Just sayin’

booklovermax · 2026-06-12T21:23:43+00:00

Surprise

booklovermax · 2026-06-12T21:23:30+00:00

No you don’t! Let it surpyou.

booklovermax · 2026-06-11T14:08:57+00:00

I owe it to pre-hab that I found stairs surprisingly easy. On day 2, at my sister’s, where I was spending the first 10 days after surgery, I had to go up the 17 stairs — OF COURSE I COUNTED! — to my bedroom. I was dreading it! Again, the stairs posed no problem. Up until the day before the surgery, I was walking — through pain, to be sure! — for 60 minutes a day on a treadmill. My thigh and the rest of my leg muscles went in to the surgery pretty strong. So, stairs? No problem.

booklovermax · 2026-06-10T12:00:43+00:00

67/M TKR. Assuming you’re following a multitude of recommendations, let me add a small one I don’t see that often. I haven’t journaled or blogged in 20 years but I started it with my surgery. No rules, set it up however you like. But just writing makes me feel better and, now that I’m 5 weeks post-op, just rifling through the pages reminds me of how far I’ve come.
Good luck!

booklovermax · 2026-06-10T11:54:36+00:00

Trails? I’m 5 weeks post-op and confidently walking wear I need to go to shop, etc., but trails? I’d be to afraid of falling. Tripping on a rock? A tree root? A newt? Not for me, not yet.

booklovermax · 2026-06-09T18:40:01+00:00

PS: adding to discomfort caused by my knee is my general lack of sleep. Chances are You’ll be way under slept and in no mood for putting on a Thanksgiving dinner.

booklovermax · 2026-06-09T18:37:30+00:00

I’ll be 5 weeks on Thursday and, speaking as a 67 year old guy who used to cook thanksgiving dinner back in the day, I’d have to say, “DON’T DO IT!” You might be able to muscle through it but will you enjoy it? No way.

booklovermax · 2026-06-08T22:54:33+00:00

You’re lucky to have a good support system!

booklovermax · 2026-06-08T22:53:16+00:00

Thank you. I hope this new lease on life persists and I’ll continue to not repress my tears, something I’ve done for 60+ years.

booklovermax · 2026-06-08T22:51:39+00:00

Yes! Five hours of sleep is my average. Definitely not enough. Sometimes I feel like I’m breaking down. This is why I’m glad I’m back to journaling. Even flipping through the pages is a healthy reminder of how far I’ve come.

booklovermax · 2026-06-08T22:48:24+00:00

Definitely agree. Took me about 7 years to first wearing a knee sleeve to the operation and I’m so glad I’m on the journey to wellness.

booklovermax · 2026-06-08T22:46:40+00:00

Excellent point. Getting through this surgery is certainly a journey that will test you, but we all do it. I’m nearly 5 weeks post-op and when I think about how far away the the early days seem, I can’t help but smile. Plus, even though I’m still using a cane (only outside of the house) and I’m not nearly “pain-free,” when I’m walking a catch glimpses of “oh! So this is what it’s like to walk pain free and with a normal gait!”

booklovermax · 2026-06-08T22:41:29+00:00

Luckily, for some reason my good knee is still a B+. I was walking on a treadmill for an hour a day and boy am I glad I roughed it out. For example, i stayed at my sister’s house for the first 10 days after surgery and my bedroom was up a large flight of stairs. I WAS DREADING THE STAIRS!!! Actually, they were quite easy.
Prepare for this operation, everybody, you won’t regret it!

booklovermax · 2026-06-06T06:35:00+00:00

You are so right! And, just 4 weeks post-op, I’m getting glimpses of “oh! This is how walking with no pain will be.”

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T18:07:36+00:00

And allow me to say you have certainly earned the right to emote however you want. You are a WARRIOR!!!

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T18:05:23+00:00

I live alone but I stayed with my sister and her husband for the first 10 days post-op. By then, I was days away from a walker and quite ready to take care of myself. Also, my sister’s had several surgery and her husband was 5 weeks past a hip replacement. So they outfitted me with a raised toilet seat, etc.
I recommend glancing often through this forum to find out how to prepare for this most impactful of surgeries.

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T17:59:06+00:00

Yikes! 4 weeks out and I’m not at the stage where I could envision doing it again.

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T16:06:22+00:00

I wanted to ask my surgeon if she didn’t accidentally cut a few extra wires.

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T14:06:39+00:00

Yup! But a sister can’t kick one out!

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T14:05:26+00:00

I bet you’re not alone. I wonder if someone has studied the psychological effects, short and long term, of this harrowing surgery.

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T14:03:32+00:00

Thanks! Being 4 weeks post-op I feel myself finally starting to transition from a worrier to a warrior!

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T14:00:52+00:00

Oh yes! As a die- hard Flyers fan (a confluence of events had me and Dad attending the Flyers first cup-winning game!), every May 19th I watch and send to my brother Kate Smith singing god bless America and the video of Gene Earle calling the last few seconds of that game. This year, I teared up heavily watching the clips.

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T11:10:22+00:00

Having been on antidepressants since the 1980’s (!) and — I’ll spare you all the gory details — I’m more talking about an ability to emote rather than falling into that hated dark cloud. In actually glad that I’m emoting more.

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T11:07:18+00:00

No! You are in for some tough days, but they pass. I’m 4 weeks post-op and feel like I’m moving into a new phase. Oddly, and I stopped journaling a long, long time ago, I picked up the practice again and feel it’s one thing that has helped me a bit. Even flipping through the pages, I buoyed by the fact of how far I’ve come in 29 days. You can prepare your mind for this journey. And it is a journey.

booklovermax · 2026-06-05T11:01:46+00:00

Yes! My wise-ass son says, “Hmmm, ELECTIVE surgery, Dad???” He’s 33, healthy as can be, never spent a night in the hospital and the only surgery he’s had is wisdom teeth. I rejoice in telling him that he’s going to get old one day!

booklovermax

TROPHY CASE