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.

The time has come...

Well, my long wait is over, and the time came for my full knee replacement surgery scheduled for September 10th. We woke up early for the drive over to Duke Med and

 got all checked in. I sat down and within a few minutes I was called in by a nurse. She took my vitals and then took me to my pre-surgical room where I got into my lovely hospital gown. 

Next, I was hooked up to several machines and given an IV. While waiting for the doctor I got to know the nurse who was in charge of me really well. I met the doctor once again who was performing my surgery as well as the attending fellow. Also swinging by to meet me was the anesthesiologist who would ensure I felt no pain, at least for now. 

Before I knew it they were giving me a spinal block and that is about the last thing I recall before waking back in post-surgery recovery. 

Surgery took a total of only 55 minutes.  2 hours was scheduled and I'm sure glad they didn't need all 2 hours of it. In recovery I was a bit groggy but totally aware of my surroundings.  I was also aware of the long road ahead of me. 

Once home I realized how tough this was going to be especially with all the inactivity I must endure. I started my pain regimen to stay ahead of the pain and on day 2 (post-surgery) my PT (daughter Katie) took off my ace bandage and exposed the bandage. All in all it looked okay no for the long road of healing.

And here I am about 6 days post-surgery. To say the last 6 days have been unpleasant would be an understatement. I am lucky if I sleep 2-4 hours a night, usually less. The pain hasn't been too horrible and I'm already off the oxycodone originally given for pain. It's mostly the lack of sleep, random nerve pain and the dull ache in my back from laying in the same position 24 hours a day.

I have started my PT which for me now means painful time and not physical therapy. I'm looking forward to getting the first two weeks out of the way as I understand that's the most challenging. 

I know I too will survive this challenge as many others who have had this procedure done before me.  From here on out it will be one day at a time as I begin day six today. I am fortunate that our daughter is a PT who assures me I am progressing normally and the whole family is trying to make life as comfortable as possible. I really look forward to getting back to my normal life and seeing my friends on the road of retirement sometime soon.

Made it to North Carolina

We moved the RV from Apache Wells RV Resort over to Towerpoint RV Resort and set up at our usual site. We would only spend one night at Towerpoint before our flight to Raleigh, North Carolina the next day. We left our keys with some great folks at the resort in case of emergency, so we felt so thankful for them! 

As morning broke, we contacted Uber for a ride to the airport. Amazingly we were able to pack all of our stuff into carry-ons, passed through security at American airlines with ease and waited at our gate for our flight. 

When boarding began we worried about being group 6 but thankfully were able to secure an overhead bin for our carry-ons. Sharon and I settled into aisle seats across from each other. Lucky for me no one sat in the middle seat, but Sharon wasn't as a lucky. 

Fortunately, the flight wasn't too bad. There was some turbulence during the flight, but the worst part was the landing. I'm not sure if this pilot's flown very much but it might have been the worst landing I've ever had as we hit very hard. But with that being the worst that happened, we were pretty pleased. 

After debarking, Sharon and I headed down to the departure area where our son in law, Brooks, picked us up within 5 minutes! (Thank goodness as it was already 11:00 p.m) We surely knew at that hour we would not see our daughter awake nor our grandchildren since they had work and school the next day. 

However, the next morning we had some time to spend with the grandkids and the granddog for the first time in awhile before they headed to school. And of course, after school we had much more fun with them. Likewise, we will have plenty of time to reacquaint and watch them grow up a little bit since we will be here for at least the next 6 to 8 weeks while I have my right knee surgically replaced. Stay tuned...