Category: Fundamentals

After finally agreeing that she could not put it off any longer, Helen (adorable wife) underwent surgery for replacement of her left knee in March of this year. Readers to Easin’ Along probably remember this post, it was one of the most popular articles since we began our website. It seems that retirees have a lot of interest in the subject of joint replacement.

Helen’s recovery from that procedure went amazingly well. After two days, she discarded her walker, and within two weeks, she was driving again. She credits a regimen of exercise she started before her surgery as well as adhering to the rehab program prescribed for her after the operation for much of her success.  I, on the other hand, give most of the credit to her attitude.  Helen never whines or complains (much), and most importantly, she was determined to get back to her busy, active life on two good knees.

Her original plan was to wait until late fall or beyond before having her right knee replaced, but after her success with the first operation, she conferred with her doctor about scheduling the second surgery. Although she was experiencing some soreness in her left knee, she had no problem putting all her weight on that leg. She got the green light to go ahead with the second operation three months after the first. She continued her exercise program, interrupted only by our camping trips.

“Why wait? Let’s get on with it!” Helen is one tough gal.

The day of her surgery arrived, and we were walking into the hospital at 6:30 am for a 9:00 am date with the doctor. Check-in went smoothly. Soon after donning a purple surgical gown, and a pair of purple socks, all we had to do was sit and wait.  Helen’s expression seemed to ask “Do I want to do this all over again,” but as it always happens, the smile soon came out, and she was ready. As the nurse came in to wheel her away, our wonderful associate pastor arrived to spend a few minutes with us and bless us with prayer. We were very grateful for the time she gave us.

Around 8:30 the television monitor in the waiting room let me know that the surgery had begun.  At 10:30 her doctor came in to inform me that all had gone very well and she would be in Room 702 in a couple of hours. I was very relieved.  A healthy Helen is an essential element in our family.

When the patient arrived in her room, I was sitting in the recliner reading a book. In spite of being a bit loopy from anesthesia and pain medications, she smiled broadly and exclaimed: “Got’er done.”! A new knee was in place and, according to her doctor, her former knee was one of the worst he had replaced in a long time.  It’s a wonder that she made it as long as she had on that thing.

Within an hour, a therapy nurse arrived, checked her bandages, and helped her to the bathroom. Next, she said it was time to walk.  Helen passed that test with flying colors and was on her feet for about five minutes before the pain medications kicked in, so she returned to the prone position. The rest of the day was uneventful, but she was able to get out of bed when necessary with no problem. I decided that there was no reason for me to spend the night and left for home assured that she was in good hands. My parting words to her were, “You’re doing great but, I’d rather be camping.” She gave me a thumbs up before closing her eyes.

The next morning I returned to find her sitting up, drinking coffee and texting her friends. On the way up to her room, I passed the hospital gift shop and spotted a blue baseball cap with the words Happy Camper on the front.  I decided that she had to have it even though Helen is not much of a hat person.  To my surprise, she donned it proudly and left it on for most of the morning.  I thought it fit her very well.

The remainder of the day was devoted to therapy sessions and consultations. At about 3:30 in the afternoon, she was deemed fit for discharge and did not need to hear those words more than once. “Let’s go home” she directed.

In the space of about 30 hours, and with a new knee, Helen returned home. She was extremely grateful for the skill of her doctor and the care given to her by the hospital staff. I do not doubt that the remaining days of care and treatment will be as successful as her first experience. I’m just as confident she would rather be camping and, will very soon be…Easin’ Along.

 

By the time this post reaches Easin’ Along readers, yours truly will be one day away from crossing the threshold into another decade on earth. At times, I find it hard to believe that I am talking about myself while placing “seventy years old” in the same sentence. Nevertheless, birthday number seventy will arrive at the stroke of midnight on Friday. I can shake my head in disbelief all I want, but, as I am fond of saying, a zebra can’t change his stripes…it is what it is.

Please don’t think of me as forlorn, sorrowful, and certainly not sad at reaching this milestone, because I am not.  Like most, there are a few regrets and missed opportunities, but, I can’t focus on those. I am blessed far beyond the modest hopes and dreams I had as a young man if I ever had any of those thoughts, but my, how things have changed in seventy years.

Here’s a quick story to illustrate that point. Three evenings ago, I was having dinner with five great guys who are dear friends that I have known for forty years. We all lived in the same neighborhood for many of those years and camped together, fished together, drank together, and laughed together about topics not fit for print. Some of us still camp and fish together, but on this occasion, we spent more time laughing about our joint replacements than we did at bawdy jokes. Yes, a few things have changed mightily.

Sitting in the Man Cave with 50’s and 60’s Music blasting away from an Amazon Echo serves as a great representation of how much change has transpired since I first listened to the same music on a tube radio in my bedroom. Tall, gangly, and awkward, I probably danced a jig for a beat or two at the time providing I could hear the song above the static.  Now, I marvel at being able to speak to a black cylinder and hear the same songs clearly or, even more astounding, my questions answered by an unseen someone named Alexa.

I’m not working anymore, and that’s a change. I’ve had a “real job” since my first newspaper route at age 12. There are some things that I can’t change, however. There are aspects of working full-time that I find myself missing on occasion. I miss the friends and the relationships I accumulated over many years of a career building homes. I find myself missing time around young people and feeling the effects of their boundless energy and enthusiasm and their connection to things current. I miss the daily challenges that one confronts in the workplace and the process of finding successful solutions to those challenges. Finally, I miss earning a paycheck—not because of the money, but because every dime I ever received represented hard work, dedication, and a contribution toward the task of accomplishing a goal. Nevertheless, I’m not trading any of the above for the job I have now but, in all probability, I will never get used to being without a real job.

I write often now and, even though it is only a part-time endeavor, writing for pleasure was always in the plan for life after my career ended. I wrote for a small magazine I was involved with during the 80’s, and I always kept a journal, but there was not much time to write as a home builder. That has changed now. I have committed to no less than one Easin’ Along post a week, and my life has rhythm and a schedule around which I organize everything else. I love that as much as I love the writing. Easin’ Along also serves as a record of our lives during retirement and of the extended travel time that retirement has made available to us.

I am much more spiritual than ever. Regrettably, I made very little space for God in my life in the past. I went through the motions; I made promises to read and study the Bible that I never kept; I attended church, but never made a sincere effort to become involved. The change occurred after a bad business experience found me in need of someone besides me to lean on. Miraculously, I was asked to join a Bible study with some members of our church and, oddly enough, several in the group were experiencing difficulties similar to mine. We talked, cried, and prayed through our problems together.  In the end, each of us came away with the realization that faith in something greater than us will carry us much farther than traveling alone. I love our church and our members and look forward to every opportunity to be among them and to serve. I am always working on my journey of faith, but I know it is much stronger now than in the past.

The clock is ticking, and I need to close before I turn seventy, but the list of changes remains a lengthy one. I appreciate art and music more than ever primarily because I can’t do either, and admire greatly anyone who can. I am more careful with my health and always struggle with my weight.  On occasion, (rainy weather) I walk with a cane due to a worn out hip, but hopefully, a replacement scheduled for July will make things better. I give less thought to my appearance now than ever before.  You may catch me in my favorite overalls and Crocs at the supermarket now instead of the starched, pressed, and buttoned-down wardrobe I wore in the past. I gave up a concern about gray hair long ago.

The most significant change is that I take things much slower now. I intend to remain active and continue to go and to do for as long as I am able. Helen (adorable wife) has the same plan.  Gracey, our travel trailer, will soon be hitched to Bert and on her way to the beach. Nonetheless, we’ll go slowly and smell the flowers at every opportunity. The pace is one we can handle no matter our age, and a seventieth birthday won’t change that. That’s why we call this journey Easin’ Along.

Throughout her entire life, Helen (adorable wife) had not been one to sit still. She played tournament tennis at a very young age. She loves to hike, bike and recently fell in love with pickleball.  Nevertheless, when knee pain caused her to avoid the activities she enjoys, she reluctantly gave in and admitted that enough pain was just that…enough.

One of the undeniable truths about an active lifestyle in retirement is that good knees are golden. It is certainly possible to get along on bad pins, but good ones make things a whole lot easier. When we finally admit that pain and stiffness are causing us to avoid the fun and the adventures that are available to us, most of us would say it is time to do something about it. For Helen, that time had come.

The admission was inevitable. After undergoing surgery for a torn ACL, and two surgeries for a torn meniscus, her poor knees were now bone to bone. A periodic cortisone injection helped somewhat, but eventually, the aches would return, and her ever-present smile would turn upside down.  Helen never whines about anything.

After talking with friends who had undergone knee replacement, and doing some additional research on her own, she made an appointment with a doctor who came highly recommended. Once he showed he showed her an x-ray of her knees, they both agreed that there was no reason to wait any longer. Her knees were ready for a trade-in.

Helen wanted both knees replaced at the same time, but the doctor was against it. He explained that if she encountered problems with one or both replacements, the recovery could be more involved. Accepting the premise that the doctor knows best, she agreed, and scheduled surgery for her left knee.

The next step was the most important part of this entire process. A friend who had replaced one knee gave her a strong recommendation and told her to begin a serious program of exercise to strengthen her knees. Helen followed that advice and returned to the YMCA to spend time on the stationary bicycle. She also took part in circuit training classes and, even though her knees prevented her from participating in a few of the exercises, she did what she could. Helen feels strongly that the exercises made a huge difference in her recovery.

We entered the hospital at 6:30 in the morning.  The surgery would begin at 9 am, but admitting takes a while, and there was the usual “hurry up and wait” time that always seems to surround anything involving hospitals.  For someone about to have a leg removed at the knee, Helen was her usual carefree self.  “Let’s get on with it” was the attitude of the moment. Amazingly, she left the dressing room lying on a hospital bed and smiling broadly.

Sometime around noon, her doctor called me out of the waiting room to reassure me that all went extremely well.  He asked if I had any questions.  I couldn’t think of any, but I thanked him profusely, shook his hand, and told him that I understood why Helen liked him so much.  He was as calm as they come.  The doctor told me that Helen would be in room 702 around 2:00 pm and suggested that I have lunch then join for her at that time.

When I arrived at her room, Helen was there. I don’t remember what I expected, but it wasn’t a wide-awake and smiling patient. Admittedly, she was still a little loopy from the pain medications, but she managed to shout a bit loudly, “Look, honey, I’ve got a new knee”! After telling me to be sure she was awake for her first meal, she fell asleep.  That’s when I remembered that she had not eaten since dinner the night before.

The hospital staff was wonderful.  They had Helen up and walking shortly after her meal and barely three hours after the surgery. Her smile said it all.

After therapy the next morning and a visit from the doctor, Helen was prepped to leave.  Several nurses came in to give her instructions on how best to care for the incision, on what to do if problems of any kind arose, and to bring her a new walker, and several pairs of compression hose. Helen rolled her eyes at both. A very pleasant nurse changed her bandages, and I was privy to her knee full of staples. A day and a half after receiving a brand new knee, Helen left the hospital.

On her first night at home, I prepared my self to be the best nurse possible but was barely needed.  She made the middle of the night trips to the bathroom, using her walker and was pretty mobile after that.  I was some help with showering, but little else.  Helen discovered that Glad Wrap Press and Seal was excellent at preventing her incision from getting wet in the shower.  We also cut the bottom out of a kitchen trash bag so that she could place her leg through it and tie the bag around her upper leg.

Two weeks after the surgery, Helen became pretty much self-sufficient and did remarkably well.  She had discarded the walker by now as well as all pain medications except for a little Tylenol.  She attended therapy sessions where she amazed the staff with her progress.  One her two-week visit to the doctor, he released her to drive. She walked out of the doctor’s office happy as a clam.

With her recovery proceeding well, Helen has decided to replace the second knee sometime in June.  That allows time for a trip to the beach with Gracey and a visit from our grandaughters for Bible School. Hopefully, the second operation will go as well and, once again, she’ll be Easin’ Along…on brand-new knees.