Time to head back to Mesa AZ after knee surgery

 

Our lengthy stay in Raleigh, North Carolina has finally come to a close. It has been nearly 5 weeks after my total knee replacement surgery and was the time I pinpointed to return to Arizona.

It sure has been fun experiencing daily life with the grandchildren. Being at their home interacting with made us able to really know them. Applications like FaceTime are wonderful, but there is no time like real face time with these two gems!  A lot of memories were made.

An update on the status of my knee is that things are progressing rather well. The surgical site is healed but it will take many more months for the internal structures of the knee to heal. I can now walk without an assisted device and I can go up and down stairs. 

Life is a lot more normal for me now except for the fact that I can't sleep through the night still. I was informed by the doctor that this could last up to 6 months. Gawd I sure hope not! 

Wednesday October 15th rolled around and we woke up early in the morning to catch our flight leaving Raleigh at 7:05 a.m. That would put us into Phoenix at 8:25 a.m. 

Fortunately, our flight was uneventful despite the fact that the government shutdown is continuing and affecting some airports with lots of flight delays. We landed a little early and an hour later we were on our way back to our RV after a friend of ours picked us up at the airport. 

We are now back in Mesa, Arizona where we will stay till April 1st. This will be a really lengthy stay. I still have some healing to do so this was a good idea for us at this time. We look forward to seeing some live music on the patios of the various resorts. I am looking forward to becoming fully healed and getting back to our normal lives.

Groundhog Day

 t's Groundhog Day, or at least that's how I feel. It's now been 15 days since my surgery for total knee replacement on the right knee and although it's getting better, it appears it's going to be a long haul.

Every day is a repeat of the day before. The movie Groundhog Day is now my life. My routine is simple. I go to bed around 10:00 pm and sleep for a solid hour to 3 hours. Then I toss and turn in bed until I finally give up anywhere from 3:00 to 5:30 a.m. This results in about 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours of sleep per night which sucks. 

Around 4:30 - 5:00 a.m. I'll turn on the coffee and read my laptop or phone for an hour or two until the grandkids wake up to get ready for school. By 7:10 they're out of the house for daycare drop-off then Mom and Dad head off to work. 

Next I'll have breakfast and lounge around for several hours. Either lying on the couch or reclining in a recliner keeping my leg mostly elevated. About 11:00 a.m. when Sharon goes for a walk I do a PT session or I try a short walk with her and the grand-dog Benny. 

Next comes lunch, couple more hours of lounging, and then another PT session. A few more hours of lounging after PT while icing my knee and then the next thing you know it's time for the kids to come back from school. Mom and Dad return, and we all have a little fun time with the kids before they have to go to bed. 

While the kids are playing one or two of us are prepping dinner, usually not me as I'm just lounging. The kids eat dinner first and are then scooted upstairs for their final play time before bath time and ultimately their bedtime. 

After the kids are put to bed and sound asleep, the adults dine together, the TV comes on and we have a little conversation. Next thing you know it's time for me to go to bed again and start the whole process over, and over, and over again... A seemingly endless cycle of days as I hope to regain full function of my right leg. 

But yes I am getting incrementally better day by day. And of course, I know over time it will all heal but the trials and tribulations of Groundhog Day are tiring. I sure can't wait to get back to a more normal life. 

And in order to give me a time frame for when Groundhog Day might end, I booked our flights back to Arizona on October 15th. That will be 5 weeks post-surgery and long enough away that I should be well enough to amble about the motorhome without damaging myself. I am looking forward to our return to our more normal lives even though I've been enjoying the grandkids and family time here in North Carolina.