Monday again

It's weird, being retired each day is much like any other, so I do not get excited about Fridays nor miserable about Mondays. Today is just the day after yesterday.
Talking of yesterday... James came over and shared a sausages, mash and carrots lunch with me. He may not be the greatest conversationalist but it's always good to see him :)

 

I had a great night out too, having been to the local Arts Centre, The Lighthouse for the Demon Barbers' latest dance show, 'The Lock In'. It was fabulous! Such an energetic bunch and so entertaining. A celebration of dance, from traditional ancient Morris Dancing, through clog dancing, and tap, right up to the latest urban dance styles, featuring B-boy, break dancing, popping, and krank. (Don't ask ... just the latest moves on the urban dance scene) Suffice it to say it's all lively and fast-moving. The energy shown by these young folk was amazing, and it highlighted the similarities between old traditional dance steps and the 'moves' made by today's urban/street dancers.

 

The Lock In crew

 

My knee is standing up to the activity very well and feels good. At times my other co-called 'good' knee hurts more!

I am posting a couple of pics here of the bruising coming out - no gory wounds to see :) the dressing hides the clips/staples. so if you're squeamish stop reading now LOL

 

Here we go...

 

 

Hard to see the bruised toes too - very colourful!

 

 

The dressing comes off Thursday and the clips will be out! It is getting itchy now so that's a good sign of healing. Updates later in the week.

 

Have a good week yourselves and stay warm - it's a bit 'taters' here today!

 

 

 

 

 

A Cold Sunday

Enjoying the crisp cold weather we've got at the moment, but it is a job to keep warm. Have closed all the internal doors to trap the warmth.

My kitchen

The kitchen tends to be a bit cooler most of the time as it's a huge room with just one tiny radiator, from the original kitchen that was half the size. It's fine when the oven is on and I'm cooking but a tad cool if not and sucks heat from the rest of the house.

Each day I am making good progress. Last night I managed to sleep a spell on each side as well as flat on my back. I had a pillow between my knees for comfort and it all seems fine this morning.
This week I have an official physio session at the hospital Wednesday, and the staples/clips out on Thursday.
I am already beginning to forget I have had the surgery at times. I woke up and tried to roll over as I used to and it was only when I actually got pain moving that I remembered. I think Honey is getting used to the odd swear word from me now :D
I forgot to take up pain killers for the morning so had a trip downstairs at 5.30am to get them. But Honey went out for a pee then too. We both went back to bed and sleep after, and slept in until 8.30.
By the time I was dressed and downstairs, Honey was making it very clear she was hungry and breakfast was late in coming! I lined up the breakfast pills for me, cooked up a couple of eggs and some baked beans for my breakfast, made a huge mug of black coffee, then dished up Honey's IAMS and tripe. She licked the dish clean.

I am looking forward to a good night out tonight. I'm going to the Arts Centre, The Lighthouse, for a show of lively music and dance - The Lock In - Damien Barber's latest mixing-it-up dance show. Everything from traditional Morris and clog dancing, through to modern street dance, break dancing and something called Krank! (OK I googled it... HAD to find out :D) There is also varied music to go with it all. Sounds like a high energy show and they start things off with local Morris sides dancing in the foyer and bar of the Lighthouse. Should be a really good night out. John and Roz are picking me up. I just hope I have enough leg room to sit comfortably in the theatre.

Watch this space for a review after tonight!
Have a good Sunday and a happy week ahead.
xx

Week 2 Here I Come

This time last week I was waking up in hospital, doped up to the eyeballs, and being helped to walk to the loo. Now I am walking round the house with no crutches and managing the stairs just fine with 1 crutch still. My leg is all the shades of purple you can imagine, from a reddish maroon in places to a deep indigo in others - good job they are covered in the lovely thick white anti-DVT socks.
The pains are very bearable, especially with max doses of assorted pain relief tablets through the day. I have cut the codeine to just 2 tiny pills at bedtime. They do help me sleep but make me woozy daytime. I take paracetamol 4 times a day, Ibuprofen 3 times a day with meals, my usual diabetic tablets twice a day and statins at night, plus a stomach protecting yellow pill. Then there's some milk of magnesia to help counter the 'binding' effect of the codeine.  It's wonderful remembering what tablets to take when, but I have got into the routine now.
Yesterday my son's lovely partner and my grandson took me to the doc's to see the nurse for a wound check. It's all looking good! No sign of oozing anywhere. All clean and dry. The lovely little clips/staples are coming out next Thursday! I actually managed to get my leg up in the stool all by itself. Up until now, doing a straight lift of the operated leg has been a real affort and I've used my other leg as a support and 'helper'. I am working on the bending of the knee too - tough move. The nurse was pleased with progress.
I did get an extra unexpected bit of exercise, as my doc's surgery is on the first floor of the building, and they've got the builders in doing major works. This means no lift for reduced mobility patients! They have made a consulting room downstairs for wheel chair users and there was a small queue of people in chairs and buggies waiting to be seen there. I walked happily (if slowly) up the stairs to see the nurse, and safely back down again :)
While I was in there, Di took Alex to visit the bakers shop and he had a bacon and cheese puff pastry thingy! Good job he'd finished it by the time they picked me up.

 I needed to get some cash so asked Di to take me to a Tesco Express - the new one was just up the road and almost on the way home so we headed there. As I needed a few bits for the weekend, I did a shop there too all by myself. I think Di was a bit worried but I managed just fine. It's a bigger shop than my usual one and has a bakery section with loose rolls, croissants, muffins etc in baskets. Oh so tempting! I got a loaf, some bananas, eggs and... guilty pleasure... I bought 3 Malteaster bunnies!

 I gave Alex one and another to give his brother Jack, intending the 3rd to be mine....ALL MINE! I was in need of a chocolate injection LOL
I left the shopping bag in the back of the car with Alex and grabbed it after I got out of the car. Alex had scoffed his bunny and was looking at Jack's one so I made sure he didn't eat that too. Di helped me into the house and went off, only to return a minute later with my bunny! Alex had nicked mine out of the shopping bag! Cheeky monkey!
So I went in, made myself a coffee and sat down to enjoy the Malteaster experience! MMMMMMMMM tasted so good!

John managed to transport me over to the Wimborne Folk Singaround last night, at the Wimborne British Legion. It was a weird mix last night, having quite a few people who only turn up once in a while there. The music varied from the sublime professional classical guitarist duo, playing some Brazilian classic pieces, through some lovely well known traditional folk songs, down to a dreadful rendition of a song about 'Dogging'!!! The couple who sang it have not been for months, and they are not the best of singers, but they did have a go. I just wish they had chosen their material with a little more care! The song was rude, crude, badly sung, and not good to listen to :(
They often do country style songs and we join in happily, but this one should be buried deep and permanently in the vaults of bad taste.

I had a bit of a rough night last night. I think I sat too long with my leg bent during the evening, even though I went walkabout half time. I had trouble getting comfy in bed and managed to doze off for about 3 hours then lay awake watching the clock :(
I had to go to the loo about 5 and decided I'd be better off on my recliner chair in the lounge. I did sleep a bit more after wedging a cushion under my knee. I was wide awake at 6.30 and got up, letting Honey out and doing her breakfast. I had my first lot of pills and some breakfast then tried to doze off again. I finally snoozed as Jenny was getting ready for work. I said goodbye to her then promptly fell asleep in the recliner again! I finally woke up again about 9.30!! Now my body doesn't know whether it's coming or going.
Talking of 'going'... Taking codeine has stuffed up the plumbing but I have managed to get things moving again now. Lots of veg yesterday and some Milk of Magnesia worked well! TMI? sorry! LOL Hangover from the time in hospital when they were always asking if you'd 'been'!
Yes my leg did hurt, and still does, but the pain is lessening and is now more tolerable than the pain I had before the op. I will not hesitate to get the other one done when the time comes.
If you are faced with osteoarthritis ruining your mobility and making you live with constant pain then please do seriously consider a replacement op. Yes it hurts, but it will get better! The success rate is very high now and with considerate use, this joint should last as long as I do! I am not going jogging or marathon running, just some nice walking and maybe the odd sedate country dance :)
Getting more weight off will help the new joint last longer too.
I know for every 'success' story there will be someone who does not feel the benefit of the op and will continue to have problems and pain and maybe even a second op. You know the pain of osteoarthirits WILL get worse in time, and an op might just make you pain free!
I say YES to joint replacement when needed!
Hmm better get off my soap box now and get some lunch. I've been sitting too long here and getting a numb bum!

Here's to orthopaedic surgeons and joint manufacturers! CHEERS!

Post Op Post

Well, it's over. The deed is done. I've been in, had my knee replaced and I'm home again. The whole experience was a bit surreal and now it's probably at the worst point on the road to recovery.

I was up at 5.30 am on St Valentine's Day with my bag packed ready to go. Jen took me to the hosptital for 6.45am and went off to have a nice breakfast while I was left to the paper signing and prepping. I had a shower with the lovely Hibiscrub stuff (bleugh) and donned the theatre gown. I had a string of visitors in the form of nurses, doctors and anaesthetists. My surgeon was rather yummy, 40ish dark and with a Polish/Czeck/Hungarian name I could not repeat. Seemd very nice. Explained the procedure he'd be going through. Then it was the mad Dr Mahood, the singing Egyptian anaesthetist. He was short with a huge grin and singing some weird Arabic wail the whole time he wasn't speaking. He was lovely! He prepped me ready for the spinal injection, which was not too pleasant an experience as he had to probe a bit to find the gap between spinal bones. It took effect very quickly and it was weird to see my feet, and mentally send messages to wiggle my toes, but no response. Dead from the waist down. I watched them swing my leg up and out while some poor nurse tried to get a catheter up me. Took her a few minutes but made it in the end - I think it was a good job I couldn't feel it! I then remember Mr Mahood saying here comes a mild sedative .... I then woke up 1hr 50 mins later in recovery! As soon as they knew I was round and all was well, I was wheeled through to my room to sleep it off. They brought me a sandwich and a yogurt for lunch then left me in peace.
I had frequent observations at first, every half hour, then hourly later as I was more awake. BP and temp every time, catheter check, and blood sugars at regular intervals *sigh* - the term 'peace' is a relative term!
We had to buzz for the nurse any time we needed anything and with 6 of us having new knees or hips that day the flipping alarms were going off at regular intervals all day ... and all night. They kept bringing tablets round too and making sure we drank enough fluids. Once the catheter was out, I had to make it out of bed to the loo and of course had to have a nurse or 2 to help.

I was shown how to move with crutches and how to get on and off the loo. The loo had a frame over it with handles and a raised seat, but even on its lowest setting it was way too high for me. Have you ever tried going to the toilet sitting down with your legs dangling in the air since you were about 8 yrs old? LOL It seems very strange and the bowels don't want to function normally. One of the pain killers was codeine too, which tends to 'bind' you up, so 'going' was a big effort. At least the handles made standing up easier.
The next few days were a just a blur of  tablets, BP checks, meals, physio sessions, visits from various doctors, doing exercises, and trying to catch some sleep at night.
I had the op Thursday morning, and Sunday I was given my marching orders, along with a bag of drugs and notes about exercises, appointments to make to get wound checked and clips (bit like staples) taken out, and first physio appointment next week.

Coming home was weird. The house was empty without Honey. At least it was warm, as I asked my lovely son, Craig, to put it on before I came home. He collected me from the hospital in his car and that was fun getting in and out of the car.
Since I've been home, I've kept up the regular pain killers, and been exercising and walking around with increasing freedom.
Nights are a problem as I hate sleeping on my back but can't yet lie on my side. I have arranged pillows for comfort to support my leg but it puts pressure on my bum so I wake up around 5ish needing the loo and feeling stiff, with a numb bum. It takes a while for the first pain killers to kick in so mornings are not good at the mo. Once I am up, washed and dressed, the movement loosens up and I move with less pain so can face coming downstairs, but today was bad! I slept in until 8.20 and woke feeling stiff and achey all over. I was in tears by the time I got to the loo, but my lovely Jenny came to the rescue getting me pills and a coffee :).
Using the crutches has made me use muscles I didn't know I had. My arms ache, my chest aches, and my shoulder,  as well as the leg pains :( but every action and movement helps re-build muscles and will help healing in the long term.
It is all looking and feeling good right now, apart from the tenderness from the bruising.
I am wearing those fabulously glamourous thick white surgical compression socks, and will need to for a while yet. Super!
I am not ill, just a bit slow to move around. The pain killers help make movement less painful so the healing process can go on. I'll soon be moving more freely and without all the pain I've endured for years. I can certainly feel the pain in my left knee now and I hope it won't be too long before I get that one done too.
Thank you to all the staff at The Derwent at Bournemouth Hospital, for the high level of treatment and care.