Total Knee Joint Replacement Surgery Can Be Fun

I never knew getting a total knee joint replacement could be fun.  I’m not saying the surgery, which I’ve heard two doctors describe as bloody, was fun, but I was knocked out so I have no complaints there.  When I interviewed my surgeon before I decided on a doctor, I asked him about infection control.  He told me it was important not to touch the open wound.  I’m not sure what his other patients have been like, but that would be the least of his worries with me.   Touching an open wound, looking at an open wound--neither appears on my curiosity list.  Besides my knee was so protected after surgery with a thick, waterproof bandage, I don’t know how a person would even get to the incision. 

We don’t have a downstairs bedroom so we had to create one for me to stay in, post-op.  In our living room, known at our house as the music room because of my husband’s large vinyl collection, the sofa turns into a bed.  Ricky put a portable memory foam mattress on the thin sofa mattress, creating a comfortable bed.  I packed up lounging clothes and toiletries in a laundry basket, and I was ready for my new quarters.  

View from my music room bed with bouquet

Treble and me lying on the music room bed

I could have stayed in the guest cottage behind our house, but living in the middle of our music room meant the household revolved around me.  Ricky couldn’t sneak downstairs for coffee in the morning without waking me.  This meant I got served coffee and a breakfast of fresh fruit and some sort of pastry or quick bread in bed every morning. 

This is where I need to say that if you are going to have fun with your total knee replacement, you must first select a caring and knowledgeable partner.  My husband Ricky is adorable and smart and kind.  He is also a retired nurse.  So, when I needed some modifications for handicapped accessibility, he was on it.  When I needed a shot in the stomach every morning for three weeks to avoid blood clots, he was on it.  As wonderful as Ricky was, he came to look forward to his daily trip to the local Walgreen’s.  It seemed like there was always something I needed that we didn’t have.  I quickly stopped apologizing when I realized the trip to Walgreens represented freedom for Ricky each afternoon.

Secondly, you must select awesome friends.  And you have to start years in advance of your surgery to secure these, so don’t wait to the last minute to find the perfect partner or friends.  While Ricky was holding down the fort in those first two weeks, my friends were insuring that we wouldn’t starve.  Good friends in New Orleans sent an edible arrangement of fresh fruit.   

Edible Arrangement

Pork loin dinner

My best friend prepared several meals, and she and another friend from work brought me a goody basket I ate from for days—hummus, banana bread, fresh pimento cheese, flatbread, almonds and dried fruit. My friend and TRX instructor prepared two healthy meals for Ricky and me that actually fed us multiple days.  Long- time friends dropped by for a visit and brought sweet goodies and a gift certificate from our neighborhood bakery.   My former boss and her sister brought me chicken salad from my favorite restaurant and small decadent chocolate cakes.  My across-the-street friend and neighbor came by to visit bringing little goodies each time.  A good friend who had recently moved to another state sent us pizza delivery one night.  My writing group also supplied sustenance-- from pastas to guacamole to gelato. 

One neighbor loaned me all sorts of adaptive equipment.   My sister-in-law wired a bouquet of flowers.  Get well cards arrived each day in the mail.  My sisters in Virginia called frequently to check on me.  Two friends came and stayed with me so Ricky could escape to a near-by town one Sunday to visit friends and attend a benefit for an ailing musician.  I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such considerate friends. 

A good caregiver and wonderful friends are the factors that made my knee replacement “fun,” but tomorrow I’ll talk about what made my knee replacement successful.