Ten days already

Physiotherapy
I have been approved for nine sessions of in-home physiotherapy.  Earlier today my physiotherapist (physio-torturer, Jeannette) increased my exercise repetitions from 15 to 20 and my knee feels very good.  Pain level on meds is about a one, and as I am always on meds, I do not know what the level would be without them.  Of course the left leg benefits from these drugs, so exercising is not a problem for me.  I have been warned by Jeannette that on Monday we start using weights.  My right knee is getting better.

I am so happy that Dr Parr prefers to operate on one knee at a time.  I was considering doing both together.  The PT would be so difficult working on two operated knees.  Using stairs one needs to go down on the operated knee and up on the opposite.  If both knees are done together, ouch, then stairs would be almost impossible for a long period of time.  I have made the mistake a couple of times by using the wrong knee, for the wrong step, boy it hurts!

Ten day post-operative check-up
Garry came home early this afternoon and drove me to Sugar Land for the ten day post-operative appointment.  My knee has progressed very well and Dr Parr called me a star patient making me smile.  The alignment of my hip, knee, and ankle is perfect - a dead straight line.  I was not aware that this misalignment had happened over the arthritic years (making me bow-legged) now I know.  Dr Parr http://www.tomparrmd.net/ explained to me how he uses GPS which makes this a very precise surgery.  There are antennas on poles that are screwed into the bone top and bottom of the knee, the poles hold all the equipment in place i.e. Robotic Surgery.  The surgeon cannot go less than a millimeter off the plan for the surgery, the computer/robot will not allow it.  Apparently I was a perfect candidate for the partial knee replacement.  I only had arthritis on the inside medial knee bones and a small amount on the knee cap, there is no arthritis on the outside bones.

The surgical nurse, Ashley, changed the strips holding the wound together pronouncing it a nice clean wound.

I can now increase the walking to three periods of twenty minutes each day and with every passing week increase the time.  I cannot drive until I am off the Darvocet, I must now work on that but not until Jeannette has finished with the torture.