Knee replacement 3 weeks in

Hi Cheryl , love your response to Lisa. I totally agree with you that this forum is the best. I am almost 16 weeks & throughout , it has kept me going, encouraged & consoled me. Tho I have come a very long way & my surgeon said , (this week) I am on the right track . He said the swelling I still have & the sensitivity of the scar & the burning sensation that keeps me awake at night is NORMAL & it will take another 3 months to recover. My rom is only 115 he also said that will improve when the swelling goes down & I must try to live my life. I'm 78. Well I didn't clean the carpet in the hall by choice my husband fell with a huge mug of coffee that went all over & up the walls. So it took ages to clean up. I drive , shop & potter in the garden & see friends look after my husband who has had a stroke,I wonder if I did less the swelling might go down. But he said this operation isn't done so we can sit around all day . I like that as I am active. I'm going back to my voluntary job in a couple of weeks which is only one day but very demanding. Take care x

Every day is different and even though your family and friends try to be understanding unless you have been through it they have no idea what we are going through so this forum is so good for supporting us when we need it most.

Sorry you had a rough night!😢 For some reason recovery seems to be very erratic following this surgery. There isn't a steady improvement you can predict. What I DID notice is that over time there are increasingly more good days and nights than crappy days and nights.

Even now at nearly two YEARS post-surgery, I will have a pain or a twinge in one knee or the other. It passes, but I think to myself, "REALLY? Come ON!"😵

The benefits FAR outweigh any small setbacks, twinges, or pains, though! What is funny to me now is that OTHER body parts ache (arthritis😮, but MY KNEES are GOOD!

Be patient.

You will feel better and better as you heal.

Hi Eileen!

It sounds like you are definitely over the big hump of those first VERY CRAZY weeks! 😵 Congratulations!

I'm sorry to hear of your husband's stroke. We took care of my mom and also my husband's mom a year earlier when THEY had their stokes. I hope all is going well for your husband and applaud you for your progress since your surgery!😊

The swelling thing IS annoying! My left knee and actually THE WHOLE LEG from hip to toes would swell. Ice, elevating the leg, compression stockings that were thigh-high, the GameReady icing and compression machine at physical therapy, and Ibuprofen were all helpful, but TIME and HEALING came when it came.

By the way, my RIGHT KNEE, done three and a half months after my left knee BARELY SWELLED AT ALL! This was especially surprising because my right knee was my worst knee. I EXPECTED a world of trouble from it. Fortunately it healed like a champ with virtually no swelling. Go figure!!!🤔

Enjoy your volunteering! Keeping busy is a great way to do good things and distract yourself from pain at the same time!

Thanks Cheryl, gosh you were marvellous to have the other knee done so soon , but good on you as it seems to have paid off. It's great when something you feel will be bad & then it isn't so much. Yes I do enjoy my voluntary job . I work for 'child contact '. So worth while , sometimes hard & always heart rendering. Things happen or something is said & then I think to myself THAT is why I do this, as we're always shattered when we get home. Many years ago I worked in an orphanage. Take care x

My sister in law is a foster carer, she usually has very wee babies!

They still have to go to contact mo matter the reason they have been taken into care! Some of the stories are heartbreaking! Even though she can't actually tell us anything you kinda get the drift!!

You must be a lovely person to do that work! Good on you

Marilyn

XX

Yes, I couldn't WAIT to get #2 Knee fixed! Almost immediately I noticed how unstable it was compared toy NEW KNEE!

That's wonderful that you work with the children!??I'm not familiar with "Child Contact". Can you tell me a bit about it?

Working in an orphanage must be very emotional! I applaud you for all of your service and caring! The children are very fortunate to have had you!??????????

Thank you Cheryl for your kind words. Child Contact ( National association of child contact Centres.) provide a safe environment for children & the parent they don't live with to spend time together . Sadly when some parents split up the parents can't always agree to let the non resident parent see the children. The non resident parent gets a court order for the resident parent to bring them to the centre. The court will order one or two hours . (Parents never meet) we have children from a few months old to 16 years. We provide toys, computer games etc for them to use. The happiness we see when they meet mum or dad, whoever they don't live with, is payment in itself. Hopefully when the children are old enough & want to find out who their REAL mum or dad is they already have the contact, every other week,the non resident parents sometimes travel miles to visit if the family have moved away. It is always emotional & a very rewarding job. We have to go on quite a few local day training sessions on 'Safeguarding Children.' Hope you get the just of it. X

Thanks Marilyn for your kind words. Fostering ,like your sister in law ,must be extremely hard specially babies ,as it must be hard not to form a bond. Even though giving them back would hopefully be best for them.its another world out there isn't it . She's doing a great job. ... we are always wanting volunteers at ccc but sadly lots can only work for a wage, to pay the bills ,so with us it's often retired people . Though my daughter works for ccc too. Take care x

I can't begin to say how hard I think this must be!  Good on you!  There are some very special people around and thank goodness we have these people!

Thank you Chris for your kind words , I'm embarrassed, but we are just folk who are trying to help best way we can x

Donb't be embarrassed - you deserve all the praise you get.  It's like those working with people with dementia - it's got to be incredibly tough.  It takes special qualities to do what you're doing - no doubt about it.

You do a very hard job in some ways, like my sister in law! Although she does get paid, it is a pittance, esp compared to the work she does it's 24/7. County pay all expenses for the child, & petrol money for her to take them to contact, which can be miles away. The babies are mostly then adopted, & has them from birth, some until just over a year old! For that, she is paid the princely sum of 37p an hour, so it is a vocation rather than a job!!

Entirely agree Marilyn , it IS a vocation indeed. So precious too as it hopefully sets babies up for life. She is a treasure & doing a magnificent job for a pittance but I know how she feels as her reward is in her heart, but it really shouldn't be so. !!

That's a really good idea! It is much safer for the children than having the non-custodial parent barging into the home just to get a chance to see their child. Adults often do not ACT like adults!

I can see how rewarding this must be for you!

I'm a retired teacher and remember having to quickly memorise which parents DO NOT have custody or even visitation rights so that I can protect the children and also not get the school in severe trouble. I've been called into court during custody hearings, and always feel badly that children need to endure outcomes that often make them unhappy.

Thank you for making many children's lives better!??

Thank you Cheryl. It's so sad when children are in the middle of adult's muddled lives & often witness dreadful things between the two people they love the most. The ccc's do help to create calm & order, as the children know when they will be seeing the absent parent ,

Now here in U.K. Legall aid isn't so available , but we are able to do seperate interviews & lay down the very strict rules. For our Centre where I work we can only open (operate) with no less than 8 members of staff men /women. It's all about team work xx

Sounds like a very solid plan! Thanks for taking the time to explain it to me.

So often children are upset because they don't know what will happen to them. Often the parents are angry with one another. I've been in a number of conferences where I pretty much needed to play referee!😵

With the program you have, the children have YOU as their advocate in their world that has been turned upside down. I'm sure knowing what is going on and what to expect is very reassuring to them.

Great work, Eileen!?????