A Turning Point?

I have been fretting because I am still dealing with a lot of pain, especially at night, and I have had difficulty even taking short walks without pain or other discomfort.

Yesterday my appt with the physical therapist was for 9:30 am. I was up and ready when he called to say he was having scheduling difficulties and could I reschedule for later? I said sure, I'm not going anywhere. We rescheduled for about noon. He called again later and rescheduled for 12:30 - 1:00, saying don't hate me if I get there a bit earlier or later than that. I said of course I won't. He arrived some time after one.

The extra time got me moving. I got the trash into the dumpster, the recycling into the bin, I swept the kitchen floor, watered plants on the porch, went for a short walk around my little block. I got up and moved around more and sat less. I worked in some knee exercises. By the time Wade arrived I was feeling pretty warmed up and ready to go. Among other things, we walked on the grass and broken concrete in the park across the street from my house, and as we neared the mailboxes I said shucks, I should have brought my key. Wade said that I could come back later, then! Which I did, after he left.

It is funny how I got locked into the idea that I would do this one little block walk and anything more would be too much. I know that doing too much increases inflammation, which is not good, but there are some spaces in between, windows of opportunity. I can do more than one walk per day! Somehow this idea has freed me, made me feel more capable and ready to go.

I still had a bad night last night, although not as bad as the worst. One time when I woke in pain and cried out "ow! ow! ow!" but otherwise mostly a matter of finding a comfortable way to rest. I took pain pills every four hours and I think that's good at this stage. When my knee hurts it hurts. There is a section on the left side of the knee and another on the right that are particularly sore, hurting. The one on the right appears to be a bruise. I have been bothered by that one since the beginning (right after surgery), and I wonder if there was maybe a little more force used to install the new knee than needed? The rest of the knee just generally hurts, and sometimes the pain goes down into the calf as well.

Right now I'm at about a two on that d**$%med universal scale of pain. Not bad. I will go for a little walk soon. My first of the day.