A Typical Day

My pre-surgery days consisted of doing everything at 100mph. I never sat still, and got a billion things checked off my to-do list per day. Things have changed a bit. 

I wake up, silently wishing that it'll be a good knee day. I slowly stretch my leg out, hoping it won't hurt. I take a minute to put the brace on then get out of bed, testing the steadiness of my knee, just standing there for a minute or two until the pins and needles feeling goes away in my left foot. 

On a random note, I don't understand why toothpaste for sensitive teeth comes in such
a tiny tube. Do they think we don't use as much toothpaste as normal-teeth people?!

I make my way out to the kitchen, step by step, with a bit of a limp. I make my breakfast and start the tea and take glucosamine+chondroitin, which the surgeon says can help with joint pain by building cartilage. I am very ready to sit down by this point, feeling the aching in both knees, so I use my upper body to ease myself down to the chair, take off the brace, and then I eat. I try to make sure I have everything I need because after taking the brace off, I don't want to go through the process of getting it back on and getting up to grab a fork or napkin. I inevitably have to ask my family to grab something or other, or to pour the tea because by the time it boils my legs are sore from getting breakfast and I'm already sitting. 

After breakfast, I grab the ice pack out of the freezer and head to the couch. I elevate and ice both of my knees, and go on my computer or read or talk to whoever is around. If it's a day that my nephew John is here, he climbs up next to me and we look at a thousand pictures and videos together on my computer or phone, which he finds immensely entertaining. Whenever he wants me to run around with him, I remind him that I have a sore leg, and he goes "Ria's sore leg. Careful!" then pats it very gently, and sometimes kisses it to make it "all better!" He also grabs a smaller brace that I have, calls it his boo-boo, says "John's sore leg, too! Boo-boo on." and asks me to put it on his leg. It's pretty adorable. 

John and his "boo-boo" on his leg, eating pretzels with Uncle Nate

Once my legs feel rested, I head back to the bed or I lay on the floor if someone is around to help me back up, and I do round one of physical therapy: 100 leg raises, 100 ankle pumps, 100 quad sets, and seeing how far I can bend my knee. Before, I'd do a total body strength training routine for over a half an hour at least 3 days a week. Now, my sole left leg workout wipes me out. By this point, I either need ice again, or I decide to shower to get it over with. Showering is the most nerve-raking, tiring part of the day.

We have a tub shower downstairs, not a walk-in, so I use a tub bench since I can't put weight on my left leg without the brace. Showering is a first-hand look at all the advice we give our patients as occupational therapists. We casually say "Oh get a tub bench and a a shower head and maybe a long handled sponge if you need help reaching you're feet" and explain which type in some detail, but there is a lot more to figure out than that once you're home. 

Transfer tub bench.

Now that I've figured out what works, it's actually a really good set-up at my house. The toilet is right next to the tub so I am able to rest my foot on the lid to take my brace on and off. I am very grateful we have a full bathroom downstairs since going up or down stairs is nearly impossible some days when my right knee is acting up. I'm also thankful that I can take the brace off to shower, and that I'm able to shower on my own. I need a lot of help right now, and being able to take care of all my personal hygiene independently feels fantastic. 

It's also a little stress inducing. I keep my phone as close as possible in case I fall and need help since I'm in there alone. My balance is good since I'm in my 20s, but I can't help it if a knee gives out, and the shower is not a good place for that to happen. I was starting to get much more confident and it was a lot less painful recently, until that sharp pain in my right knee that made me fall back onto the tub bench a week or two ago. It's getting better and better each day, but I'm still a little nervous each day when I shower until the brace is safely back on and I'm standing again. 

Once I'm up, I finish getting ready for the day. By this point it's around 1-2pm, I am worn out again, and it's a battle between how hungry I am and how sore my knees are for if I'll make lunch or rest first. Today, lunch won because my stomach was audibly rumbling. A lot of times what I'll choose to eat is based on what's easiest instead of what I actually want or what would be healthy, but today I made salad because I was craving it. Grabbing each individual ingredient, washing everything, chopping, making dressing, opening cans...salads used to seem quick and easy, and now they're a bit fatiguing because walking back and forth in the kitchen so many times wears me out, even when I use all of the energy conservation strategies that we teach our patients (grabbing everything at once, making less trips, taking a break, etc.). To those of you who have picked up lunch or dinner when you visited, you have absolutely no idea how much it meant to me, and how much energy you saved me. Thank you!

 Tuna, tomato, onion, and spinach salad with oil and vinegar.

After lunch, it's my absolute favorite time of the day. Two meals, one round of physical therapy, and the shower are all over with. I can finally rest for a few hours before whatever I have planned for the evening, and my knees aren't as stiff as they are in the morning or as sore as they are by the time I go to bed. I ice my knees, read, hang out with whoever is around, journal, blog, sit outside, listen to music, play with my nephew, or watch whatever happens to be on the TV. Inevitably, I'll have to get up to go to the bathroom once I'm all settled with my leg propped up on pillows, but it's not so bad because I know I can walk straight back to the couch to rest again. 

After an hour or two, it's time for round two of physical therapy: 100 more leg lifts, 100 more ankle pumps, 100 more quad sets, and bending my knee as far as I can again. My left leg is completely burning by this point, but I'm thankful that I can move it, that it's getting stronger each day, and that I'm now able to complete all of the exercises with regular muscle soreness instead of it being painful.

Amanda and Eevee came over to visit this week! Eevee is absolutely adorable.  I was impressed
at how delicately she eats (she bit the goldfish in half). She loved chasing Daisy around. 

The evenings are the less routine part of the day. I'll have dinner with my family, or Kevin will come over and hang out, or I'll go out with friends for dinner. I love seeing everyone and getting to socialize, even though I am so tired by this point that half the time I'm spacing out a bit. I apologize to all of my friends that I've seen during the past 6 weeks if I haven't been totally there. I'm probably trying (and maybe not always succeeding) to hold back a grimace from having my leg in my brace on a chair. It's not very comfortable, and my hip flexors are burning from all of the exercises and being stuck in that position on the chair, but I try to ignore it so that I can enjoy everyone's company. 

I was having a particularly rough day last week, and God must've known because there was
the most giant hunk of chocolate in my black raspberry chip from Graeter's that evening. 

Before bed, I ice my knees again. I slowly make my way back to the bathroom and get ready for bed as quickly as I can because my knees are typically the most sore at night. I am finally laying down, finally comfortable, and my knees are rejoicing at getting to rest for the next 8 hours. Just before I drift off to sleep, I end up having to put the brace back on one last time to go the bathroom before I fall asleep, no matter how recently I just went. Hooray tiny bladders. Then, I can finally go to sleep.

Putting the brace on one last time for the day.