I had my six month follow-up with Doctor Bones yesterday (er, that'd be Thursday, September 3rd for those of you who don't read my blogs as soon as I post them. I've no idea why, they're so witty and interesting). Now, I'm not exactly where I wanted to be at six months out.
When I went into this joint-replacement surgery in March, I went in with rose coloured glasses and a deluded grin on my face. I was fully hoping- the key word, hoping- to be back to exercising by May. Then, by September, I would have lost a significant amount of weight. But alas, my scar tissue and adhesions had other plans. And as I mentioned in previous postings, my body is starting over from complete zero. There is no "muscle memory" from which to draw on and expect my body to respond.
So, while I'm not as active as I had hoped to be, I'm much, much better than I was even two short months ago. I was not expecting set-backs. I was expecting forward motion, stalling, forward motion. Not the step forward, fall back crap I've been doing. I mentioned all this before and I expect you kids to take notes, because at my funeral, there will be a test. There will also be an essay question at the end and I like big, fancy words, the more British-sounding, the better grade you will get. Just keep that in mind.
I had X-rays at Thursday's appointment and most of you have already been able to see those pictures because I spammed the fu- I mean, I posted them on several sites (ULMB, Facebook, MySpace, etc). I even texted them to some of you via the fancy mobile phone thing.
Doctor Bones is pleased with my progress. My bend is good, my extension is good (better than good, even). He understands my frustration at walking just a mere half mile to start with because as a youngster (and he's not that old to start with), he suffered an injury that required him to go from ten mile running to a measly 100 yards. So, he "gets it". And he agreed with the VA doctor- my body has no idea it ever walked four miles a day. Doc was a little surprised at how my scar looks. Fronkensteen has spread out quite a bit since his appearance. I told him not to worry, I scar ugly, I fully expected him to look this way. I also expect him to look this way for many, many years. I'm not disappointed. Judging how I feel about my appearance, one would think I'd be vain about the scar. Strangely, not at all. I will show it off to strangers. If I think I may end up where people want to see it, I will wear a skirt or track pants just so I can show it off. Doc was not the least bit surprised to hear that- or that I named both the joint and the scar.
I'm progressing pretty much on schedule. Plodding along really. In the good news side, I went to the Bristol Ren Faire in Kenosha on Saturday, August 29th. I met some long-time online friends. Kat (the oldest) went with me, as well as her boyfriend, her friend, and her friend's sister. I walked the entire faire without a cane. My online friends walked slowly with me (the spouse of one has undergone the same surgery, plus several I truly hope I never have) and we sat frequently. But, I was there for seven hours and did the whole day without my cane. So, that's a huge WIN for me. Plus, I got to wear my ren faire garb and show off a massive amount of cleavage. The best thing about ren faires? Fat girls are in... that's right, I was a supermodel, bay-bee!
Now, maybe you haven't been able to see my X-rays. Maybe you stumbled upon My Bloggy Goodness and have no bloody clue who I am, you just like reading and think I'm mildly entertaining (or, a train wreck and you await the next pile-up of cars). So, without further adieu, I present to you... My bionic knee, Steve Austin!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
He's got quite the handsome profile, I think. Doctor Bones referred to him as the "Rolls-Royce of knee replacements".
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
If you look closely at the second picture (which, by the way, is a picture of a computer screen on which my X-rays were displayed), you can see a bit of bone growing over the top of the new joint. At the top, on the thigh bone, above where the kneecap is- oh, the kneecap is all mine, I got to keep that one.
Isn't he lovely? I knew what it was going to look like, I've seen pictures online. But, seeing him for myself, he is truly awesome. I love my bionic knee. (moreso now because he's starting to feel more like mine).
Also, for your viewing pleasure- ~Link to Facebook Photo Album of my day at the Faire~
When I went into this joint-replacement surgery in March, I went in with rose coloured glasses and a deluded grin on my face. I was fully hoping- the key word, hoping- to be back to exercising by May. Then, by September, I would have lost a significant amount of weight. But alas, my scar tissue and adhesions had other plans. And as I mentioned in previous postings, my body is starting over from complete zero. There is no "muscle memory" from which to draw on and expect my body to respond.
So, while I'm not as active as I had hoped to be, I'm much, much better than I was even two short months ago. I was not expecting set-backs. I was expecting forward motion, stalling, forward motion. Not the step forward, fall back crap I've been doing. I mentioned all this before and I expect you kids to take notes, because at my funeral, there will be a test. There will also be an essay question at the end and I like big, fancy words, the more British-sounding, the better grade you will get. Just keep that in mind.
I had X-rays at Thursday's appointment and most of you have already been able to see those pictures because I spammed the fu- I mean, I posted them on several sites (ULMB, Facebook, MySpace, etc). I even texted them to some of you via the fancy mobile phone thing.
Doctor Bones is pleased with my progress. My bend is good, my extension is good (better than good, even). He understands my frustration at walking just a mere half mile to start with because as a youngster (and he's not that old to start with), he suffered an injury that required him to go from ten mile running to a measly 100 yards. So, he "gets it". And he agreed with the VA doctor- my body has no idea it ever walked four miles a day. Doc was a little surprised at how my scar looks. Fronkensteen has spread out quite a bit since his appearance. I told him not to worry, I scar ugly, I fully expected him to look this way. I also expect him to look this way for many, many years. I'm not disappointed. Judging how I feel about my appearance, one would think I'd be vain about the scar. Strangely, not at all. I will show it off to strangers. If I think I may end up where people want to see it, I will wear a skirt or track pants just so I can show it off. Doc was not the least bit surprised to hear that- or that I named both the joint and the scar.
I'm progressing pretty much on schedule. Plodding along really. In the good news side, I went to the Bristol Ren Faire in Kenosha on Saturday, August 29th. I met some long-time online friends. Kat (the oldest) went with me, as well as her boyfriend, her friend, and her friend's sister. I walked the entire faire without a cane. My online friends walked slowly with me (the spouse of one has undergone the same surgery, plus several I truly hope I never have) and we sat frequently. But, I was there for seven hours and did the whole day without my cane. So, that's a huge WIN for me. Plus, I got to wear my ren faire garb and show off a massive amount of cleavage. The best thing about ren faires? Fat girls are in... that's right, I was a supermodel, bay-bee!
Now, maybe you haven't been able to see my X-rays. Maybe you stumbled upon My Bloggy Goodness and have no bloody clue who I am, you just like reading and think I'm mildly entertaining (or, a train wreck and you await the next pile-up of cars). So, without further adieu, I present to you... My bionic knee, Steve Austin!
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
He's got quite the handsome profile, I think. Doctor Bones referred to him as the "Rolls-Royce of knee replacements".
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
If you look closely at the second picture (which, by the way, is a picture of a computer screen on which my X-rays were displayed), you can see a bit of bone growing over the top of the new joint. At the top, on the thigh bone, above where the kneecap is- oh, the kneecap is all mine, I got to keep that one.
Isn't he lovely? I knew what it was going to look like, I've seen pictures online. But, seeing him for myself, he is truly awesome. I love my bionic knee. (moreso now because he's starting to feel more like mine).
Also, for your viewing pleasure- ~Link to Facebook Photo Album of my day at the Faire~