A brand new knee

Pam:

Dishes and laundry are done, UPS just brought the replacement cell phone (one died last week ), there's food out of the freezer to cook for supper.  Maybe I'll make some coffee and do nothing for awhile.  Maybe I'll call my mother and wait for Billy to come home.

Sounds like you have been very productive! Some down time with a cup of coffee is deserved!  

cb

Pam,

YIMP. My stepfather had both knees replaced TWICE. The first time, the replacement was only supposed to last 10 years and it lasted nearly 20. The second time lasted him until he passed away 3 years ago.

The operating room will be awfully crowded with all of the BD family being there in spirit. Hope the surgeon doesn't mind us looking over his shoulder!

You WILL feel much better when it's all over. And, as you have been told - DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU TO DO!!!

Hugs,

Deb

Pam, we will keep you in our prayers. Once it is done and you do what they tell you to, you'll wonder why you waited to get it done. 

 Don't worry, between me and the kids, we are going to take good care of her. I've been working with an old friend picking up some hustle money($20 an hour... CASH) helping him set up some poker machines to run in NC. We have to avert the gambling laws by hooking them up to a phonetime card vending machine and it is a bit of a pain to those with no electronic background. The contraption that ties the two together is too new to have a manual and I have been dealing with wrong harnesses, no paperwork, and having to trace out wires and make my own diagrams. It's not hard work by any stretch of the imagination, just an annoyance, but it keeps me over there at least 5 hours a day. I hate to leave her completely alone for that long although I know that she's a tough cookie and can very well take care of herself, even with the added legs. I do have to do it, but I don't have to like it, ya know. At least we don't HAVE to rely on jewelry sales to make ends meet. I'd rather rely on the jewelry sales, but we do what we must to make it, ya know. Even on crutches, she still does laundry, dishes, some of the cooking(Christopher does most of the cooking, with me, Pam and Vanessa throwing together a meal now and again), and other household chores on top of her beading. Aimee will be home Wednesday and she'll be able to help out with some of the running and help Pam around here some. She's not working right now and she likes Pam a lot, so she'll be a big help, plus she has her own wheels. Thanks for everything, we all appreciate it.

 Billy ;o)

   Hmmm I thought I replied to this but I don't see it. Must be my crazy mind lately!

Anyway- definitely praying and sending healing thoughts Pammie! It's a pain in the *** to have to have surgery but the end result will be so much better! You'll have freedom to move around again without pain, and won't have to worry about relying on anyone else. I'm sure Billy and the kids are helpful but I know what it's like just wanting to do stuff yourself!

Sending hugs and love!

Did your Ortho Doc suggest a scope of your knee.  This procedure is less invasive then a Total Knee.  Did you have an MRI to tell you what is going on in your knee, a simple xray would not show anything but the bone?

Pam my prayers and best wishes are with you.

I know what it is like to be on crutches. I broke my leg in two places near my ankle about 14- 15 years ago. Just put everything you can into a bag either plastic or cloth and that will  make it easier to carry. My hubby was still working then and he would pack my lunch and put it in a paper lunch bag and it would make it easy to get back to my chair with it. If I had hot soup he would put it in a hot container that had a handle and I could carry that with me. I wasn't ever allowed to rest my foot on the floor or risk haveing to go to the operating room.

Anyway maybe even a fanny pack would allow you to carry many small things (like pliers or small bags of beads). Or maybe even a candy bar Now where did that come from ?

Sue B:

Anyway maybe even a fanny pack would allow you to carry many small things (like pliers or small bags of beads).

Brilliant! what a great suggestion!

cb

CourtneyB:

Brilliant! what a great suggestion!

Courtney, you know when you have been there and done that it is easy to think of things that could make small chores easy.

I carry a tote with me filled with cleaning things when I am cleaning because it never failed that you would be 1/2 mile away in the bedroom cleaning when you realize that you need something that you left in the laundry room closet. So from magic eraser to window clearner is in my tote along with plenty of clean rags. You could say it is just being too lazy to make a hundred trips to get what is needed or you could say it is planning ahead, but I call it " I don't have time or energy to keep running back and forth".

All wonderful suggestions! I do carry/tote my cleaning supplies with me also.  I also use my children!!!!!!  (lucky that they still live at home and will help)

cb

 Thank you everybody, all the prayers are helping, I'm nowhere near as discouraged as I was. 

Courtney and Sue, those are great ideas and I already do them with the exception of the fanny pack but I just carry things either in pockets or in a small bag which amounts to the same thing.  I have a lot of ways of getting things places, I have a lot of experience with crutches.  It's true, what gets me too is the business of getting all tired out just doing it, even with all these helpful ways. 

Cat, thank you , I hope your stress is finally decreasing too...

Dragonlady, it's already been scoped, debrided, hardware revised, removed, etc.  The x-rays left no doubt that this is necessary and I'm happy with the surgeon.  Welcome to the forums.  There are lots more areas here that are more fun than this, but these non-beading discussions are for this kind of thing, and they're dear to me because I like to hear how my friends are doing and help if I can.  I hope you like the site... 

If I'm not on here so much for awhile I haven't forgotten any of you, I miss you all and will be here as much as I can and then more later on.

Billy, what would I do without you and your family?  You're taking excellent care of me while I want to be taking better care of you, all of you.  I'm grateful beyond words. 

Pam

 Sorry im only just now catching up to things on here, good luck with the surgery and just keep thinking about all the great things you will be able to do with the new knee. No more pain and no more hassle from crutches and such is in your future :)

Pam, yimp big-time!  Like many of the other friends who have posted, I have a bit of experience, not with knee surgery, but with bunion surgery on my feet -- both at the same time.  When I was first allowed to walk without my crutches, about 10 days after surgery, I was already in less pain than before the surgery.  I pray that your experience is similar.  The advice to do/not do what the experts tell you is very good advice!

How long will you be in the hospital?  Do they do this kind of surgery out-patient?  Or will you need to stay over night?

For your To Do list before surgery: 

1.  Set up your beading work table.  Put your tools in a carousel, or hook them in a coffee cup at the very least.  Set all of your bead organizer boxes within easy reach.  I have a bookshelf right behind me when I'm beading, and it's got books on the bottoms, and organizers with beads stacked on all the other shelves.  Make sure your chair is super-comfy, supports your back well.  Do you have an Ott-Lite?  They're a truly wonderful invention!  Hang up that bulletin board over your table so you can tack up ideas.  And keep your sketch book handy throughout your recovery.

2.  Do you have a lap desk?  The kind with a hard top and a pillow/bean bag bottom?  I have one from FMG called a Bead Buddy that I absolutely love.  It has several different tops you can buy, my fave has a vellux mat with about 10 little "ditches" to hold beads, a magnet for needles, even a little spindle for Nymo bobbins.  There's a typical grey flocked bead board surface, too, and a couple others.  Anyway, when you're not at the bead table, keep a project going on your lap desk.  When you're in bed, prop yourself on 3-4 pillows, making sure to place one at lower back.  Then put a pile of pillows under your knees -- or rather, under your good knee, with whatever support they recommend under your "getting better" knee.  Play around with the pillows til you find a position that works best for you.  THEN set the lap desk on top of your thighs, put on a CD or a DVD you've seen a gazillion times, and you'll be in heavel.

3.  Do you have a small fridge?  You know, the kind they use in dorms?  Or even a small cooler that Billy could load with blue ice and drinks each morning.  Place it wherever you are when you're recovering -- next to the bed at first, then the couch/recliner/whatever in the living room.  And set a coffee maker or small microwave or whatever works best for you on top of it.  In other words, keep yourself well hydrated, and keep those fluids (and snacks) within super easy reach.

4.  Make sure your computer workstation is super-comfy, just like your beading table.  You're gonna want to keep in touch when you're stuck in one place for what's gonna seem like forever.

OK, I'm done with unsolicited advice (for now).  Tons of prayers coming your way, dear friend!  And tons of healing bubbles, too!!! 

 Lisa,

You're amazing! Great advise for Pam.  What great ideas.

Courtney

Thanks Shawna and Lisa.  Lisa, that kind of thing is exactly what I have in mind so that people don't need to wait on me.  There are some great ideas in there that I hadn't thought of so really thank you.  Billy, and his kids, treat me very well and I don't lack for anything, I kind of feel like a nuisance though needing this much from everyone around me. 

The last few days have been very painful, worse than before.  I think I'm just getting weaker and the muscles in my right leg (the soon-to-be-healing knee one) aren't holding things very stable so it hurts more, and also my left leg is not doing well either probably just because I'm overworking it.  My hip hurts, the muscles of it hurt, etc., nothing as bad as my right knee but enough to be pretty painful and this frustrates me.  On top of all of it I have been battling to keep a migraine off for days and lost the battle last night so I spent awhile trying to deal with that.  It's better but not completely gone. 

Even worse, Billy isn't feeling well either.    He hurts more than he says.  He's going up to have another acupuncture visit today and I hope it helps him a lot.  Really what I want is that all of his pain will just vanish and he will feel truly well.  Please, please pray that he gets some good relief today.  

I may try some acupuncture too though I think it's unlikely to do much at this point, this knee needs to be fixed first, but maybe Dr. Dong can help me with the other stuff. 

I have arranged to start some work transcribing for a company I used to work for and I hope that goes well.  It will make me feel a lot better just to bring in some money, even if it's just a little to start with.

Pam