to school today with Vince.  Did lots of uncomfortable walking around campus without crutches even though it would have been so much easier to just sit in the car with Max.  I took elevators down and walked up.  Love going up.*  Seems like the more walking I do, the better/easier it should get but it doesn't.  Maybe when the hot spot goes away?

*going up stairs is the one thing that is easier now than before surgery.

Excuse me but I'm really tired and can't remember any more of the day.