What a day, what a journey....and what a long strange trip its been!
It's now been 36 hours since I had my partial knee replacement. It's been a wild ride since then and things are finally starting to slow down enough for me to gets some thoughts on paper.
I'll start with the surgery, or should I say my "drive-thru" procedure. To say it went by fast would be an understatement. I checked in at 6 am and was out the door of the surgery center by 11:30 am. But don't mistake such a rapid procedure for lack of quality or care; their teamwork and experience were clearly demonstrated by the kindness, compassion and professionalism they showed me. Dr. McBride said everything went great, and that he was VERY pleased with the placement of the implants. My knee was a little worse than he expected, and he decided to go with the Arthrosurface inlay.
Claire was with me the whole time, providing emotional support and calming assurance. When I awoke from the anesthesia I was alone and, to be honest, felt a little scared in such a foreign place. Only when Claire walked in was I finally able to grasp a breath of relaxation.
Maybe it was the drugs, or just the relief of having it all behind me, but the rest of the day was relatively peaceful and relaxing. I came home, got in bed and began my regime of pain medications. Of the guidelines for my post-op recovery, there are 3 that seem to be critical components to a successful recovery:
1) Rest, elevate and ice, whenever possible.
2) Stay on top of the pain medications; take them as prescribed and independent of your pain level when stated.
3) Establish a balance between regaining range of motion and minimizing pain and swelling.
Easy enough right? Well I screwed the first one up right off the bat. "Elevate" means to keep your knee above your heart, as to decrease swelling by leveraging blood flow to your leg. I was icing with a bent knee, with my foot dangling below. This position made it difficult to straighten my leg and caused a lot of stiffness. Now, with a "toes above nose" approach, the swelling is minimal and pain relief has greatly improved.
Oxycodone is a wonderful drug, and has provided significant pain relief. The only side effects I've experienced so far is difficulty urinating and itchiness. It takes me a little longer to go pee, which isn't a big deal, but the itching has become quite annoying and I’m not sure what do about it (although Claire suggested a flea-dip). I'd rather deal with an occasional itch than wear a flea collar though.
On the 2nd day, I jumped on the stationary bike. Things were stiff, real stiff. It was challenging to get the pedals around, not necessarily due to pain, but the physical constraints of the swelling. My knee looks like it swallowed a grapefruit; it's hot and very rotund. Nevertheless, it slowly loosened up and I started getting some movement. Thus begins my post-op spin class!
So overall, the surgery was a great success! Everything went according to plan with no surprises or unexpected events to speak of. Outpatient surgical procedures are the wave of the future and I can only hope it continues to expand out into other medical operations. I am so thankful for my foundation of family and friends, and most importantly, my amazing wife who has been a pillar of love and support through all of this.
And now here I am on the other side, at ground zero, ready for the real challenge ahead of me.
It's now been 36 hours since I had my partial knee replacement. It's been a wild ride since then and things are finally starting to slow down enough for me to gets some thoughts on paper.
I'll start with the surgery, or should I say my "drive-thru" procedure. To say it went by fast would be an understatement. I checked in at 6 am and was out the door of the surgery center by 11:30 am. But don't mistake such a rapid procedure for lack of quality or care; their teamwork and experience were clearly demonstrated by the kindness, compassion and professionalism they showed me. Dr. McBride said everything went great, and that he was VERY pleased with the placement of the implants. My knee was a little worse than he expected, and he decided to go with the Arthrosurface inlay.
Claire was with me the whole time, providing emotional support and calming assurance. When I awoke from the anesthesia I was alone and, to be honest, felt a little scared in such a foreign place. Only when Claire walked in was I finally able to grasp a breath of relaxation.
Maybe it was the drugs, or just the relief of having it all behind me, but the rest of the day was relatively peaceful and relaxing. I came home, got in bed and began my regime of pain medications. Of the guidelines for my post-op recovery, there are 3 that seem to be critical components to a successful recovery:
1) Rest, elevate and ice, whenever possible.
2) Stay on top of the pain medications; take them as prescribed and independent of your pain level when stated.
3) Establish a balance between regaining range of motion and minimizing pain and swelling.
Easy enough right? Well I screwed the first one up right off the bat. "Elevate" means to keep your knee above your heart, as to decrease swelling by leveraging blood flow to your leg. I was icing with a bent knee, with my foot dangling below. This position made it difficult to straighten my leg and caused a lot of stiffness. Now, with a "toes above nose" approach, the swelling is minimal and pain relief has greatly improved.
Oxycodone is a wonderful drug, and has provided significant pain relief. The only side effects I've experienced so far is difficulty urinating and itchiness. It takes me a little longer to go pee, which isn't a big deal, but the itching has become quite annoying and I’m not sure what do about it (although Claire suggested a flea-dip). I'd rather deal with an occasional itch than wear a flea collar though.
On the 2nd day, I jumped on the stationary bike. Things were stiff, real stiff. It was challenging to get the pedals around, not necessarily due to pain, but the physical constraints of the swelling. My knee looks like it swallowed a grapefruit; it's hot and very rotund. Nevertheless, it slowly loosened up and I started getting some movement. Thus begins my post-op spin class!
So overall, the surgery was a great success! Everything went according to plan with no surprises or unexpected events to speak of. Outpatient surgical procedures are the wave of the future and I can only hope it continues to expand out into other medical operations. I am so thankful for my foundation of family and friends, and most importantly, my amazing wife who has been a pillar of love and support through all of this.
And now here I am on the other side, at ground zero, ready for the real challenge ahead of me.