Thursday, December 19, 2013

Day 24: Making Steady Progress

Over the last few days, I have increased the amount of time sitting at the computer. It is so easy to over-do!! I did too much yesterday and the result was an ache in the back of the knee during the evening and night. I try to spend no more than 15 minutes at a time. My therapist explained it to me this way: "there is still swelling in the knee, so sitting with it bent allows the chair edge to put a lot of pressure in that spot...result: pain." My plan now is to treat sitting time the same as exercises: do a bit, then apply ice.

I can finally bend my knee enough, that when I am sitting in bed, I can prop a book on my knees...well, for a few minutes, anyway. I can comfortably walk a mile--slowly, and having to focus hard on stepping evenly and keeping my balance. 

I'm still wearing the TED stockings. The post-surgery directions are to wear them daily for 4 weeks unless tolerating 1 mile walk "regularly." Since I'm not really sure what "regularly" means, and it's only 3 more days to the 4-week mark, I am going to keep wearing them. They aren't uncomfortable, and they keep my legs warm!

There are still 2 spots of dermabond on my incision, but the parts that I can see look pretty good. 

I also tried siting in the car, and much to my (pleasant) surprise, I found it was easy to move my leg back and forth between the gas and brake pedals. It was also easy to press the brake down, so I started the car up and moved it back and forth about 6 feet in the driveway. I predict I will be safe to drive next week. But I am practicing not rushing anything, so we shall see.

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