Knee Replacement: Three Months Later!

Ninety days, a few tears and a couple of titanium pieces later, I'm beginning to appreciate joint replacement for what it is.

I'm almost there. I'm taking the bike outside for a short spin tomorrow. A few of us on the knee replacement forum decided we can no longer stand to ride in place. So, we've synchronized our watches—making adjustments for time changes since we're in different states—and resolved to do a group ride of 10 miles. Of course, the group is really symbolic because those of us on the forum are spread out all over the country. There are two of us here in L.A. who will meet up for the ride. Had I not had my knee replaced, I'd think the plan a silly one. What's the big deal about riding a bike? It's huge for me. Two weeks ago I was barely getting the pedals to turn in a full revolution. Tomorrow I'll be riding in earnest. The plan is to keep the mileage low—10 miles. We're all mindful of the fact that full recovery takes about a year. Most of us are still a few months past the surgery.

My initial date for a return to surfing was July 25th. Am I physically up to the challenge of catching a wave as I sit here today? Probably. My physical therapist had me do pop-ups today. She wanted to see what movements are necessary to get up on the board. I haven't done a pop-up in months. I was truly worried that there would be serious pain once I got to my feet. There was no pain. The question then becomes: Will there be pain tomorrow? The knee might wait until tomorrow to lodge its complaints about today's fun (i.e., massage therapy, physical therapy and pop-ups). Then again, it might not feel any worse than it does today. I do know I'll be surfing soon. I've already moved my surf gear back into my car. I put my 4/3 away, left the 3/2 in the rotation and also grabbed the shorty john. I have the feeling my physical therapist will tell me I'm cleared to surf shortly.

I'll certainly be on the mat soon. I tried to ride it last weekend. I was out at the beach bright and early on Saturday. The waves, unfortunately, weren't worthy of a mat or a surfboard. I'll continue to bide my time. I'm anxious to get on the mat again. I was still getting the hang of the mat when the knee died. I can't wait to get some fins on and put this new knee through its paces. I may get a chance to go out on it some time this week.

You know what's good about this knee stuff? It's forcing me to become front foot dominant. Since my surfing attention is fixated on hulls, that's perfect.

Yeah, I can see the bright side in any situation.