SITREP: 15

It’s been 15 days since my total knee replacement surgery, so time for a sitrep.

I went in to the surgeon’s office for the first post-op checkup yesterday. Since I’ve been through this before, I have a point for comparison, and I’m not really happy about where I am. When I went in for my two-week check in February, I drove to the appointment and walked without a cane. I can’t do the folding necessary to get into my car, much less drive the stick shift. And I’m using a cane for balance (although once I warm up, I can walk around the house without it.)

I did bend to 96 degrees at my PT session on Monday, but the session wore me out. That may have been the case last time around, but I don’t recall.

The PA pulled off the bandage and pronounced herself satisfied with the condition of the incision. I thought it looked gory, but now that I see the photo from February, I guess it’s about the same.

Interestingly, no real bruising on the shin as with my right leg (although some right on the knee, to the left of the incision), but whole bunch of color in the calf.

And I got basically no ankle. But I know the swelling will subside, so it’s just kind of a point of interest.

I told the PA that I’d really like to have been forwarder at this point; she thought I’m doing really well. Keep moving, keep doing the PT exercises, keep taking the meds. (She was unsurprised that I needed the heavy-duty stuff after my PT session Monday.) As she put it, “We say, ‘It’s only been two weeks.’ You think, ‘It’s been two weeks!’” So I need to reframe my thinking.

My friend took me to Trader Joe’s after the appointment, which was quite the treat. But I needed a nap after the outing. A three-hour nap.

It’s only been two weeks.