Independence Day!

First of all, happy Fourth of July, and thank you to all the service men and women who make it possible to continue to celebrate such a day. 

What was my act of independence today?  I went into the pool!  I have been wanting to do this for about a week now.  I was originally scheduled for pool therapy, but when I had the manipulation last Monday it all changed to land therapy.  I was so disappointed (even though I really would only have to wait through July to hit the pool) and just DREAMED of getting into the pool.  I imagined how nice it would be for my leg to float up, and how nice it would be to bicycle through the deep end just hanging from a noodle.  You have to understand - we have a nice big inground pool - HOWEVER, not only is it unheated and icy cold because it sits in the middle of a yard of pine trees with virtually no sun, but we had holes in the pool cover this year so when we took it off LOADS of gunk fell in.  That, would be bad enough in itself, but our pool cover is the spring resort home to a pair of ducks who have been coming every year for more than 10 years.  THEN when we finally got the cover off, and loaded the pool with 8 gallons of super-duper shock, the ducks still didn't leave.  So let's just say, although the pool is not a swamp (thanks to the diligent vacuuming, cleaning, shocking, and algecide treatment over the past three weeks), it is not sparkling clean either.  HOWEVER, I couldn't help myself.

All I was going to do was put a toe in the water.  But instead, I just marched down the stairs - with my crutches, my sandals on, and all my clothes on.  I just kept going like I was headed toward a baptism. Before I knew it I was in the water - crutches, sandals, and clothes and all!  And oh my, how glorious it was! I did my standing exercises, and could feel myself gaining in the range of motion as the buoyancy of the water lifted my leg and knee effortlessly.  As I ventured toward the deep end with my noodle I realized that my sandals were dead weights on my feet so I shredded those.  I bicycled and ventured to kick (which turned out to be too much for me - I could bring my good leg above the surface but didn't have the strength in my TKR leg). I didn't have company in the pool (my husband was watching the baseball game on the deck, and my son was inside on the computer) but I was safe with them nearby.  I won't be going in unless that is the case, but as long as the sun is out I am going to try to make this a daily activity.

Another independence day celebration:  I got in and out of the shower by myself.  I have to remind myself that the good leg goes in first and comes out first.  But between my crutch and the grab bar and the shower chair I was good to go.  Something as simple as taking a shower... such a production!  Another nice thing about my shower today is that it didn't take me an hour to recover.  Up to now, I've been going soaking wet right under the covers, sometimes napping, before I can finish drying off and dressing. 

A lesson I learned today was that I cannot go outside with my cane.  I must use my crutch(es).  This is for a few reasons.  First of all, I absolutely am not ready to handle an incline.  Just the little bit of slope in  my driveway twice caused my knee to buckle.  If my husband weren't right at my elbow I would have fallen both times.  The cane just does not offer enough support for that.  The other reason a crutch is a good idea when going out is that with a cane you are virtually invisible.  With a crutch, people get out of your way, don't mind walking slowly behind you, offer to help if they can, etc.  Although I can use a cane in the house - and I have also been using my Nordic walking sticks - I will stick to crutch(es) outside the house for now. 

The MOST valuable lesson I learned today is to take my pain medication first thing in the morning, no matter how I'm feeling.  This morning I got up feeling relatively well.  I said to myself - let me try today to do without any medication.  I was fine... until I started my PT at 9AM.  I was so uncomfortable I had to stop several times to rest (and whimper) and did not finish the last of my exercises until almost 11.  (By then I had taken my Vicadin and Tylenol, but it was too late.)  I guess the reason I breeze through my morning exercises at 9AM is because I've taken my meds between 7 and 8.  The whole rest of the day was playing catch up.  Good to know. 

I'm bracing myself for a tough night.  The last time I had a good day and did a lot, I suffered something awful at night, during the night, and in the morning.  (I do believe that might have been one of the mornings I fell apart.)  My physical therapist said that is going to happen.  So today I started off on the wrong foot by not taking my medication in the morning, then spent time in the pool REALLY using that knee, then went to the grocery store.  However, now knowing that one has to pay the piper in recovery, and that it's not that the knee is cemented in wrong or that I've torn or twisted something, I think I can be less anxious when I surely face discomfort later or during the night.  I think this is one of the valuable lessons to learn 5-6 weeks out of recovery.  Up to then it really wouldn't have been an issue because you're not doing much (except maybe overdoing it a bit during home PT).  But, as time goes on, and your days are more comfortable and you do more as a result, you have to realize that discomfort is sure to follow.  I actually didn't do TOO much today - there is nothing I wouldn't have done, but it was a more normal day, and that, in itself, is too much. 

I am glad that I have PT at 9:40AM tomorrow.  I really need to talk to my therapist about this cement leg business.  Mostly it's around my knee.  I am trusting it is not an immediate formation of scar tissue, and is just swelling - but ENOUGH ALREADY.  (Unfortunately it's not nearly "enough already" - I've read stories of people having this swelling for a year or more.)  I have also read that doctors do not like their patients to use anti-inflammatories because it interferes with the healing of the bone.  It's a question I have to ask my surgeon when I next see him.  I'm thinking an Advil or an Aleve might help a bit.  But... perhaps not... We'll see.  What puzzles me is that I will do a massage and loosen things up and use the bike with no effort.  Then, not 10 minutes later I cannot bend my knee without this elastic tightness again. 

It's such a long process to get used to what is normal and not normal.  Unfortunately I think there is a whole range of normal, and that's what I'm trying to learn as I go along.

So anyway, all in all - a good day.
Miriam