It was Tuesday evening, June 17. Mark and I were having dinner out prior to going to see Christopher Kimball (America's Test Kitchen) at the DuPont Theater. It was there that it dawned on me that it was 12 weeks since my surgery. And I started to cry. Mark and I toasted to my recovery, and I toasted him for his never wavering support.
My last PT is tomorrow and I am to wear my uniform pants, boots and duty belt to do the obstacle course. My employer loaned me old equipment and PT set up an obstacle course that included up and down stairs, stepping over differing heights, getting down on my knees, etc. while carrying about 40-50 lbs of equipment. My ROM is 130+ on my right knee and 125-130 on my left knee (it was the worst one). One of my best at home stretches is kneeling on a pillow and sitting as far back on my knees as I comfortably can do.
Where am I truly? I am pain free, and even the spasms at night have gone away (thank GOD!!!). I walk, bike, dance a little, wear low to medium heels, and I return to work on Wednesday, June 25. Full time, full duty. I have ordered knee pads that I will keep in the medication bag to put on when I need to kneel. While the spasms are gone, I still "feel" my knees when I need to turn over in bed. My knees want to bend, then straighten out, bend, straighten out...lol. They just don't want to be in one position for very long. I take Advil every other day or so, usually when I have overdone it. Even though I am doing great, I can still overdue it...I am reminded that full healing takes about a year.
A funny one...I have been on my church's prayer list for several weeks. 2 weeks ago, I surprised many people by kneeling at the altar rail to receive communion. As we were leaving the church, I said to Fr. Chris said "I do believe you can take me off the prayer list now", and he said "I believe we can".
I am grateful for friends and family who have kept me in their thoughts and prayers, who have encouraged me every step of the way. I am grateful and humbled that I have been able to encourage others whether through this forum or at PT. I had several tell me that I was an inspiration to them...but one man in particular had his knee replacement in January and up until 3 weeks ago could not get past 90 degrees in ROM. He said my "cheerleading" and suggestions on how to breathe through the pain helped him over his fear and now he was 130 degrees!!!
I'll be back to let you know how I did on my return to work. I have no doubt I will be exhausted on those first few days back.
