I'm about to fall asleep but wanted to let you know that the orthopedist came by. Dr. Philip Krueger. He assisted in the surgery. Very nice. He reassured me that I was doing fine. Maybe not progressing as fast as others, but all in all, OK. It's a painful surgery. He's increasing my meds so I can tolerate more bending on the passive motion machine. I still can only bend to 60 degrees, and I should be at 90 to go home. Man, it hurts. But he reassured me that I couldn't damage the new knee and that all the arthritis was gone. He also said it's totally reasonable to be expecting to walk, hike, bike, yoga, surf etc. by next year. Before. I do feel a lot better. I guess the big bruise on my shin is just a side effect. So after that, a physical therapist came by and we walked around. I was using my trusty old crutches and went up and down 20 steps. But he ordered me new crutches. These are old -- maybe 20 years old. I painted them for a surgery about 15 years ago so they're sort of like for good luck. But they're heavy and I suppose they could splinter. My dad was making fun of them, saying I could sell them as antiques. Then I came back and got some REAL ice -- as in a plain bag o' ice. Much better than the fancy ice machines. I'm tired but feel like I've turned a corner. I'm pushing myself on the passive motion machine, hoping to get up to 70 by the end of the day. Also, I just found out that my blood count is now 11. It was down to 7.9 when they gave me the transfusions. So that's good. No, I don't know what the number means exactly but I'll look it up later.
2 comments:
i remember when you painted the crutches. perhaps their life as useful art is over and they can now be hung on your wall. (or, you could donate them to the surgical museum on lake shore drive in chicago). anyway, i'm glad that you're doing better.
the kids in the bureau are thinking of you!
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