Day Twenty Four. PM.

Watching this 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' AGAIN at 70 rpm.

Turns out the left knee pain isn't gone like I thought it might be but I did go the whole day without screaming because of it, so that's good.  Anyway.  Seems like the 12 hour pill had something to do with my comfort last night but also, I may have started turning the corner everyone was talking about.

Today's riding and rowing and stairs and stretching and icing left just enough time for me to walk down to our neighbor Linda's mailbox and back (maybe 1/2 mile) with Vince and Max.  Yippee.  My first real Max walk and I did a bunch of it without crutches.  Funny.....milestones that weren't milestones a month ago and now everything is a milestone.  Here's where it starts to get fun.

Poor Max.  A Central Asian Shepherd (flock guard dog), he doesn't know whether to stay downstairs and guard me or go upstairs and guard Vince at night.  Lately he's been staying down with me until about 3 AM before staggering upstairs to Vin for the rest of the night.  He works so hard.

Day Ten (Sunday, March, 25 2012)

Beauty is only skin deep.

Is it a football?

Did lots of PT.

Tomorrow I'll get my blood checked again for clotting risk around the same time my flexion is measured to see if it's improved and is good enough to get on the stationary bike.  I look forward to rehabbing with tools that feel real to me (bike, stairs, walking...)

I think I'll get the dressings off and be able to SHOWER.

I have to start weaning myself off of the 'leg lifter' thing.  Sometimes, when I'm not thinking about raising my leg, I realize it's on the bed and must have gotten there on it's own.

One really sore spot for me that 'they' don't tell you about is down the fronts of the thighs.  It's sort of like the pain you get from the first day of gardening when you spend the whole day bending at the waist instead of squatting except it's on the front of the legs and not the back.  Same kind of sore though.

Decided to quit snubbing the MS Contin and took one before bed last night.  No nausea and seemed to take the edge off the pain enough to cut out a vicodin.

Four Days

I am getting good wishes today from everyone that thinks I am still going in tomorrow.

Out skiing for 2 1/2 hours +.  Part of it spent walking down the hill to our field.  So happy to get home to take a vicodin and ice.  It was my left knee today which was good actually.  Still (1 AM) really swollen.  Reinforces the fact it's good I'm getting the left one done too.   I blame it on slow snow and skiing from fast snow under the trees to almost coming to a stop hitting the slow snow in the open....and again...and again etc.

Only 3 ski days left.

Twelve Days

Skied the grand tour with friends Ed and Linda.  Iced up a ton with already slow skis which is never good for an arthritic knee.  Wimped out and took a pain killer (5/325) before bed.
I'm not sure I'd really ever looked at my body in a full length mirror before but today I did.  I noticed my right knee was a bit knocked and my right hip was skewed.  I'm pretty sure I was straight up and down until around now.  I had Vin photograph that part of me so I can send it to the doc.  Is that weird?  If I email it to him will he think it's porn?  Was thinking I could photoshop a four leaf clover or something over the crotch area.  Whatever...I don't think I'm going in for my fix a minute too soon.
Walking is awkward and pathetic.  Crutches help.