New Knee Part 1

Im at home and recovery nicely. I was only in the hospital from Monday through Wednesday afternoon.

So….overall……this has been the best thing ever! The actual surgery went really well and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I was expecting. In fact, the post op pain is nothing compared to what it was before surgery.

They had me up and walking within a few hours of my surgery and I had to stop because my OTHER knee was hurting too bad! Not the one that was just replaced. It still blows my mind.

And it’s straight! For the first time in YEARS I have a straight knee. The surgery took about an hour longer than he expected because the bones were bent and stuck so badly. But the whole procedure was under three hours.

I arrived at the hospital at six in the morning. My best friend joined me for moral support. The I.V. was my least favorite part, just as I suspected it would be. The nurse had to do it twice after a vein was blown. I waited around for about twenty minutes, and then they rolled me into the operating room. I didn’t even have to have a catheter. Thank God.

I was out really quickly and they put the tube in my throat after I was passed out and took it out before I was up. Then they took me to recovery and gave me some Morphine. Which did not work. Then something else (Vicodin maybe?) Which still didn’t help. Then they gave me a shot of Demerol which was magic. Lol.

After that, I went to my room and everything went very smoothly. Everyone I came into contact with, from the nurses, to the physical therapist, to the social workers, were amazed at my age. They kept saying it was so weird to see someone under 70 getting this procedure. In fact, when going over paperwork, I had to answer questions like ” Do you have your own teeth?” 

So now I’m at home. My friends managed to find another mattress to make my bed higher. The hospital sent me home with a CPM machine which is amazing. I just put my leg in it, plug it in, and it exercises my leg for me. They also sent me home with this ice pack machine which constantly flows ice cold water over my knee. I also had a literal tub of medications beside me.

Today I’m feeling pretty good. My muscles were the sorest after surgery. He had to manipulate them quite a bit since they were so bent for so long. So they have hurt way for then my actual knee. My knee isn’t so bad. It just makes my whole leg feel so so so tight. Mostly just uncomfortable. I can put all my weight on it, which is amazing.

Anyways, I’m still doped up from all the different meds, so I feel like taking a doze. I just wanted to give a quick update. I’ll write more about my stay later.