Rest is a vital part of recovery

It's been 8 days since I had my knee replacement surgery, and boy has this been an experience! 

I fell the day after surgery and landed smack dab on my knee that had just been replaced. Talk about pain! It took my breath away. So I went to see the surgeon to make sure everything was okay. He did three x-rays and said all was good, thank the Lord! 

A few days later the back of my calf started burning and hurting really badly. Another trip back to the surgeon! He was concerned about a deep vein thrombosis and sent me for a veinous ultrasound. As the tech moved to the wand up and down my leg pressing on it at various locations, all I could think about was the ultrasounds that were performed when I was pregnant with my children. That was a long time ago, but the memories are still fresh. The ultrasound tech was not able to give me an official report, but told me as I was getting ready to leave his office, that he didn't see anything concerning. That gave me huge piece of mind. 

Today I got word from the surgeon's office that the ultrasound was indeed clear and I could breathe a sigh of relief. 

My sweet husband has been helping me do the at home exercises which are very challenging. I have a lot of swelling in my knee which makes movement difficult. Even though I have the swelling, I continue to do the exercises. I don't need to have scar tissue form that prevents me from moving freely in the future. 

I guess this surgery has been difficult because I'm much older now, but it's definitely reminded I don't need to take things like walking for granted. We need our knees more than we realize. 

Hopefully it is willing will go down eventually and I can move better. 

Tomorrow is another physical therapy day. I'm going twice a week now and will probably continue for 6 to 10 weeks. It's very expensive at $45 a pop, but it's necessary. 

My physical therapist is sweet. Her name is Dr Mahayla Herron. She's very patient and kind which I appreciate. I hate that she's going to be out of town tomorrow though and I get to work with another therapist. Poo! Hopefully things will go smoothly. 

There are so many things I wish I could ve doing right now, but God has me in a seasoyof rest and recovery. One of the side effects of the major pain medication I've been prescribed is drowsiness. It's not like me to take naps in the middle of the day, but lately I have been. I guess I need it. Rest, I'm told is a vital part of recovery, so I'm learning to accept and embrace that.