Wanna See the Incision and the Staples?

Don't worry. I'll spare you that picture. Before the surgery, I thought posting the picture would be helpful to anyone considering knee replacement. Believe me when I tell you it's not. When I saw such a picture, I almost called the doctor to cancel. That is the same reaction I had when I saw a picture taken mid-surgery, with the knee bones exposed. As Soul Brother #2 screamed over my shoulder when the picture came up on the screen, "That's disgusting!!"

I have yet to take pain meds today. I'm not being stubborn. I simply don't feel the amount of pain I've felt over the last few days. I think that pain arrives later in the day.

A physical therapist came by yesterday. He's going to start coming to the house next week. Yesterday's visit was his opportunity to assess the situation. Can you believe he told me to increase the degree of flexion on the instrument of torture by 5 degrees per day? I know he was born addicted to crack!! That's not gonna happen as I am at my pain threshold now. I'm going to increase it by two degrees per day. What I am doing is trying to massage the quads as the thing is bending my leg to the point where it feels like everything inside is going to explode. I've noticed that this is helping. I don't know if I'm breaking up the scar tissue or releasing the muscles by hitting pressure points. All I know is that the massage of the muscle makes the torture device tolerable..

It's only 11 a.m. I will rate this yet another good day.

And Grace is bringing food as I type! This is a great day!

ADDENDUM: I took a pain pill at noon. The pain wasn't intense at all. It was still not something I needed to suffer through. I've also been taking steps here and there without the cane. The leg feels funny. Because the quads aren't working to stabilize the knee, there is a bit of shifting. This doesn't worry me. There was a lot of shifting when I did the original injury that resulted in this knee replacement. Once my quads are strong, the knee will be stable. I've got no regrets.