During my four days in the hospital, on a scale of 1-10, my pain was a 1. This is because after surgery like I had, you are kept on a great deal of pain medication. In addition, I had the residual effects of the block and other drugs from anesthesia that were still very much in my system. After I left the hospital, my husband drove me to an in-patient rehabilitation facility, arriving last Sunday, exactly one week ago. Since there is no physical therapy on Sundays, I was a bit bored and anxious to get started.
My wish came true the following day when I had not one, but two sessions of physical therapy. This is the standard, one before lunch and one after lunch. My therapists job share, so I was meeting one of them today and I would meet the second one tomorrow. I was a model patient: I had a positive attitude, pushed myself 100% on each exercise, regardless of the pain, and completed both sessions with a smile on my face.
Upon waking Tuesday morning, I felt a bit depressed. I made the mistake of using the word lethargic so the nurse gave me less pain medication before my morning therapy. I got down to the rehab room, and was trying ever so hard to gear myself up to make a good first impression on my second therapist. After saying hello and letting her know I knew her brother, I said, “I’m so sorry, but I am going to cry.” And then I did. She got up, fetched a box of tissues, and told me she could have predicted this. I looked at her quizzically as she explained how on the second day of rehab, many patients, especially the younger ones, have this reaction. After surviving the first day of rehab, I realized just how large the hill was that I had to climb and how every inch was going to be hard and painful. The hard part was not over; it was just beginning!
What people should really say when you leave the hospital is The dangerous part is over. I didn’t die, there were no complications, no infections, and no mistakes were made. The surgery is the hard part for the doctors, but not for me. I was barely in pain while in the hospital.
After that Tuesday morning therapy session, I went back to my room to wait for lunch. A dear friend from high school surprised me with a visit. I greeted her with, “Annie, I didn’t know you were coming. It’s so good to see you....I’m gonna cry…” . Her response was a little different, as she was not expecting me to cry. Her maternal instincts kicked in and she wanted to know what was wrong and how she could fix it for me. Then she said she didn’t think she ever saw me cry. Since I have known her since second grade that is saying a lot. I don’t cry a lot. As a matter of fact, I had never cried about this surgery since the day I was told I needed it. Maybe I needed this good cry (or two) to get it out of my system. Don’t worry, I didn’t have a third cry…
Having the support of family and friends, whether through an email, phone call, card, or visit, helps in ways you might not fully understand. Last night, there was a knock on my door followed by, “Room service.” I knew the voice, but was confused because it belonged to a friend who lives in Maine. Sure enough, he made the effort to come with his wife and daughter to visit me. I can’t even tell you how special that visit was and how I will always remember this ultimate gesture of friendship.
The hard part for me will continue to be the hourly challenges of slowly beginning to do more activities independently while gaining flexibility, strength, and flexion. The progress will be there as part of the ups and the struggles will be there as part of the downs. With these ups and downs there may be more tears, both of joy and pain. I look forward to shedding them with my family and friends.
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Two days after surgery
Swelling totals 11 pounds
No stitches or staples
Just glue and clicking sounds
Hang in there! When I was 21 I had my left knee restructured through a procedure called a Tibia Tubular. Only 1,000 people in United States have this done per year to prevent one's knee from constantly popping out. After surgery I went through 4 months of rehab, 2.5 which included a full leg brace. Even after losing 60 lbs, I tell myself I need to rehab my left knee on a daily basis. The surgery was the easy part, and the scar will fade but be sure to do whatever your doctor tells you. Knee problems are the worst! Best of luck <3
ReplyDeleteDear Linda,
ReplyDeleteWe are missing you at school and wish you the most speedy recovery. As you say, knee replacement surgery is no picnic, especially once the pain blockers wear off. The difficult part is the recovery and therapy. I always think of you as a sturdy, well centered person, so if this surgery brought you to tears it must be incredibly painful. But, one of my mantras is "Pain has no memory". And once you are up and moving well you probably will have forgotten just how difficult this whole experience was. Keep us posted on everything. We are thinking of you every day.