Saturday, January 23, 2016

Knee Replacement Surgery

(Avon Park, FL) Lo 47  Hi 58 -- I want to give everyone a quick update on Dee's knee replacement surgery. Last Monday we headed to Highlands Regional Medical Center in Sebring at the not-fit-for-humans hour of 5am. She went through the pre-op routine and was in surgery by 7am. The surgery went extremely well and she spent the rest of that day recovering from the anesthesia. On Tuesday morning she sat up on the side of the bed and later that day had her first session on the continuous passive motion (CPM) machine. (We call it the "torture" machine.) This machine attaches to her leg while she's lying in bed and slowly moves her knee up and down (about 45 seconds per cycle). This first session she her range of motion was 0-56 degrees. It was pretty painful for her physically, and painful for me emotionally. No one likes to see their loved one suffering. She had two-hour sessions on the machine twice a day on Wed and Thu, and the pain level subsided a little each time. By Thu afternoon her range of motion was 0-112 degrees, which is only 3 degrees below what's considered full motion. And she's walking around the room with a walker. Yay! She's very motivated, and I'm so proud of her!

Unfortunately overnight Thursday she developed a mild case of pneumonia and they also discovered she has a potassium deficiency. So all day Friday she had antibiotics and potassium pumped into her via IV. She was feeling pretty miserable all day, but started to perk up by Friday evening. She was scheduled to be released Friday, but that was initially delayed until today (Saturday). However, they want to make sure she has a good day today before releasing her tomorrow (Sunday) for a two-week stay at Oaks of Avon Park rehab center.

So that's a short review of our week. Hopefully Dee will be at her laptop to give you an update next week. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. They're working!

See you next week.

16 comments:

smdrm said...

Thanks for the update. Both of you stay strong, and you'll soon be past these bumps in the road. Hope we can see you while we're in Orlando. Love & Hugs!
Selene & Hank

Meandering Maddi said...

Thanks for the update Jim. Continuing to pray. Hopefully, no more setbacks. Tell her keep her chin up and that she is one day closer to all of this being behind her. You take care of yourself too!

Meandering Maddi said...

Thanks for the update Jim. Continuing to pray. Hopefully, no more setbacks. Tell her keep her chin up and that she is one day closer to all of this being behind her. You take care of yourself too!

Phyllis said...

Leonard had the surgery in October. Yup, that machine makes it simpler to get full motion to the knee.

Tell her it does get better.

owensontheroad said...

Glad to hear she's rallying around. From what I hear, rehab is the key! Looking forward to hearing about that too :)

Rick and Kathy Rousseau said...

Thanks for the update and we hope Dee continues to heal so she can once again get back to normal activities. Hope you are taking care of yourself as well.
Be Safe!

It's about time.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Glad she is doing so will with her recovery and rehabilitation. Now you will have a hard time keeping up with her. . .

Gypsy said...

Glad to have the update, Jim. I've never had that surgery, but I cringe when I hear about it. The good thing is that it will get easier and better each day.

Betty Graffis said...

Thank you Jim for the update. Please tell her Betty, her Words With Friends friend, said she is praying for her and to get well quick.

Ruth said...

Glad to hear she is doing well despite the setback. I hope that she is able to get out quickly and will soon be back home.

www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

Karen and Al said...

Thanks for the update and give our best to Dee.

Speedy said...

Sherri Kris and I are pulling for you. Keep up the good work and get back on the well side of life...

Mike and Terri said...

Thanks for the update Jim! Hopefully she will get over that pneumonia quickly and on to the physical therapy. Also, hopefully you're doing well and getting through this okay too!

Phillis said...

I hope she has a speedy recovery.

Bob and Jo said...

Thanks for the update

Darlene Price said...

So glad I got to meet you both, So sorry it was when you are not doing so well Dee. It meant a lot to me, thank you for your time. You are right the movie was good. Both of you take care, get well soon. AKA " Lovely Redhead "

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