New Knee Day 15: Pedaling!

Had PT today and after she left I hopped on the bike to do some partial rotations. I was really close to a full rotation but not quite there until I tried pedaling backwards. I was able to go full circle in reverse!

I figured out that the real difference was in my foot position. If I pointed the foot more instead of holding it at 90 degrees I was able to rotate my leg full circle. 

After slowing and adjusting foot position I am now able to pedal forward!!

Now I am working on getting everything lined up correctly and happy. 

New Knee Week 2

Finally lost a couple of the more crusty looking steri strips in the shower today. I can now see a little more bruising that was hidden. Knee doesn't look too bad for day 14!

New Knee Day 12: Progress Report

Sitting here on my recumbent bike doing a 30 minute pedal fest and trying to come up with a status report. This is Day 12 after operation and I am feeling like I am making progress.

First of all I still cannot do a full rotation on the bike pedals but I am very close!

Getting on the bike is much easier. I can lift my leg up without a lot of pain. The same thing goes for getting in and out of bed and up and down from sitting position. I have less pain and more flexibility which makes getting around much easier. 

I am down to one crutch (with PT approval) and when walking on the flat I can walk almost normally crutch free. Still have a bit of a limp though so need to work on that. 

My wound still has steri strips on but they are looking pretty ragged. A few more showers will likely see them come off. 

My leg never bruised up badly and except for the wound and a small amount of swelling it looks pretty normal. 

Speaking of showers I am able to put my good leg up on the toilet seat and dry off while standing with full weight on my robo leg. Just need to be careful to balance well with no twisting. 

Similarly I am able to get my socks and shorts on without too much problem. Again balance on new leg is good. I tend to be careful to hold on to something still but the weight bearing is no problem. 

As to pain level I am down to about 3-4 OxyCodin a day. Night is still a problem which is generally where the 4th oxy comes in. I am making progress. I can finally  sleep on my side without a lot of pain in the knee.  The biggest issue at night and early morning has been my quad muscle wanting to tighten up almost like a spasm or cramp. I feel it when that happens!

As to general well being I am feeling pretty good. My energy levels are definitely lower still. It takes a lot more to bounce back after any energy drain and I do need more rest time during the day. I am sleeping longer hours although the sleep is pretty broken so it is hard to quantify actual sleep time. After getting up early for the Anzac sunrise service Saturday I spent the rest of the day in bed! 

I am a little frustrated as there is so much I see that I need or want to do around the house but most takes a little more mobility than I have at the moment. I am trying to remember that my focus now should be working on my rehabilitation. 

New Knee Week 1: Anzac Day

Up at a most unworthy hour today and we went off to pick up the krazy kiwi for an early morning service commemorating the servicemen who died at Gallipoli. Glad I brought my crutches and also glad it is by tradition a short service! The knee and I made it through and I am glad to have joined in.

https://www.facebook.com/events/420630538107770/
http://www.gallipoli2015.govt.nz

New Knee Week 1

I'm just about over the high of making great range of motion progress and not having as much pain to deal with as I thought I would. Now I am getting bored..... And while one is bored one does silly things.
I hopped on my recumbent a couple days ago and started a series pedaling back and forth, not making a full revolution. At that point I was only up to about 112 degrees and I believe around 120 is the magic number for a full revolution on the bike. Did I mentions I was bored? In fact I was even more bored sitting on the bike not going anywhere and not making even a full revolution of the pedals. So I started playing with my bar end shifters and of course managed to shift jerking the pedal and suddenly I did a full revolution - YIKES OWEY! That was not boring! Luckily no metal bits fell out of anything (bike or knee) and I was able to do a few more three quarters revolutions before getting off the bike and grabbing an icepack.

Quote of the Day

"Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you."
— Maya Angelou (Letter to My Daughter)

New Knee Week 1: Sleep vs Pain

Pain levels have not been too bad so far but last night seemed to be the night for it. The doctor and nurses all warned me that nighttime was likely to be the worst. There is just no really good position for me to put my leg in. Normally I am a side sleeper and that seems to be the worst there seems to be no way to get everything positioned comfortably. I have decided that increasing pain mess at night is a good idea, as is using a seldom used sleep aid.