First up is Kodiak. Now this is a very Canadian name but no, it does not refer to a bear or anything remotely to do with bears or bear country. Breg, Kodiak is my new cold therapy, ice cooling machine. It is fabulous! It allows you to ice your knee every other hour all night without having to hobble over to the sink to set everything up each time. You fill the ice up before bed and it last several hours until it is time to get up.
You soon get into a routine of an hour on and an hour off...although I find I am checking the minutes before the hour off is up...just dying to get the icy relief back on my knee and calf.
My second best friend is this clunky old lady walker. It takes such pressure off your knee when you are first up and trying to walk. In fact, there is such a sense of relief to reach for it and know it will help support you till your calf muscles "warm up". It seems to take about 10 or 15 steps for my calf to stretch and I have learned I can speed that up by leaning over my walker and flexing my calf, before I even start walking.
So all is progressing fairly well. I have been to physio and can bend my leg about 100 degrees so they are happy with that. Life is now all about getting that bend up to 120 degrees, which requires a lot of painful stretching and other exercises but the pain will be well worth it to have a working, pain free knee back at the en d!!!
I was doing a bit too much in the knee stretching and walking department, and had a small area crack open. I saw the surgeon as I could not get it to stop weeping, I am on reduced stretches and the walks got limited to the 30 minutes as I had gone out for a couple of hours to the paper craft garage sale the day it happened. I did combine walking and sitting looking at the stamps, dies, papers, etc but it was too much for my poor knee to keep up with. Ahhhh, the trials of being paper crafter! lol
It will take some time, but you will get there.. Sounds like you are already making good progress... Thoughts and prayers that you heal quickly..
ReplyDeleteHello Maureen, pleased you are making steady progress, it's such a huge piece of surgery, much more so than a hip replacement which my Alistair had a number of years ago. I was shivering at the thought of your knee going into ice, keep well, Kate x x
ReplyDeleteHi Maureen, glad to hear you've finally had the op out it dies sound as though you need to take it more slowly than you've been doing. Hubby is fascinated by your 'new friends' as he is having to decide on whether to go for knee replacements next year. In the meantime he's doing a lot of research so your comments are helpful to him. He's an impatient patient to so I've passed on your experience. Take care, my lovely, and follow your doctor's advice. xx
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're knee is coming along according to schedule, Maureen! LOL, getting a bargain on paper crafting supplies is a good incentive to go out. I hope you found lots of bargains to make the pain worthwhile!
ReplyDeleteGlad to meet your new best friends Mo, and to hear that you are making good progress after the long wait for your operation.
ReplyDeleteHoping the improvements continue and you are hop, skipping and jumping down the craft sales very soon.
Kath x
Ugh! Not fun at all but it sounds like you're doing great and progressing as you should. Keep up the good work and take things slow and easy!
ReplyDeleteLynn
So glad to hear that you are progressing with your new knee....slowly does it xxxx
ReplyDeleteWishing you a speedy recovery, Maureen. So pleased that you have finally had your op. The ice cooling machine looks a great thing to aid your recovery. xx
ReplyDeleteI have heard of these machines and people say they are wonderful. Good for you. It saves wear and tear on trying to go back and forth. Glad to hear you are mending. Kudos for using your walker. So many people won't and it's such a help. [Bunny]`
ReplyDeleteSounds as if you're doing really well Mo, and if determination has anything to do with it your new knee will soon be pain free and working as it should! Well done you, just don't overdo it!
ReplyDeletexxx
Sometimes it's hard to follow Dr's orders :). Take care of your self Maureen and rest, crafting will always be there.
ReplyDeleteHugs Christine
Good to hear you got your knee replacement, at last. Sorry hear about the whole overdoing it/weeping thing and hope you are now back on track. Like the sound of that Kodiak .... could do with one of those myself this week - it's gonna be HOT here!
ReplyDeleteTake care
Kathyk
Oh my, you have to be very patient... :( But luckily all it's going well for your knee!!
ReplyDeleteThat machine seems very useful for your therapy!...
Here the weather is so HOT and I would like some ice too :)
Hugs
So pleased you have finally had your operation and things are progressing. Don’t overdo it though!
ReplyDeleteThose all look too familiar to me! My husband had those when he had his knee replacement. Feel better soon
ReplyDeleteHave a great day!
Marilyn❤
So happy to hear you finally got that knee replaced and are doing well since Maureen!!! Your machine looks amazing. I could have used one of those when I had a frozen shoulder. Like you, I couldn't wait to have the ice machine that PT had, placed on me after PT. It just felt so good that you begged for it. lol Love that you have a 4 wheel old lady walker now. I'm afraid after all my falls, I may be heading to one full time. We will see. Sounds like you are doing well, when you aren't over doing it! lol I understand the house bound thing. I haven't put gas in my car since April and still have a half of a tank. The house can start closing in on a person after a while. Glad you are getting around, just be careful and don't over do it. I guess the doctor thought he had been give you some limits so you don't over do it! Big hugs, Brenda
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update. So glad to hear you are progressing and that your wait is finally over. Paper crafting sales are tempting but hopefully you can put the knee first. There will always be another sale. Best wishes for a speedy recovery Maureen. I'll keep you in my prayers.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a lot of cancelled appointments so pleased it’s been done now and hopefully you will have a speedy recovery especially with that funny looking iced machine...lol seriously though if any diget helps to speed up your recovery and works it worth it and the frame will help loads sending lots of love xx
ReplyDeleteI am glad you have those good friends to depend on since the surgery. Just allow your self to take the time to heal. I know I am using my walker a lot more too. We are having such humid weather and it does not feel good on any of my joints. I have deformed feet and there is no surgery to help it so I use my walker a lot more now too. So believe me I know what a blessing those aids can be.
ReplyDeleteI'm so pleased to hear that you have had your knee replacement at last Maureen and glad to hear that things are progressing well - take it steady and try not to overdo things again, wishing you a full and speedy recovery.
ReplyDeletePauline - Crafting with Cotnob
x
401/5000
ReplyDeletethank you very much for your footprint in my blog, for me to participate in card challenges is a joy and encouragement to creativity
My father used for years cane, crutch and finally the walker, with what you comment you have brought me his memory. I hope you recover mobility and strength with exercise, since the more you exercise the better.
a hug from Chile
(I used the google translator)
Keep up the good work, but take care not to rush it xxx
ReplyDeleteYou must be so relieved, Maureen, to finally get your new knee. I had the ice machine in hospital and at home but i couldn’t stand the cold! Lol glad it’s helping you, along with the walker. Having to take it easy is the hardest thing to do but for me, my new hip was worse. Take it easy, exercise, repeat and you’ll be back to moving around in no time. :)
ReplyDeleteI am so happy to hear some great news! You'll be at 100%
ReplyDeletein not time at all; just don't rush it!! Life goes by way
too fast as it is. :-)
Good to hear you got your knee sorted at last, hope your recovery continues to go well
ReplyDeleteJoan
I'm glad things are progressing as they should. The knees take much longer to recover than the hips, but keep working hard and soon you'll be enjoying life again as you should! Keep up the great work and have a speedy recovery! Sending hugssssss
ReplyDeleteOMG hun I'm loving your new friends ;-), but very reliable, trustworthy and helpful too.
ReplyDeleteListen to the Docs and I'm sorry you had a bit of a set back, hoping the card I sent you ages ago, will cheer you up, sending lots of get well hugs and wish I could be there helping you out, Lvu Sam x
So happy Mo that you finally got to have your knee surgery. Sounds like you are recovering real well. Your weeping knee sure let you know you were doing too much...oh well, it will heal soon and you did get to go to a crafting show:-) We do have our priorities! Take care and hope to see you again next May:-) BTW...your truck cards are great guy cards. Enjoy your crafting...Hugs...Nancy
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