This is day 6 after surgery. The differences between where I am in my progress now vs. where I was at Day 6 with Bessie are remarkable. I have a great deal more control and range of motion with Tillie than I did with Bessie. Tillie is stronger and much more stable. I am still using a walker all the time, but I can do a lot more without help. I have been able to get on and off of the bed without help for a couple of days with Tillie. I can actually lift her off the bed - up straight into the air - I could NOT do that with Bessie.
My PT has me doing very simple exercises so far - basically stretching moves. For example, I have Tillie up on the footstool with a foam lifter under my heal, then I push my knee down and hold for 5 sec. I do that repeatedly for 3 min. Then I just let Tillie hang there and be pulled down by gravity for about 5 min. Another move is that while sitting up in a chair, I use Bessie to push Tillie back as far as she can go, then I keep her there for about 5 seconds. I do that repeatedly. I am excited to learn how much range of motion I have gained from doing this. When the PT (Kevin) was here on Thurs, he measured me at 78 degrees of bend and -11 degrees on Straight. That feels like very advanced progress! I can’t wait to hear those numbers are better tomorrow when he is here!
Fast-forward…. It is now Tuesday. 1 week since surgery. Yesterday, PT Kevin graduated me from my walker to my cane, at least for in the house. I can also tell you that I don’t even need the cane, especially in the bedroom/bathroom. I don’t move fast, and I make sure I am within range of something to hold on to, but I really don’t need the walker or the cane anymore because Tillie doesn’t give out when I put weight on her. The biggest thing I need to use the walker for is that it holds the power box for my inflatable leg massagers, so that needs to go with me as I move from one place to the next.
Yesterday, Kevin gave me several more advanced exercises to do. He measured me at 82 degrees bend and -1 flat - that is a BIG improvement. I was a little surprised that the bend wasn’t more, but the change from -11 to -1 in flat is HUGE! Just out of curiosity, I also had him measure Bessie. She was at 0 fortunately, but she was only at 96 degrees. I thought she was over 100 before. I know she never made it to the goal of 110-115, but I thought she was over 100, so I don’t know if she has regressed or if she was just being lazy! Methinks the girls now need to compete!
Today, Nursey Lisa will be here to change my dressing. (Btw, if anyone wants to see my incision, let me know, and I’ll send it on my phone.) Today is going to be a busy week. I have several friends who have reserved time on my social calendar for this week. YAY! Between that and keeping up with exercises 3x/day, I will be a busy girl. I am also starting to adjust my med schedule to drag things out. I want to start weaning off of the hard stuff as soon as possible.
That’s all for now. Thanks for following my progress! I’ll talk to y’all again soonly!
:)Amy
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