The physical therapists took away my walker!

[csziggy]

Well, not really, but they gave me a hard time today since I really don't need the walker anymore for the new knee. I keep walking off and leaving it various places around the house and even left it when I was out doing things Saturday. I might need it for the bad knee, though before we get around to replacing it. They recommend using a cane if I feel as though I need support for the new knee for now.

Progress is great - tomorrow is four weeks since they replaced the left knee. On days I have physical therapy I get a little swelling and heat but otherwise it does not hurt me at all. The only limitation I'm having is that the remaining bad knee is hurting more and more as I walk more with the new knee. Nothing new - both knees used to hurt like that.

The big improvement is that now I actually have one good leg to stand on!

I saw my surgeon Friday and he said I'm ahead of schedule for healing. I'm doing good enough that he and I discussed scheduling the replacement of the other knee. That may be as soon as the beginning of August but will more likely be the week of Labor Day.

[trof]

1. Congratulations. Canes are cool.

But call it a 'walking stick'.
Get a fancy one.

Mazel tov

[HopeHoops]

4. Yeah. My favorite one has butterflies all over it. It's an aluminum adjustable.

[trof]

6. I was thinking more Irish Blackthorn.

The Blackthorn bush is found throughout Ireland and the British Isles. It has been prized for centuries as a material for premium walking sticks. The original Blackthorn sticks were 2 to 4 foot long Irish shillelaghs (the national weapon of rural Ireland). In expert hands the shillelagh was so fearsome that during the final occupation of Ireland, the English outlawed it.

To get around the law, the Irish turned the shillelagh into a 3-foot walking stick. The English didn’t want to appear unreasonable by outlawing walking sticks too, so the Irish kept their modified shillelaghs and the world gained a beautiful and functional walking stick known simply as the Blackthorn.
http://www.coldsteel.com/irishblackthorn.html

[csziggy]

8. Now that would be cool!

I wonder if there are any devil's walking stick plants growing out in our swamp I could use to make my own shillelagh?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralia_spinosa

[HopeHoops]

20. My shillelagh is cedar and would make a nice weapon if necessary, however,...

I usually just use a foam-handled adjustable aluminum one (with butterflies - I love butterflies) and have learned to retrieve it from the ground either by the handle or rubber foot just by using my own foot. It took some practice, but it's far easier than trying to bend down to get it. Even with the cane, getting up from the floor is a major task and not always possible.

[csziggy]

7. Right now I just have a basic aluminum adjustable cane

And I probably won't need one enough to bother getting a nice one. Even before my surgery with two bad knees I hated using a cane. I prefer having my hands free and the cane didn't make the knees hurt less.

I will use either my walker or a cane out in public until the second knee is healed. I find that people pay more attention and have less tendency to cut me off or let their children run into me if I 'look' handicapped.

[Flaxbee]

2. About 25 years ago my mom went to England and brought back a walking stick ... lovely antique ...

that has a sword in it Unscrew the handle and voila! She had no trouble getting through security / customs, but then again, this was the 80's ...

[csziggy]

9. Somewhere in the house I have a knife walking stick

With a horse head top. The knife is pretty much garbage but it's sort of interesting. Not old - made for the export trade, probably in India, probably very recently. But the thing is the wrong height for me to use as a cane and the bottom tends to skid if you put weight on it.

[Flaxbee]

17. yeah, it wasn't a very good 'sword' but she got a kick out of the idea.

Glad to hear you're making progress, though!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Congrats, my dear csziggy!

I'm so glad to read about your progress!

Keep on keepin' on!

[csziggy]

10. How is your knee doing?

Are you building up strength and endurance? I know the last time you mentioned anything about it, you were still wearing out pretty quickly.

Once I get the second knee in, I have to work on endurance. My husband wants to go for a bird watching hike on his birthday the end of January. I want to be ready to keep up with him! He has so few things he asks of me and he's taken very good care of me through all my injuries and surgeries I really want to give him this request. Besides, I want to be able to do it anyway.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. My knee is doing well, thanks!

The strength and endurance are coming along, but slowly. But I do notice a distinct difference from the early days.

I'm not getting tired out nearly as quickly as I used to. I have flashes of how things will be (or should be, lol!) once I'm completely healed.

Since you're healing up so fast, you just might be able to keep up with your husband...but don't be surprised if you can't. Some things can't be rushed.

I know you'll give it your best shot!

[csziggy]

13. Good to hear you're doing good

It's such a fight to get back in shape, isn't it?

Since I used to be able to out walk my husband - who's a foot taller than I am - I have hopes of being able to keep up with him by January. If I get the other knee replaced right after Labor Day, I will have four months to get in shape and no bad knee to slow me down like I do now.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. It IS a fight...a big one.

I do get discouraged sometimes.......and then I remember it hasn't even been 4 months yet.

So I keep going.

You're doing great!

[Iggo]

5. Those dicks!

AAAAaaaagggghhhh!!!!

[csziggy]

11. LOL!

[Kali]

15. wow sounds like you are really doing good!

I wonder if I should change my sig line to "I am jealous of CalPeg and csziggy's new knees"?

[csziggy]

21. Kali, if you can't walk around without pain, it's time for a new knee

I'd gotten so I could not walk around the house for more than a total of an hour a day. Couldn't stand up long enough to load the dishwasher without taking a break in the middle of the chore.

My physical therapist at the time told me to get new knees as soon as possible, before I lost any more muscle tone. That's why, even with the pain in the bad knee, I'm working so hard to get the muscle tone built up in the new knee. When I get the bad knee replaced, I should be able to heal even faster for the second one.

As long as you can find a good surgeon to do the work, I can highly recommend getting a new knee. Within ten days of the surgery, the pain in the new knee was LESS than in the bad knee. What a relief to have one leg that did not hurt so much!

[RZM]

16. Too bad Wisconsin couldn't do the same . . .

I keed, I keed.

Good luck getting back to normal

[csziggy]

22. I wish Wisconsin had gone differently

At least Wisconsin had hope. I'm in Florida where we're stuck with pRick Scott and have no way to get rid of him until the next election.

Thanks - I'm just putting in time until the second knee replacement. After that, I hope to get back to normal!

[MiddleFingerMom]

18. Following a REALLY bad motorcycle accident in 1981, I was in a full-leg cast and on crutches...

.
.
.
... for 7 months. The doctor took me out of the cast and said I could use a
cane. They gave me this dorky thick wooden old-dude hospital cane.
.
I went straight to a tobacco shop and bought a black-enameled pewter-headed
cane with 5 spring-loaded test tubes inside. I traveled a LOT by train in those
days and 4 of the tubes would have peppermint schnapps in them (the 5th would
have some herbal curative that I can't remember now).
.
They STILL go for as cheap as $20 at this website.
.
http://www.thegreenhead.com/2010/03/brandy-smuggler-walking-cane-flask.php
.
.
.
I made LOTS of friends during my train trips!!!
.

[sarge43]

19. The right cane: It's all about making an enterance.

&feature=related.

[csziggy]

23. "Makes it look like I'm going fast!"

But since they just checked me out on how to properly use a cane - House is doing it wrong! You're supposed to tripod it - cane opposite the bad leg moves forward with the bad leg, then bring the good leg forward in the middle.

[sarge43]

24. More than few people have pointed that out.

My therapist jumped my case about "doing it wrong!" Didn't do it wrong again.

But I love Wilson's expression: My best friend is barking mad; heaven help me.

[csziggy]

25. Before I left the rehab hospital I made them show me how to properly use a cane

I knew I had been doing it wrong. The 'right' way still feels wrong, but I see the reason for doing it that way - it is more stable.

I haven't watched House since he went to jail. I sort of miss the personalities, but the plots had gotten stale.

[sarge43]

26. I think it just feels natural if you're right handed to carry the cane with the right hand.

Well, you won't be on the cane for long. I was pleasantly surprised how quickly normal abilities returned; you will be, too.

You didn't miss much with the last season. The plots were stale and contrived. Kinda sad.

[csziggy]

30. I'll mostly use the cane when I'm out and about

In the house I don't need it and it gets in the way. But out in public it gives others notice that I am not completely capable and they tend to give me a little more leeway.

About the time I am completely healed with this knee, I'll be going back in to have the other one replaced, so this year is dedicated to recovery from those operations. But I am getting around much better than I expected this soon after the first surgery.

While I don't begrudge the actors and the production crew their jobs, some series outlive their entertainment "lives". House should have been cancelled a couple of years ago IMO even though they have a great ensemble. There are only so many plots you can do with the same crowd and situation - unless they go back to the old "Dr. Kildare" or "Marcus Welby, MD" hacks of the disease of the week.

[sarge43]

31. Also gives a certain sense of physical security in a place that isn't so familiar.

I've found sticking with the physical therapy gets you back to the dance fairly quickly. The second replacement won't be as traumatic; you'll know the drill.

A diva once said, "Better to leave when everyone can still say, 'So soon?' instead of 'What took you so long?'".

[csziggy]

32. Exactly!

Just got back from PT. I didn't use the cane around the gym at all. I did take in when we stopped for lunch on the way home. The second stop involved more walking and I was worn out so I took advantage of the store's wheelchair.

I know when I got the meniscus removed from the first knee in 2001, the rehab was hard work. When I went back for the second one it wasn't as bad since I had kept up with the exercises. Because of that, I was bad though and skimped on how much PT I did and how long I kept up with it. That second knee was always worse than the first one - and that's the one that still has to be replaced.

Today we moved completely to strength training. Everything else they had me doing before are exercises I can do here at home and still do on the days I don't go in for PT. I may get some ankle weights so once I am discharged from PT I can keep my strength up in both legs for the second operation. I'd rather do more walking but the bad knee won't let me.

[NightWatcher]

27. Bitchin! I have that cane. Hopefully I wont need it anymore

I absolutely loved that thing, it looks totally bad ass.

[sarge43]

29. Did it make you look like you were moving faster?

My red hat cane is parked in a corner. I hope I'll only have to use it to poke some youngin' in the butt. "Get a move on, sonny. I got a lot of people to annoy today."

[NightWatcher]

28. if you want a cool cane, check here

http://www.fashionablecanes.com/

It's where I got my Flame Cane


They also have some that are more generic, but I say make a splash

[kimi]

33. This is great!

I used a walker for months after graduating from a wheelchair when recovering from an autoimmune disorder. I had polyneuropathy & was in my 30's - it was truly a glad thing to get away from the walker. So, I'm very glad for ya!

Onward & - well, onward!! Congrats!!

[csziggy]

34. Congrats to you, too!

I only had to get a knee replacement so fast recovery was part of the plan. But several of my fellows at the rehabilitation hospital had much more long term problems and were working towards independence. I know how great it was after three weeks of reliance on a walker to be able to leave it behind - It was even better for the people with more serious illnesses.

In fact, Wednesday I saw a young woman who I had been in PT with. She was in a serious car accident and had been at the rehab place for three months when I first met her three weeks ago. That day, they put her in a stander to let her get vertical for the first time since the accident. Wednesday was the second day she was walking with a walker and she was thrilled. She's hoping to be home by July 1 - for the first time in six months!

The therapists told me to use a cane, but that is more trouble than it's worth. I think I'll walk in today without one though I'll have my husband bring it in in case I need it after therapy.