Day 65. Milestone.

I skied.

Normally skiing back and forth for an hour fifteen over the same 200 yards of trail would have been intolerable but this time it was OK.

Thirty-four degrees.  Quiet with no wind, and light fluttering snow.  Very happy to be out.

Looking at the house from the trail beats looking at the trail from the house.

Day 59.

Got the hospital bill.
For $32,978.88 you can either fix a broken femur or buy a nice house in Fargo, North Dakota.  Seems like a lot for either one.

Friday, 11 months after my bilateral total knee replacement surgery,  I had my one-year follow-up. Snooping around the examination room while waiting for the x-ray tech I noticed 'Katherine Swanson' at the top of the computer screen.  I couldn't believe it.  It was my 'chart'.   You know, the chart you never get to read?  "Should I be reading this?" I asked myself while putting on my glasses.  Line item 1 made me feel good...'Pleasant female'.  I smiled.  Then the x-ray tech entered and I didn't get to read anymore.

It was no surprise that my stiff stiff right knee got the surgeon's attention while my poster-child left knee pretty much got ignored.   We came up with a plan.
1. Aggressive PT for a month and if we can get the flexion to 120, we'll call it a day.  He says "it's only 1/2 of a degree a day".  Easy for him to say.  OR
2. If we can't get it to 120, get a cortisone shot and repeat #1.  OR
3. The manipulation.  Where he puts me to sleep and cranks on the knee to break up the scar tissue that's making it stiff.  Not a bad option except there is a chance the bone around the knee could break and you can imagine how the thought of that makes me feel.

Today was the first aggressive therapy session.  The therapist did all the work.  All I had to do was lie there and endure the pain which totally wore me out.  I got home and passed out for 3 hours.

Vinny the therapist's question-of-the-day..."now should I be working on the hip or the knee?"







 

Day 52.

Cricket Update.
When we finally got around to our sound class assignment...the one where we had to record a cricket...we realized neither one of us hadn't heard her for a few days.  Bummed because now 1) we'd get an incomplete and 2) our pet cricket had died, we went ahead and recorded the rest of the assignment (a breaking plate, a spark and an elevator door).  Good enough.  Then.  Just as we were sweeping up the last plate shard, guess what?  We heard a chirp. 

The Hip etc.
The other day I was riding the exercise bike at PT with a pair of running shoes that have never been used for running.  With each left pedal stroke was a mechanical sounding click.  Happily pedaling away, I didn't hear it even though everyone in the place was inconspicuously looking over their shoulder thinking "Can't she hear that?"   I looked up and saw Vinny, my therapist, jogging toward me "Is that you hip or your knee?" he asked.  Luckily it was my shoes and their 'one-pull QuickLace™' system (woohoo) flopping around.

Sunday, Vin and I shot a short film.  Five hours of walking mostly without my crutches.  Even though it was uncomfortable, it'll make the hip stronger.  I limped, yes, but if Festus in 'Gunsmoke' could do it...  

Ohio.
Wondering if it makes sense to go back after missing so much of the semester.  If it was free it wouldn't be such a huge, hard decision.  

Remember Alfalfa in 'The Little Rascals'?

Vin and I were trying to figure out how many days Vince has been walking around with his hair like this because neither one of us ever really pays much attention to grooming.  You probably think he just took off his hat or he just got up and hasn't fixed it yet...nope, it's just the middle of another day.   BTW. This is taken from the good/neat side.

Day 46.

Quick progress report.

Vinny, the out-patient therapist from my knee replacements, was surprised when I showed up last week with a broken hip.  It's good to have someone familiar with my skeletal idiosyncrasies.

As soon as he realized I wasn't kidding about the hip, for old times sake, he measured the flexion in my knees.  My left knee was 137 degrees.  Drum roll please.  For him, a new record.  A surgeon friend says that anything over 130 is showing off so I was psyched until the therapist in the office next door said she'd had a patient with a 138.  An office record...but not for long.

Unfortunately, the right leg is still around 100.  You know what 90 degrees looks like.  100 is just a little more and not really enough to go upstairs or ride a bike correctly. :(

Other Things.
•Discharged from home health.
•Rode the my bike indoors for 54 minutes (or long enough to think I wouldn't be able to get off) while watching 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'.
•Walked over to and on the ski trail.
•Drove to the post office.

Max finally loves his new dog ramp. (thank you Tashauna, Brenda and Dale, xoMax)