Post-surgery Knee and Bonus

It's been an interesting time since I got here, what with the total knee replacement on the right knee. Let me break this down;

- pre-surgery - I had the same pre-op bed bay, same nurse and anesthesiologist. Same OR as well! Last year, I remember going past the OR room number (7) to the door and that was it. This time, I made it into the OR for a few minutes before I was out.
- recovery room - I don't remember being in it last year, just being in the hall coming from there. I was awake and coherent just long enough to answer a question from Jamie. I was in surgery for 3 hours, compared to 4 last year.
- hospital room - Again, the same people from last year were around including some new people as well as this one nurse nicknamed "the vampire" since she works at night and often draws blood. Wonderful lady... I was only a door or two away from the room I was in last year.

This time, since the muscle contractures weren't as bad on the right knee, I was able to use the CPM (Continuous Pulsing Motion) machine for the first time, going up to 55 degrees. I was able to tolerate it for almost 3 hours. I nearly wore out my physical therapist since the right knee and leg had a bit of strength.

Another big bonus... Since I'm doing much better than last year, I'm not going to a rehab center. I'm heading home and will have some home health care people helping out with things for about a month or two. It took me 3 weeks just to be able to walk from the rehab room to the nurses station nearby and back to the rehab room and walked a little more. This time, I went that far, just a few days after surgery.

This recovery should be a bit easier or a little tougher...