Really need to get my leg straight!
No more stitches!
Hi Everyone!It's 13 days post-op, so I thought I'd give an update on how things are going.
Last Tuesday January 13, I "dumped" my crutches, cane, and walker for my own two feet! I have to admit the first couple of days walking on my own I was a bit shaky as it had been over two months since I walked on my own! Absolutely no pain from bone on bone while bearing total body weight, post surgical pain was another story but that continues to get better! The worst part of the day is the night time when trying to sleep. If I get a hour and a half to two hour of continuous sleep that's very good, at that point my knee aches so bad that I usually have to get up, walk around a bit, put ice on it, take some meds, anything to try and get it to settle down. It usually does and then I will fall asleep for another hour and a half or so until around 3:30-4:00AM when I get up for the day, thank goodness I've always been a early riser and have never required a lot of sleep! If any of you have any ideas on what I can do to get a better sleep, please let me know! I know eventually things will get more back to normal, I just need to stay positive and keep working hard at my rehabbing of my knee.
I met with my doctor, Dr. Matt Heinrich yesterday and he said things were really looking good and he took the stitches out. His biggest concern and mine also is the inability to be able to completely straighten my leg out, the bending part is way ahead of schedule and I can now walk up stairs pretty much like a normal person! Dr. Heinrich said if I'm unable to get it to straighten completely, he will have to put me to sleep and "crank" on the leg to break away the scar tissue. If I don't get it to straighten I will always have a little hitch in my step, so I'm working real hard at it!
Besides working on my own and going to PT, he ordered me the "ERMI Knee Extensionater II, sounds like something from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie!
I will use that 4 times/day, it won't be fun, but hopefully it gets me to my full extension and the doctor won't have to "crank" on my knee!
Take care all and have a great day!
Dick
Take care all and have a great day!
Dick
4 comments:
Dick,
Wow..that's still pretty ugly, but I'm glad you're getting around. As far as sleep, you could listen to my podcast, OR, perhaps taking Melatonin might help. It's a natural sleep aid and perhaps it might help. Of course, check with your doctor.
Well take care and hope to see you out on the road soon!
Dr. Heinrich is awesome! He did a procedure on my hip last spring, and it's all better now!
Glad to hear your rehab is going well, and it's wonderful news that you can walk again!
Hi Dick:
So happy to hear your knee replacement went well. Hopefully you'll be able to straighten your knee soon. I just had hip surgery from a broken hip (happened during a half marathon) so can relate in a small way to what you're going through.
P.S. Ordered your book in August. Really enjoyed it and hoping for a sequel soon.
All the best!
Get that knee working...me and Mike are ready for you to join us on the bike....for once in our lives we will be able to kick your a__, for a few years while you learn to ride and ride hard. You are going to love riding and you will be able to get your exercise fix..and do it everyday...love ya...Bill
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