Knee-Replacement Rehabilitation

This is for the record (so easily I forget!) and, in case you're curious, for your entertainment.  HA!

I'm at 13 weeks post-surgery today.  Let's just call it 3 months, since my knee replacement was on January 8th and today is April 9th.

Physiotherapist, Eline, says I can now do anything I want to do!  WHOHOOWOOHOO.  That includes driving (check)....and sports.  But I'm ahead of myself....

I wake up every morning with my new knee "defaulting" to a less than 100% extension.  More like 85-90%.  So, before I get out of bed, I do 4 exercises that more or less fix the problem.  The most important is what I call "the other" planking exercise.  It's like having to retrain the brain. 

 Astrid made the 6 planks which I depress 10x each.
By the time I'm done, my leg is back to 100% extension.  WHOHOO.

At some point in the morning, after breakfast and time at the laptop, I ride my exercise bike.


This bike is at the Parafit practice I attend in nearby Arkel and is still hard for me to ride.
However, mine at home is perfect for 10 minutes every day at 20 kmp/12.5 mph.  WOOHOO.
(Eline is the one in the video who goes to get her apple.)

I also do squats and lunges.  Don't forget those.
And climbing up and down stairs.
And walking here-n-there. 

Back at Parafit (for 3 months at twice a week but now at only once), Eline keeps me hopping.

 One exercise (right column) strengthens the glutes (with attachments to the knees, you know).
The one in the middle works on extension and flexion, repeatedly...ad nauseam.


At 3 months, my flexion is supposed to be at the maximum of 130-degrees.
But as you can see, it's not.  I'm lucky if I get to 115-120.  That's the part I'm still working on!

Up to this point, everything is just bite-the-bullet stuff.  I know I have to do it.
And no one else can do it for me.

BUT!

When Eline realized how sportive I've been my entire life, she figured something out.


Ginnie LOVES LOVES LOVES to play ball.  WOOHOO.
So, first, I do a weaving in-and-out exercise for stability and brain-to-muscle coordination.


And THEN I play ball.
Without having to think about what or why I'm doing it, I really have a ball.
Astrid says Eline really gets a kick out of it...since I'm 2 months shy of turning 70.  HA!

But isn't that what it's all about...even when it's rehab...to have a blast,
no matter how old/young you are!

Speaking of Astrid, special thanks to her for being my Partner in Crime,
taking me to PT every week and being my Fan Club.
Thanks to her for all these telling-it-like-it-is proofs that I am still alive and well.

WOOHOO.

A Carpe-Diem Overnighter to North Holland

Actually, it was more like a Seize-the-Weather trip that Astrid thought up!  Last week Wednesday she told me the weekend was going to be sunny and warmer (up to 60F) and maybe we'd like to use the Fletcher hotel voucher we had to visit the Alkmaar area north of us.

She didn't have to ask me twice, nor did it take long to plan our Sunday-Monday escapade!

But first, just for the halibut, here's a quick geography lesson that usually helps me get my bearings:

There are 12 provinces that make up the Netherlands.

Gorinchem, where we live, is in Zuid/South Holland, on the North Sea.
(That is, the province is on the North Sea, not Gorinchem.)

Noord/North Holland, just above Zuid Holland, is also on the North Sea, with lots of coastline.

The Germans east of us are known to drive across the Netherlands just to visit this Dutch coast.

It's known as the German Invasion during the warmer months of the year.  Seriously.

Amsterdam is in Noord Holland, as is Alkmaar, where we wanted to go.

Our hotel was a bit NW of Alkmaar, on the North Sea, in Callantsoog.

Going home on Monday, we drove along the coast south.

Okay, then.  Just enough to get our bearings for our wee trip from Gorinchem to Alkmaar (62 miles), then eventually to Callantsoog (another 15 miles).  In the American sense of distance, this is nothing, right?  But in the Dutch sense, and at the speed we drive over the back roads, stopping at every weathervane or point of interest along the way, it can take all day.

 So, speaking of weathervanes, let's get started!

These are the ones we saw along the entire trip, Sunday to Monday.

Even the ones on top of churches or city buildings are important to me,

though you can easily tell the difference between them and the domestic vanes.

You know the gable stones also grab my attention, of course,

so while we're at it, these are the ones we saw along the way.

Gable stones are always harder to process than weathervanes because...

well, because the corners are almost never square, or tilted properly.

(But you already knew I was Ms. Perfectionist, right?)

Alright.  Enough for now.

This was a teaser and easy to "get out of the way" before moving on with the rest of the trip.

Coming up is Heiloo, Alkmaar, Schagen, St. Maartensbrug, Callantsoog, Camperduin 

and Egmond aan Zee (with a lighthouse we don't usually get to see).

Do you know how good it feels to be back on the road again????

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

My 9-week post-knee-replacement-surgery celebration today:
For my first time, I WAS ABLE TO CYCLE FORWARDS, for 5 minutes.
I actually was afraid to stop, lest I couldn't do it again.
Color me Surprised by Joy!

Gorinchem's 2015 Carnival Aftermath

I say "aftermath" because we didn't go out to see the parade and shenanigans this year.  We've done it once or twice since I've lived here and...you know, when you've seen it once you've seen it all.  Did I say that?

Can you really expect it to get better than this (from 2010)?

See what I mean!

However, late afternoon (on Valentine's Day!) we did see after-the fact smatterings of the day.

 The boys and the girls...never the twain shall meet at that age.

I wonder if they were texting each other?

The remains of the day.

These fellas deserved their own notoriety, of course,

because of the Dutch Jansen and Janssen brothers in Kuifje (Tintin).

How clever!  See why Dutch Carnaval always reminds me of Halloween?

It was suppertime and we were ready to eat at our Greek restaurant across from the market square.

Before and after eating, we really got caught up in the confetti.

Not the same as beads flung far and wide in the States!

And within a couple of days, it was all cleaned up.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 

And now, how 'bout an update on the knee replacement!

Last Friday, at 5 weeks post-surgery, I had a set of x-rays done plus a check-up.

There you have it...all apparently in perfect order, looking like what it's supposed to.

Most of my pain is at night in bed; almost no pain during the day.

Just stiffness, which is normal, due to fluid on the knee (for at least a year!).

That's what the exercises are for...to keep pumping away the fluid and stiffness.

Today, at 6 weeks post-surgery, I'm done with my anti-thrombosis injections.

Am I a happy camper or what!  That was not fun, even if necessary.

See the note Astrid wrapped around my final syringe last night:

"The last one!  You're my trooper.  Love, JLJA"

Yup.

And now, laugh with/at me as I share a video of this past Tuesday's PT session:

Who knew I would have to re-learn how to walk!
Eline asked Astrid:  "Does she always walk like that???"
When it started or why, who knows, but my normal walk was "incorrect."
It took several attempts but I finally got the hang of it,
swinging my arms at the right time in the right direction.
Your hips are supposed to rotate (swagger) as you walk, like a model on a catwalk.
Will I ever get that image out of my head???  HA!  Probably not.

Zo simpel is het!

I'm now halfway through my PT sessions.  Still can't cycle full rotations.
BUT...Astrid and I can now do the English Waltz again.
Now, if Eline will video that for me, I'll be a happy camper!

Knee Replacement: 3-Week Milestone

From the get-go, this is a post "for the record," which I'll get to in a minute.

Today is the 4-week milestone after my January 8th surgery.  It seems like forever ago, and yet, as my physical therapist, Eline, keeps saying, "Ginnie, it's only been X weeks!"  In other words, patience, M'lady.

This week Astrid and I started dancing again...as an exercise Eline is really encouraging, once she found out our dancing history.  We first tried to do an English Waltz.  The look on my face was probably priceless.  I couldn't even begin to do it, which totally shocked me.  Just back and forth, back and forth...increasing the stabilization in my left leg.  I'm getting my education.

But, back to the 3-week milestone from last week.  And "for the record."  That was the day my 20 staples (count them) were removed.  If you are weak of stomach, I totally excuse you from this point on....

First of all, I woke up to this note from Astrid in the bathroom.

Because my staples were being removed that day, I could finally take a shower again.

ik hou van jou = I love you.

It was a very happy shower, indeed.

Before my PT that day, I had an appointment with the doctor's assistant to get my staples removed.

The top-right image is 6 days after my surgery when the bandage was removed.

The scar is 17cm (6-3/4 in) long...20 staples.

The nifty tool releases the staples almost magically, with almost no pain.

Okay, there were several times I said "OUCH," but the assistant was totally sympathetic,

and Astrid held my hand!

When she wasn't holding my hand, Astrid took this video.
The whole thing was so educational for us both.

Leave it to me, I wanted to keep the staples!
They're now in my Conquest Box, along with the cracked molar that was pulled a couple years back.
(That's another story altogether...about stress from my past life.)

So, there you have it.  For the record.
Someone has to do it!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Oh, and while we're at it, today is our 5-year wedding anniversary!

A Knee Replacement the Dutch Way

Exactly 2 weeks ago yesterday, yes, it happened!  And now that I'm on this side of it all, I do have my impressions...but sure would love to compare notes with someone in the US.

There are hundreds of images to show the knee prosthesis I now have.

I like this one because of the crucial "talking points."

Lucky for me, all my arthritic bits-n-bobs are now gone.

Starting 5 days before my January 8th surgery, I had to do all bathing and shampooing with a Betadine scrub
(iodine antispetic), including daubing both nostrils with Bactroban 3x/day.

This was to cut down on bacteria entering the hospital.

Astrid says the nose is one of the worst places for carrying bacteria!

Following the surgery, I must inject myself with Fraxiparine every day for 6 weeks

to prevent thrombosis.  It's not one of my favorite things to do, seriously.

It so happens our Beatrixziekenhuis here in Gorinchem is only a 10-minute bike ride from home.

They do 300 knee replacements there every year with a team of 4 excellent doctors.

My room for 5 days was up on the 6th floor, with a view of many Gorinchem landmarks

(which many of you will recognize by now).
My friend, Jannie, from our senior complex, had her surgery right after mine by the same doctor,
and we became roommates for the duration (with 2 other roomies).

To make a long story short, my surgery took only 45 minutes instead of the anticipated 1.5-2 hours.

They said it was because I had no fatty tissue to navigate.  Well, then.

However, I did have a low-blood-pressure "episode" that set me back my first 2 days.

Let's just say it scared the bejesus out of Astrid...but after I bounced back,

I was my old self again...except for the knee part.
Cheers!

The 5 days in the hospital were mainly for this CPM contraption:
Continous Passive Motion.

Every day my knee was stretched for 2 hours, first at 30-degrees, then, 50, 60 and 65.

I actually got into the swing of it and could even read or use my iPad.

What did they do in the days before this  miracle contraption?
(And yes, that's Dan Brown's Digital Fortress which I finished the day I got home.)

Did I ever mention that Astrid's DIL, Eva, is a security guard at this hospital?
When she visited me, she brought me this bear, bringing tears to my eyes.
How can something so "simple" be so soulful!

Now that I'm home, I have my main mode of transportation:  crutches.
It actually feels GOOD to walk, even outside, with them.  They help me stand tall and straight.
But when I need to transport items (like for breakfast and lunch when Astrid is at work),
the rollator comes to my rescue.  I use it for grocery shopping, too.

Then there's PT, of course, twice a week (4 sessions thus far, out of 24).
Right now I'm still doing half-moons on the exerciser, even at home, to increase ROM.
Talk about S.T.I.F.F.  Also, I still have one place that dang hurts,
which Eline, my PT, thinks is where the patella was stiched back on.  OUCH.

Exercise.  Exercise.  Exercise.
They told us to get a skateboard, which Astrid could have borrowed from her son.
Instead, she bought this home-improvement gismo (for moving furniture)
which is small enough to carry around with me, even to Rummikub.

And throughout everything, Astrid is always there wanting to help!  My Angel!
My foot really swelled up once after PT and she massaged it. 
You may remember that I was a licensed massage therapist for 8 years after my divorce,
but did I tell you Astrid was a sport's massage therapist in her day?  Yup.
I LOVE her hands.  Lucky me.

Speaking of Astrid, she went back to work this week, leaving me to my Ms. Independent self.  HA!
It's amazing how quickly the body bounces back to health and rehabiltation.

And to celebrate a milestone, yesterday at PT I was able to raise my foot 8" off the PT table,
the first time since my surgery.  I hope that means there's no stopping me now!

For all of you who stood in the background rooting me on, THANK YOU.
It's a long row to hoe and I have no illusions about the time it will take to get back into shape.
But I do like the idea that maybe Spring will "resurrect" the new me.  It's a good goal.

Saturday ADDENDUM:
Believe it or not, you can find an hour YouTube that shows a live knee-replacement surgery.
You would need a big stomach to...stomach it.  Trust me.
But dear Astrid found this very simple animated version which I find most educational.
It explains why I still have some sore spots.  HA!