It does get better! Each day little improvements start to provide milestones you can record and remind yourself of how far you have come. I recommend keeping a journal of those, as encouragement on those days when you hurt and wonder if if will ever end.
As of Oct. 30, a little more than four months after the replacement surgery, I feel better than I have felt in 15 years. No more pain, no more wobbling as I walk, no more limping; it is really wonderful and has given me so much energy.
As you know from my earlier posts, there were some really rough stretches during the post surgery and physical therapy. It was definitely worth it but think hard before you do it and be prepared for a lot of hard work!!
Here are some milestones along the way;
Day 26 - off the blood thinners (now I am not so cold all the time), no more TED stockings - yea!, and start gradually weaning away from the walker to a cane. Dr. says xray looks good, incision looks good, range of motion is good. Thankfully I am a fast healer!
Day 28 - 4 weeks exactly from the surgery, starting to sleep better. Went to the store today, first time in a month, used the little electric cart.
Day 33- Started outpatient PT twice a week. Ooooo, this is going to be tough!
Day 35 - Almost a normal day doing things around the house: laundry, watering flowers, etc.
Day 42 - 6 weeks! This has been the longest 6 weeks of my life. We celebrated our 18th anniversary today.
Day 51 - Slept last night without any pain meds!
Day 55 - Started water aerobics.
Day 56 - 8 weeks! Sleeping most of the time without sleep aids and pain meds.
Day 59 - Pulled a muscle at Physical Therapy yesterday. I can hardly walk.
August 18 - I quit counting the "Days since surgery". Life is starting to feel more normal now. Still doing PT. Heading out on a camping trip at the lake.
September 14 - Headed out on our road trip. Still can't sit for more than 1 1/2 hrs. at a time without walking and stretching.
September 23 - Back is out and can't move. Don't know if it is related to the replacement surgeries but definitely too much sitting yesterday! Need to stretch and move slowly. Went swimming a couple times to work it out.
September 28 - Arrived at Yosemite. Lots of walking here. So thankful I can walk now.
October 14 - Back to Physical Therapy to work on a couple things: going down stairs and getting the hitch out of my walking gait.
October 16 - Last Physical Therapy session. Now it is up to me to exercise on my own.
Father God I am so thankful that you brought me through these surgeries and gave me a new lease on life! Thank you for family and friends that care for me and prayed for me and stuck by me through this time. Those visits and phone calls and cards were so important to keeping me encouraged. Let me be an encouragement to someone else!
