Knees

Knees, what an interesting topic.  As most of you know I have been gone from the blog for a while because of you guessed it my knees.  Now I know these are not the prettiest photos you have ever seen but they do represent what I have been doing for the last three weeks.  The first photo is the "before." They really look like they could use some help, right?

Then we went to Parkview North's Orthopedic Hospital where Dr. Pritchard cut, hacked, sawed, drilled, pounded and glued some parts into my knees to hopefully make them better.  This photo is "during" this was back in my room after the surgery and maybe was just a little bit posed.  They kept the legs wrapped with drain tubes in them for the first two or three days.  They did something that I thought was interesting, they collected the drainage from the incisions and gave it back to me as a transfusion.  I had never thought about that before but I guess it makes sense and is probably a lot safer than getting a transfusion from the blood bank.

After four days in Parkview with help from Jennifer and Alyssa giving Mom a hand, they moved me to Cameron Hospital's Swing Bed Program.  I definitely was not ready to go home yet but everyone at Cameron made me feel right at home and they continued my rehab right there at the hospital which kept me on track.  The rehab is ... well it hurts.  I guess they have to make it hurt to get any benefit from it.  It must be working because I can almost walk without my walker now and we have achieved a couple more milestones.  I have wheels, yep the other day I got on the lawn mower and went for a ride through the trees.  That went so well I decided the next day it was time to go for a ride in the truck, it went pretty well until I got back and Marcia gave me a talking to.  

The bottom photo is the "now".  That is how the incisions look today.  They are healing well although there is still puffiness and probably will be for several weeks.  The stretching and strenghtening of all of the muscles, tendons and ligaments continue to cause the puffiness.  They had to stretch everything out to accomodate the fact that my legs are now longer than they were as they put all of the pieces back in that had worn away.

Well that is about all I have on the knees.  I hope to be out and about in a few more days.