News from further down the line! We are all different, but I am sharing this to offer a perspective from a later time point. (4 months post knee replacement surgery)
At 16 weeks I do have some aching in the knee, but I also bear in mind that as I have resumed normal life and I am not doing so many leg strengthening exercises. However I am using my knee more. I did plan to continue with my exercises and so I am trying to get back into the habit of spending at least half an hour each day working on increasing my strength and stamina. I go the the pool a couple of times a week and spend a good half hour doing exercises with floats on my ankles as well as gradually increasing the duration of my swimming. I use the exercise bike each day for half an hour and I am moving a lot faster than I have done for two years. The over all effect of this is that I feel like a tortoise on roller skates and cannot quite keep up with how fast I am moving. This is amazingly wonderful, and I cannot quite believe it. Just to stand up straight is immensely rewarding and while I am lacking in energy still I feel, in terms of how my how body feels, and get tired very easily, this limitation feels like very little compared to how my life was before the knee replacement surgery.
It’s so exciting to get on the bus and know I can head upstairs or to the slightly raised level downstairs rather than hope like mad the disabled seats are free. Or to spend an evening out standing for a couple of hours without a stick. Or to want something from the shops and decide to take the longer route to the supermarket which isn’t the nearest one. Just to have the option to do so is wonderful! To know I can keep up with another person when walking. To know that I can go for a walk in London, then change my mind and go somewhere else, without having to calculate how/and if I can get where I am going with a limited walking ability of around 15 minutes.
It is the case the the novelty of being able to stand for as long as I need to, walk about and get on with some work…some fantastically BIG paintings at present…has not worn off yet and brings the occasional tear to my eye when I think of it. Happy tear. I can actually start to make plans for the future. I can carry my paintings and take them to where they need to go! I can get on with life and network, and do all the things I need to do as an artist! The knee is FANTASTIC!
My general health seems a bit weak but I think with time I will recover more fully. It is a major operation, and it does take time. Adjusting to a new way of walking takes time too. I have bottom ache most of the time, as now I am taking longer steps I think I am using those muscles more. I have a bit of an ache in the small of my back. My arms are not as toned as they used to be because I am swimming less than I was. I have put on a few pounds… not many, but too many for my liking. So I will continue with losing weight and want to lose another stone by Christmas. Thinking long term. I will continue exercising every day. It is a good habit to keep.
I have not seen the surgeon yet, but will do in a couple of weeks. I did phone the hospital at 6 weeks and was told I would receive a phone call back but it never came. Because I have not had concerns about my range of motion I did not mind waiting but when it got to 12 weeks I really felt the time had come! I called again and got an appointment for mid July… That is around 4 and a half months after! But the poor NHS system is straining under the weight of all the pressure! Oh well, at least I can come leaping and jumping into the room to see the surgeon or one of his team! It’s very important to me to be able to waltz into the room, and now I can!