6 weeks post knee replacement

As of yesterday I am now 6 weeks post total knee replacement.  I am doing very well.  I have extension at 0 degrees and bend at 135 degrees.  I have been at this for over a week now.  I can ride the NuStep recumbent stepper for 20 minutes and 3/4 mile with a load of 5.  I can go up and down stairs using the right leg as the stronger leg and take the steps one over the other instead of one at a time.  Physical therapy has been very pleased and say that I am more advanced in my recovery than is expected for 6 weeks post surgery.  This is great but it has also caused a bit of other problems.  My leg strength is weak and has been for a long time since fibromyalgia and then knee problems have kept me from exercise.  Also because of the quick recovery of movement, my muscles have not recovered as fast as the knee joint.  I seem to have a bit of a click in the knee cap at a certain point of bend and extension but the knee feels stable.  This causes a little tenderness around the knee cap area but nothing intense.  I have not taken pain meds for 3 weeks now.  Working on strengthening has caused some mild fibro flair-ups and my whole body feels very fatigued and achy.  I need to continue the strengthening exercises but have slowed down the intensity a little.  

My incision is healed up nicely.  I still have a tiny bit of scabbing that is working itself out but I am able to work on the incision massages to help soften it up.  Besides the outside incision there are two interior incisions that also needed to heal and be worked out.  I still have a mark on the skin on my thigh where the tourniquet was and a muscle tightness just above the incision.  The incision is no more red than the ones on my belly from the colon cancer surgery in April. Today my knee area is taped to see if that will help stabilize the clicking feeling at the bottom of the knee cap or I'd take another picture and post here.  My skin on the surgery leg is much dryer than that on the other leg but my skin is always dry.  The surgery leg has areas that the skin is peeling and flaking.  I removed the toenail polish last night and also noticed that the toenails on my surgery foot seem to have a white-ish film on them that also peels and flakes off.  My non-surgery leg and foot seem norman-no peeling and flaking.  Weird!  

I have 2 more physical therapy appointments in Goddard then I can return home.  I will follow up with PT in Colby but should only need to go once a week to make sure I am doing ok and that I am adjusting to the increase in busy home and farm life over the 'easy city life' staying at Karen's home.  I am excited to go home again.  It has been wonderful staying in Wichita because I would not have progressed this rapidly at home.  I will be hitting the ground running, so to speak, when I get home.  I will have physical therapy, dad will have doctor appointments and cataract surgery, Mom will have a doctor appointment and I will have lab and doctor appointment all within the first 3 weeks home.

I am so grateful to Karen for allowing me to move in with her for 8 weeks, have surgery and work on my recovery in Wichita.  She has taken good care of me.  I feel that I have not been any help to her but only let her take care of everything for me.  This next week I hope I can do some things to help her for a change.  I also am grateful to my siblings at home for looking in on Mom & Dad and helping them out as they needed help.  I can take over again in a week.  I have really missed not seeing them every day and knowing just how things really are around the farm.  It is nice having Mom in Wichita this week and next.

I will return to Wichita on October 25 for a follow up appointment with the knee surgeon.  We will see if I can impress him as much as I have my physical therapists.  

Rose