Total Knee Replacement
Every day I have a little more strength and movement in the leg. My flexibility still hasn’t increased a great amount since the knee replacement, still less than 90 degrees of bend at my knee, but my strength has. The fear of having to independently move my leg has gone (okay, diminished). There are still twinges. Lynn was helping me take off the stocking and when it suddenly came off, my leg bobbed up about six inches, and then there was no support under it so dropped. I automatically tensed up and slowed the descent, but the knee didn’t like uncontrolled flight. Not really painful, just a clear reminder that things needed to be more controlled.
I really don’t have much appetite since I am not doing much. I guess all of the nutrients needed to heal a 10 inch (25 cm) incision in my leg are probably contained in a handful of food. I’m taking 3-4 one-a-days each day, a couple in the morning and another one or two each night. And a protein shake every morning, depending on whether Lynn has time or thinks of it in the morning, while she is getting ready for work.
It is certainly decadent-like to just lie there each morning, drinking the hand delivered coffee and juice/shake while she gets ready. Every once in a while I scratch the dogs on top of their heads or behind their ears. Lynn and I just chat about what’s on the radio or the coming day. She has the great good sense to make sure everything important that I am to do is written down for me.
The dogs start barking like crazy. I look outside and see a service truck. Then about 10 minutes later the phone rings. Bell telephone (or their contracted service rep I should say) tells me that the fuses in the junction box outside on my house wall had blown. They have been replaced. They no doubt saved me from significant damage inside and all is right with the world of telephone communications now. I thank him. Then smack my forehead. I should have asked him for the spec for those fuses. I need to get some for the next time. To think that a $2 part and 15 minutes of work would have saved me from 2 ½ days of no phone service. I will have to find out what is required. Once I get internet access again it shouldn’t be hard.
Now that I have phone service I make contact with xplornet again and once more we walk through all the reboot, power up and power down stuff. They decide it might be a problem with their equipment and assure me that they will assign a ticket to a local service rep. Here we go again, I think. There is nothing I can do. They are the only game in town.
I’m hitting the sack every night about 10:00. By the end of the day, I have had enough of hobbling around and look forward to resting in bed. I have been catching the odd ½ to 1 hour naps as well, usually after lunch. They seem to help with the energy levels.
Total Knee Replacement
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Total Knee Replacement Surgery Plus Eight Days
Total Knee Replacement Surgery Plus Seven Days
Total Knee Replacement
Bright and early, 7:00 AM, here’s the nurse from the blood services lab to sample my blood. They need to check how the cuomadin is working to sort the dosage rate out. The samples they took in the hospital aren’t sufficient. These people are so proficient. I guess after 10,000 needle sticks you get pretty smooth.
Both Lynn and I slept the sleep of the dead last night. My leg isn’t too bad considering the workout it got yesterday. I am sleeping with it propped up on pillows at night. I think it helps keep the swelling down, maybe even helps it drain a little through the night. I am still wearing the stocking and I think it is helping. I do take it off every day or so, just to give my little toes a chance to flutter in the air. I am not sure that stocking was designed for feet and legs the size that I carry around.
I call up my good buddy Malcolm at work. His son has a computer service on wheels thing going part time. It was me that gave Malcolm that idea, to pass along to his son, who was working as a help desk guy for an ISP. He is doing pretty well with it and this is a great opportunity for him to say thanks for the idea.
That’s all set. Malc’s son will call me back and set up a time on the weekend to check out my end of the computer/internet connection
I try calling the xplornet people and get a very helpful and pleasant young woman from Fredericton. She walks me through the boot process I have already used. Lynn is assisting because the modem is up on top of the bookcase and awkward for me to get to. I’m the phone link to Fredericton, she is the hands on. I missed a “static discharge procedure” in my efforts on Wednesday. Our Tech person guides us through. Eventually we lose cell phone contact. But we do get internet connection going.
Lynn runs upstairs to check her computer. No connection there. An hour of screwing around ensues, switching cables, redoing everything again. No luck. And the internet seems god-awful slow. It takes 7 minutes to download three email messages. I give up. Tomorrow the regular phone lines will be back and I will try again.
It’s funny how exhausted I get, just doing a little bit of moving around. I am still only one week out of total knee replacement surgery so I guess it is to be expected.
Total Knee Replacement