Tomorrow I’ll join Liza Minelli, George Hamilton, Angela Lansbury & Jane Fonda at the knee party. It seems that each of them had a full cup of tea — a total knee replacement — while I’m hoping I’ll only have a sip — a partial replacement.
Trying to maintain the left knee I came with has been a 7-year, downward spiral including:
- arthroscopic surgery (yuck)
- physical therapy (of course)
- an unloader brace (yuck, yuck)
- cortisone (whee!… and then darn!)
- cranial sacral osteopathy (yes!)
- accupuncture (good for the short term & many other ailments, but my benefits ran out)
- Gyrotonics (conscientiously seeking the parts that benefit my body)
- swimming (oh yes! weightless!)
- bicycle-riding (also not weightbearing)
- glucosamin-chondroitin (eh)
- anti-inflammatories (oh yeah)
- unfortunate compensatory outcomes in my lower back, right shoulder & left neck & arm (yuck to the nth)
- an inversion table 2-3x a week (to help the compensatory outcomes in the lower back)
- daily hot tub & jets (first thing out of bed, to help me get up the stairs)
- did I forget anything? oh yes… Pilates, Bartenieff fundamentals & a bit of Feldenkrais
- oh, and a modified lifestyle (minimal gardening & walking, no hiking, no level changes or jumps, kid-demonstrators in class)
And all the time I’ve been figuring my future held a new knee…
Well, it’s time! What I would wish for on a grand scale, of course, is to able to do everything I ever did before, including tap dance! But that’s not going to happen. What I really hope for is to recover things I’ve given up: walking, some light dancing & pain-free sleep. That would be a new beginning. Stay tuned — I should know in a couple months. And if you’re facing similar issues, feel free to comment or chat — I think the knee party could do with a little more conviviality.
I am not facing similar issues (not yet, anyway — knocking on wood) but I am wishing you the very best and a great outcome, Meg!
I went through this 4 years ago, left knee, and it went well. In fact, I was just in a production of “Barnum” and I danced just fine. However, during that same show I got hit on the inside of my right knee and it gets replaced on August 23rd. So I’m right there with you. Just do everything they say and you should do fine. And don’t believe you won’t be able to tap dance. Maybe not like before, but if you really want to, you will.
Thanks for good wishes! So glad to hear of people who have been there / done that & glad they did! I’m home now & I can see it’ll be a long road, but I’m on my way…
So glad you’re on the other side of it. Welcome home. With the dedication you’ve put into the other efforts to deal with this now being applied to healing, I look forward to seeing you able to do the things you want to again.
Thanks, Deborah, and have a wonderful trip! You should now be in the air!
Progress every day… // Aug 5, 2010 at 8:23 am
[…] returning, my hiccups come less often now (who knew some people get hiccups after surgery?), my knee will sit with me comfortably in a chair & my leg will move itself. I’ve graduated from […]
Another transition: gearing up for the start of the year // Sep 3, 2010 at 12:07 pm
[…] Continue healing from a partial knee replacement. My knee’s doing beautifully, with range of motion returning, but my energy’s not its normal self yet. […]