Easin’ Along on a Brand-New Knee

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.