Thanks for the sweet words!😳
Yes, last year's anniversary was QUITE the event! It will DEFINITELY rank right up there with "Events Never to be Forgotten!"
I can honestly say, though, I was so focused on getting rid of the knees that were giving me SO MUCH PAIN, that I really WAS happy to move forward, think toward the future and just GO FOR IT! I had HAD IT with all that throbbing, aching PAIN!
I hope we all can eventually move past the pains and aches!🙌😊😁🙌
Glad to hear that you are feeling that great feeling of being released from years of suffering, too! Getting the second replacement knee on board helps SO MUCH because then there are two good knees that are both able to literally pull their weight!
I know what you mean about confidence! It's a nice feeling to have confidence again!
The lake was great! The beaches there are so nice, and the walkway is a peninsula out into Lake Erie. Every view is a pretty one!
It DEFINITELY is in sight for you to be able to go do what makes you happy! It just takes TIME and lots of patience. You WILL get there!🙌😊😁🙌
SO happy to hear that your most recent surgery is progressing so well! I have been SO eager to hear that! You sure have been through it for so long!
Your balance must be much improved since you can now go it alone without the walker or cane. CONGRATULATIONS! What a difference it makes not having to drag a walker or cane around. They ARE helpful but also get in the way. I kept forgetting mine then having to go FIND it!
My husband's feet actually felt BETTER doing the walking yesterday! He was surprised, and so was I because his pheriphial neuropathy can truly halt him in his tracks some days. Each day brings different issues. Sometimes I think just getting out and MOVING is the key for him. Thanks for asking!😊
Thanks so much!😊
I think healing is a very complicated process! It takes awhile to accomplish, and we humans aren't all that patient. It is a definite challenge!
I keep a journal to remind myself how far I have come . Reading over those early days after surgery shows me how CONSUMED I was with MY KNEES! It was like they were ROYAL GUESTS! It wasn't until many weeks later that they became just parts of my body and not MY SOLE FOCUS!
Listen to your body, and take good care of your needs. You will get there!🙌😊😁🙌
Thanks very much!😊 It DOES seem like Party Time again after such a long recovery and years of PAIN before that!
We had a GREAT time yesterday! The best part was CELEBRATING my knees but not needing to have all the PAIN that I had prior to surgery so that we could focus on our ANNIVERSARY instead of the pain.
Congratulations on 1 year and happy anniversary to you and your husband! I love your spirit! You have brought me out of dark days more than once. And thank you for sharing this up lifting post!!!♡
Awwww! Thanks! 😳 It is so good to hear that I was able to help you! These are challenging days, this recovery thing, and I think we all need to support one another.
How are you doing?
I'm doing well. Went back to work today half days. I have a desk job and have 24 stairs to get to my office! Still in pt. Bob is happy with my motion. He's working on strengthening right now. He told me when I had the mua my muscles really pd the price. I'm getting there. Not much swelling anymore. But still get stiff. . And still doing the exercises you gave me! Have a great evening! ♡
Cheryl, Congratulations on your successful knee surgeries and your highly successful marriage. Hope the weather in Erie was good and that it wasn't snowing. I smile saying that because I'm from Harrisburg and have been in Erie so many times when it was snowing. And I did my college internship project at Presque Isle State Park.
Glad to hear you are progressing so well!🙌😁😊🙌Oooooooooo! TWENTY-FOUR steps!!! That is A LOT! Good that you are still in PT. I got SO MUCH out of physical therapy, and I REALLY loved how specific exercises targeted EXACTLY what I needed to strengthen.
Are you working on balance? My therapist had me do quite a bit with balance. I never realized how bad my balance had gotten prior to surgery. The balance work REALLY added so much to my confidence after surgery!
I get stiff, too. I hear it is part of the EVIL called "Arthritis" and particularly is a speciality of Osteoarthritis. Bad, Bad disease!😲
Good to hear that swelling has left. I know it is a part of the TKR Experience, but it surely is an unwelcome part! Strange how it comes and goes, sometimes for no apparent reason!
Try to find excuses to get up and walk around a bit during work. My neighbor uses an exercise ball to sit on during work time. She can stretch her hips and legs while typing or on the phone. She said her back aches are much less now, too. Just a thought!
Keep us up on how things go, OK?
Wishing you continued success!💗
You are SO RIGHT about Erie's SNOW!☃❄☃❄❄❄❄❄❄❄❄☃☃☃❄❄❄❄❄❄☃☃☃❄❄❄❄
We live in NE Ohio's snowbelt about a mile from Lake Erie. Erie, PA. gets MUCH MORE snow than WE do! Millcreek Mall had a whole PARKING LOT section for the snow plows last winter, and it wasn't even close to the snow amounts Erie USUALLY gets!
Presque Isle is such a pretty place! I love the way you can turn off to the beaches through the pretty trees on the walkway when you need to get cool in the water!🏊👓👣💦💦
It is a GREAT place to do an Internship Project!
My husband and I were both born in western PA!
We started working on balance more last week. Standing on rubbery things that makes me very wobbly. I'm still doing the one stand in front of something to hold onto if needed and stand on one leg hold. Then the other. That has helped me. I didn't realize how bad my balance was prior to surgery. I haven't been able to walk the " normal" way up and down stairs in 8 yrs!
It's good to be in a place now that I don't freak that my knee may freeze up again. And mua will need to be done. It could happen but I have come to the point that I know my knee. What it can and can't do. I still have discomfort. And it I really over do it it's close to being painful. But a motrin takes care of that. Prior to surgery I only had pain going up and down stairs. Or hiking up and down a hill or mt. I haven't done much of either yet so the advantages of my tkr hasn't been felt...yet. I know patience!
Hi Linlee. So have you had mua done? I'm 4 months post op and my knee refuses to bend past a certain point. I'm scared I may have to get that done. Tell me the truth...is it as bad as people say? I've watched a video of it on youtube and thought that poor person must have been in agony when she woke up! 
So be honest with me! How bad is it?? Thanks.
Good that you are working on balance! At first I wasn't sure of how important balance was. I just knew I wasn't very good at it! THEN, I discovered that, since my balance practice at PT and in practice throughout the week at home, I actually was able to recover TWO times that I tripped, not falling either time!🙌🙌 SO GLAD I WORKED ON BALANCE!
I have been working on weeding flower beds this week. It is really hot, so I keep the hose handy and regularly spray myself to cool off. Ahhhhh! It also creates MUD which is slippery. My balance practice helps me when I am walking around in muddy flower beds, too!
BONUS!!!🙌
I am continuing to work on feeling confident walking normally down stairs. I do well on our son's 14 step staircase in his condo BECAUSE it has railings on both sides of the stairway. I do less well on the six steps down to our family room and on the six steps up to the bedrooms from our first floor because there is a railing on just one side of each staircase. Going UP is fine. I hang on for dear life going up or down because the LAST THING I want to do is fall down steps!
There's ALWAYS stuff to work on!
Keep going! It is ALL very worth it!🙌😊😁🙌
Just read your post congratulations on your 40th wedding anniversary and knee anniversary hope you had a wonderful day xx
We had a great day! Thank you for your post. The best part was that I hardly thought about my KNEES!🙌🙌 For SO LONG every decision to DO STUFF had to be weighed by whether I could STAND or WALK that long or that far. SO NICE not to have to focus on my KNEES!😁😁
How are YOU doing?
I'm doing ok, it is my first week back at work tiring but good to be back now looking forward to my holiday in Portugal in September with 2 good knees x
Oh, it will be WONDERFUL!😊
You will be able to enjoy things SO much better without all the pain!
Also, you have a couple months to get feeling even better than you do now.
Happy travel with those NEW KNEES! .🙌🙌
I am sure you enjoyed that walk! It's a beautiful feeling. I'm 21 months post op from a bilateral TKR. Some thought I was crazy having both done at the same time, but it worked. I don't know that I struggled any more with both knees than others have with one. I was watching people at a baseball game last night and was struck by those who were so struggling with walking up the steps. It struck me that that used to be me. It's nice remembering the journey and celebrating where we are today, isn't it!