I saw the surgeon at 2 weeks post surgery, and he was very happy with the knee. Healing nicely, great extension and great flexion for this stage of healing. In fact, I am driving! I got permission to drive just a little 2 weeks after surgery. Unheard of! But I was off opioids and my knee function was good. Just shows what state-of-the-art medical technology and surgical procedures as well as a highly skilled surgeon can do. I am still icing and using Tylenol and walking with a knee sleeve on. In the condo I do walk without any aids mostly. But when I go out of the condo - even just for the mail. I have the cane with me. Of, course, I am still in PT. But I am still in awe of the fact that my new right knee is a perfect match to the left knee I was born with. I thank the Mako company for creating the match - and the Mako robot for helping to make a perfect space during surgery to get that new knee “installed."
But my post surgical progress has not been all sun shine and roses!
With my anemia, my oxygen-carrying blood cell counts and my iron counts have been below normal since my 2023 kidney surgery. Just before surgery all those counts had greatly improved - some into the normal range. I was at the best levels in 2 years. I was stoked!! Unfortunately with surgery you bleed! With this surgery, they dipped rather dramatically again. In fact they dipped lower than I had been for 2 years. And my body energy made that evident. That with a UTI I didn’t catch for a few days and lack of sleep from the nerve regeneration pain taking place in my knee at night, I was pretty much a “walking dead” person!
My surgeon gave me meds for the night time pain - so that got fixed. The UTI got antibiotics for 5 days so that got fixed. But the bloods counts still dragged on very low so physically I was dragging myself around as well. Once it was confirmed by the hematologist that my body wasn’t replacing red blood cells after 3 weeks post surgery - they ordered injections of a hormone that will stimulate the production of red blood cells. That is not a forever medicine - just an intervention to give my body a kick start to handle this process on its own.
So I am moving forward, healing and improving. The world of possibilities is once again ahead of me.
One of those possibilities is knitting. You would think with all this rest time that I would be knitting, knitting, knitting. Nope! It seemed like too much work to even hold the needles and do garter stitch. (Yes, I was that fatigued. I considered breathing my achievement most days during those very fatigued periods.). But that cloud have begun to clear. Sunday I knitted a row on a shawl. It was a very long row and it was just garter - but I did it. Today I started planning a second shawl with yarn I got from Stolen Stitches out of Ireland. I joined a club
call Seasons. With each season you got a new pattern and the yarn for that pattern. You also got access to the videos that supported you step by step. I love, love, love this company. However, below are the pictures and the tale of the summer season pattern and yarn.
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| So the pattern was a vest that could transition into a shawl. A rather ingenious design I thought. I actually was sort of on the fence if I liked this pattern or not. But it did have nice drape and it isn’t body hugging which I liked. So I cast on. |
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| The lace pattern itself was pretty. But I discovered very soon after leaving the garter insert and getting into the lace section that this pattern was not going to be for me. I can fix most simple mistakes in knitting. But I am not good at fixing mistakes when the lace pattern sits ontop of itself in every single row. My brain just doesn’t work like that. So I pulled out the knitting. |
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| Here is the yarn that I chose for this pattern. It was one of 3 available to me. And it is a beautiful yarn - better than the photos show. And I thought initially that it was a better choice for the pattern than the one the designer chose - as shown in the pictures above. And the knitting you see above is actually for the pattern in the next picture. |
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| I decided I would do Holden. This is a pattern I have done before. And when I wear it I get a lot of compliments. I planned to do it one more time, only larger. And I thought this club yarn would be a good choice for the repeat. |
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| But I was not inspired doing a repeat this time. I checked my patterns once again. Rheinlust was another pattern I wanted to do and it was not a repeat. I think I have settled on this pattern for that lovely club yarn. |
So with little to no actual knitting accomplished, the planning for my knitting has begun. I think that is an indication of energy returned - at least I am not focused on just breathing anymore. And soon I will frog that small knitted piece and cast on this beautiful pattern that has been in my stack of patterns for years - literally years!
So while there have been some steps backwards in the last month - there has been forward movement - and I think I am gaining ground.
