Yea, tis the season to be jolly! Its the best time to go to the malls and snap, snap, snap. Look at the colorful pictures that my daughter, May helped to snap. Christmas spirit is everywhere and its the happy time.
This year has flown by so quickly for me. It has been 20 months since I had my bilateral TKR and 7 months since I started this blog. One thing's for sure, I haven't counted time as much as before. During my early recovery, I have always wondered when will all this be over. I used to be envious of people who have been out of TKR for years but look at me now, in another few months, I will be hitting my two year mark. So it just goes to show that everyone will get there, its a matter of time.
About two months ago, I experienced pain along the side of my right knee and down the leg. I felt pain when I put pressure on my knee and when walking up the stairs. Naturally, I was worried and started to think about what I had done to have caused this. The first thing that came to my mind was whether there was anything wrong with the implant. Then I started to notice a small lump at the front of my right knee. So I consulted my OS and it was a relief to hear that the pain was caused by a pulled ligament and nothing serious. With one week of anti-inflammatory medicine, the pain was gone. He suspected that the lump is probably a blood clot and nothing to worry about. Its a relief that the lump has gotten a lot smaller and not so noticeable now so I'm not worried about it anymore.
About two weeks ago, I spoke to a friend's friend on the telephone. She had TKR on one knee last April which was thirteen days earlier than mine and it was at the same hospital as mine too. She complained that even though she does not have pain anymore in the knee but she still feels the numbness around the surgical scar. I told her that I still have that too and that its normal because one nerve at the front of the knee had to be cut in order to gain access. I explained to her that its very hard for the OS to join back the nerve therefore, the numbness may end up being permanent. Then I asked her when she plan to do the other knee and she said that she might not do it anymore. I asked her why and she said that her TKR knee doesn't feel natural with the numbness. Then I asked her whether her knee felt natural before TKR and she said obviously not. In the end, she admitted that she was scared of going back to do the other knee and that she was envious of me having done both of my knees at the same time. You see, this is a classic example of some people who ended up with one good knee because the fear of going back to do the other is too great. Anyway, I gave her some encouragement and hopefully, she will gain the courage to do the other knee.
Some experienced TKRers have said that they do forget that they have TKR knees. I felt encouraged listening to such feed backs but until today, I have not reached there yet. At times, I do forget especially when I am focused on doing something. But at other times, I am reminded of them with the clunking sensation (caused by friction between metal and plastic). Maybe I tend to be quite observant of my knees too. On top of that, I still have the stiffness, tightness and numbness at the surgical scar. My range of motion is at 120 degrees which is the same as before TKR. However, the good news is that I feel great. I don't have pain in my knees and I can sleep well. I can walk very fast. I can run up and down the stairs. I can do all my exercise movements. I can go shopping for quite a long period. And I can go for holiday trips. In other words, I have my life back!
To be honest, I did not know much about OA and TKR before my surgery than I do now. I used to think that after TKR, everything would be back to normal. Its obviously not true but maybe so for a small minority of people. It all depends on how much damage have been caused by OA. With the knowledge that I have gained, I know that OA has caused permanent damage to my body. My range of motion and stiffness have been greatly affected by the damage of muscles and ligaments. The tightness and numbness are caused by the TKR surgery and they are very likely to become permanent. But the most important factor is that TKR has removed the pain in my knees and gave me my life back. So all the other sensations that I am still feeling is nothing compared to what I have now. They do not impair my overall function. I can only blame myself for my ignorance about OA and for delaying the surgery. However, looking at the bright side, this experience has given me a passion for sharing my experience, doing research on arthritis and TKR and writing this blog in order to create awareness and help to inspire those who are battling the same problems.
Some of you may have noticed that I wrote about the importance of pH balance and alkaline diets in my earlier posts. I have been consuming more alkaline water and food on a daily basis. Actually, I have been drinking 2 to 3 litres of alkaline water for more than a year now and it includes calcium ion powder, lemon and baking soda. However, I realised that I don't consume enough of greens and fruits. But now, I am consuming tons of it through my green smoothies everyday. I have been doing this for a few months now and I noticed that my immune system is better and my acid reflux problem has improved. I do believe that an acidic body causes lots of medical problems including inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. And I cannot take for granted that after my bilateral TKR, other parts of my body would not be affected. In fact, some parts have already been mildly affected. Thus, something has to change. I am hoping that by consuming more alkaline water and green smoothies, adopting a healthier eating habit and regular exercise may help to reverse or prevent more damage due to arthritis. Overall, I am happy with my progress and feel blessed with this medical miracle of TKR. And I certainly hope that I will continue to be inspired to write more posts in 2013.
To wrap up this year, here's wishing everyone "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May the new year bring you lots of good luck, good health and the courage to change the things that you can.
To wrap up this year, here's wishing everyone "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! May the new year bring you lots of good luck, good health and the courage to change the things that you can.
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| With daughter, May |
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