Slow and Steady

I went to see Dr. Trice yesterday and he was pleased with my progress and said I am right on track. The primary message I took away from the appointment was to stay cautious. As I feel better, I will want to do more, but I really need to still be protecting the implant as it hardens. So absolutely no weight-bearing exercises are allowed. He doesn't even want me to use the elliptical or walk any more than needed. I need to stay in tortoise mode and not be tempted to be more like the hare. So, I can pretty much just use the bike or swim.

Speaking of which, he thought the Aqua Arthritis class was a great idea so he signed the paperwork and now I am all signed up. It starts in September, but now that I have access to a pool I may just go and do some water-walking sometime.

20 Weeks

I am doing pretty well. I still have a bad limp and have to focus on how to walk, but I am not in much pain. My muscles ache a lot and my knee gets sore sometimes, but that is so little compared to before. People still wince when they see me and I get a lot of pity conversations from strangers. I try to convey that this is so much better, but I think that just scares them to even imagine what I've been through. I guess you don't really know what you can handle until you have had to face it, and my Big Scary Stuff is behind me now. It's just a part of my life.

My scar was healing up pretty rough (like a thick purple rope) so I looked into scar minimizing products. The two that seem most successful are Bio-oil and silicone strips. The Bio-oil sounded messy and since another patient at PT was praising the silicone strips, I am trying the strips. They are available on Amazon and the brand I am using is Scar Away. They seem to be working but they do take some getting used to. The silicone is only sticky when it is dry, which makes cleaning them easy. I clean them every day and wear each for about a week before discarding. The more you wear it, the more effective it seems to be. Don't be tempted to get the shorter ones and just use two to cover the long scar. I didn't see the long ones when I was first looking so I got the short ones. They are a waste of money. The longer ones stay on so much better!

I have my next appointment on Monday and I will be asking Dr. Trice about aquatics classes. The local YMCA has an Arthritis Aquatics class that I think will be perfect for continued strengthening. It requires my doctor to sign off on it, and I already picked up the form to bring with me. I hope they will let me participate. I'm not an arthritis sufferer, but I sure would benefit from the class. I think the other aquatics classes would be too vigorous right now, but I may give them a shot in a few months.

So yeah, I am doing alright but I still have a long way to go. My spirits have been higher lately though because the list of things I can do keeps growing and because there is so little pain. I am so happy to be recovering!