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It's hard to rely on others.

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Since having my knee replacement surgery, I've had to rely on my husband for a lot of things that I can't do for myself. It's really difficult for me because it reminds me of when I was in a bad car accident in 1991. Back then, the only people I had to rely on were my children and some sweet people from our church. I hated to ask my children to do anything. The oldest was just barely 15 at that time and the others ranged in age down to two. They ended up shouldering a lot of responsibility they didn't need to shoulder.  My husband has been willing to help me do just about anything and everything I need him to do, but there are some things I don't want to ask him to do. Simple things, like cutting your toenails, can be embarrassing when having to rely on others. So I got on Amazon and looked for something that would help.  There were several options but I found one pair of long handled toenail scissors. It came with a diamond edge nail file and looked like the perfec...
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Meet Ned

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Today I decided my knee replacement needed a name so I named it Ned. Ned the new knee! Kind of catchy, isn't it? Anyway Ned has been acting up today. We took a short ride in the car and before we even got back home Ned was screaming in pain. I guess it's partly my fault because I forgot to take my pain medication before we left the house. I've been trying to cut back on it because it's addictive. I don't like having to use something like that unless it's absolutely necessary.  When we got home I took some extra strength Tylenol to take the edge off. Hopefully Ned will settle down after I ice him a lot today.  Tomorrow will make my 7th physical therapy session. I don't know how much longer I'll continue to go. The sessions are costly and basically we do the same thing at every one, So I could do them at home quite easily. We shall see.  Hopefully over the next few weeks, Ned will start to feel at home and we'll start functioning properly. Instead of b...
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Oh, woe is me!

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Knee replacement surgery is no joke. It's a major surgery and involves a long, hard road to recovery. Believe me, I know! It's been 3 weeks since surgery and I'm still having a lot of pain. The swelling has gone down some, but increases with long periods of standing or physical therapy. But the thing that bothers me the most if the feeling that my skin is going to split open when I bend my knee past a 100 degree angle. How much is that, you say? Well, when seated, a normal person's knee is bent at between 100 and 110 degrees. When you've had knee replacement surgery, forcing the knee to move past 100 degrees can put a lot of stress on the incision and make it feel like it will burst open. Thankfully, the surgeon took a lot of internal stitches and used super glue to hold the skin together, but the feeling of skin stretching past its limit is extremely painful.  Today was physical therapy day. My therapist, Dr. Makayla, is kind and compassionate, but she knows what h...
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11 years and counting

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Today I celebrate 11 years of being cancer-free! It's hard to believe it's been this long already. Time has flown on occasion and gone extremely slow sometimes. I haven't thought about cancer much over these past few years but at the beginning, right after I was first diagnosed, cancer consumed me. I couldn't think about anything else. I'm so thankful to finally be able to say I've lived well over the 5-year mark that most doctors and cancer treatment centers hold out for. For some reason it seems to be the magic number. I never have understood that.  On my last visit to see the oncologist, she said,  "Next year we'll move you into the survivorship program." I wanted to ask why. I've been coming to this cancer treatment center or about 10 years. It didn't make sense.  No matter what they say, I'm believing in my heart that I'm completely cure of cancer and I will never face it again. My faith has carried me through all of these year...
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Day 12

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Day 12 since surgery and I won't lie, it's been tough. The swelling makes it difficult to walk, but I do my physical therapy exercises religiously. I don't want to take a chance on having a frozen knee.  Daily, I have a long list of medications to take. Several are for pain relief, one is for nerve pain, one for nausea, one to prevent blood clots. And on top of those are my regular medications. I feel like I'm popping pills all day, but I'm sure thankful for the pain meds. I just pray I won't get addicted to or dependent on any of them.  I've only completed 3 physical therapy sessions. I have 9 more to go according to my insurance coverage. The sessions are expensive so I hope they release me after my 9.  I haven't been brave enough to try using a cane yet, but I know it's coming. I've been on a walker since I came home from the hospital. It's helped me feel more steady on my feet.  A lot of people said knee surgery isn't that big a deal,...
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