dancepulse » change http://dancepulse.org make your day dance Wed, 25 Apr 2012 04:51:02 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 Progress every day… http://dancepulse.org/2010/08/05/knee-replacement-progress/ http://dancepulse.org/2010/08/05/knee-replacement-progress/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:23:00 +0000 megrm http://dancepulse.org/?p=1014 The days are full, even with nothing on the calendar. The appetite’s 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 walker to one crutch, and sometimes I forget the crutch. There’s sleep, sleep, sleep.

So far, so good, I’m doin’ fine!

]]> http://dancepulse.org/2010/08/05/knee-replacement-progress/feed/ 0 A new knee http://dancepulse.org/2010/07/29/knee-replacement-dance/ http://dancepulse.org/2010/07/29/knee-replacement-dance/#comments Fri, 30 Jul 2010 05:00:12 +0000 megrm http://dancepulse.org/?p=984 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.

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