Taking a break

[fowledup]

That's it, I'm even driving myself nuts with the political crud. I have got to get out and do some mining. Going on three months caught up in the medical machine, no closer to a surgery date or confirmation if I get a replacement or not. Ain't about to try and head down into the canyon but I think I came up with another plan. I figure you can't turn hamburger into steak so what I got to lose. I'm gonna put on an immobilizer and duct tape my leg from top to bottom. Load up the Eureka Gold, grab the grandkids to dig and keep me out of trouble and go snoop around some of the flatter diggings and tailings close by. Papa needs gold therapy baaadddddddddddd!

 

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[goldenIrishman]

I hear what you're saying Fowled! Granted I don't have the medical part going on but not being able to get out and work the gulch has been wearing on me to the point that I've started dreaming about being out there! Well at least I've only got one more week to wait.

 

[AzViper]

FowLedUp,

Don't know what kind of surgery you need but if its a knee replacement make sure you follow-up and stay with therapy. Here is what all I have had done, 3 knee surgeries, 1 knee replacement, L4 L5 Back surgery, and now looking at replacing both shoulders as they are warn out. I have complete mobility of my knee. Others I know who had the surgery did not continue with therapy and ended up with lots of scar tissue buildup and can only bend their knee or knees about 90 degrees. You need at least 110 degrees to get out of a chair. I can get down in a catchers position with no problems and get back up with no problems. Therapy, Therapy, Therapy...

 

[fowledup]

Azviper, I'm your orthopedic doppelganger. Same rundown except I've had one shoulder done, and this will either be a 4th knee surgery or 1st knee replacement. I'm very concerned about mobility. A good friend of mine had a replacement a year and a half ago, he no longer mines. He's limping as bad as I am know and might get 90 degrees on a good day. He got an infection right after the surgery and they didn't catch it for a couple weeks. I think he would of overcame that all right, but he halfazzed the therapy and didn't stay with it. Another good friend got one and three months later, says he feels like a teenager.

 

[AzViper]

My left knee was so bad from football injuries that the entire meniscus was removed 25 years ago. I walk, hiked, hunted for the next 22 years bone to bone. Talk about being in pain. The knee replacement was without a doubt the best thing I had ever done to regain complete mobility. I use to favor my left knee, never ever trusting it to step down on. Today I do not think twice about getting on my knees. My orthopedic surgeon Dr. Murry Robertson of Tucson Orthopedic Institute has performed over 6000 surgeries in his lifetime and was a field surgeon in the military before starting TOI with 25 other orthopedic surgeons.

I cannot stress enough about keeping up with therapy. I received the largest replacement joint they make and I cannot be happier with the outcome.

These are the three best knee replacement videos I have seen. It was after watching these videos that made my decision easier to have the surgery. I was up and walking 12 hours after surgery and only spent two days in the hospital. I woke up after surgery on a machine bending my knee of which the user has complete control of the speed and degrees this machine will bend your knee. Before I left the hospital I had exceeded the travel (degrees) of the machine.

 

[AzViper]

One of the best exercise I did after surgery was to use a doctors stool on wheels that had a screw top seat that you can adjust the height. I started out when seated having my knee joint 90 degrees with my foot flat to the floor. I would push out straightening my leg and then pulling back to 90 degrees while rolling back and fourth. As the days went by I would lower the seat this allow my knee to go to 100, 110, 120, 130 degrees. By rolling back and fourth allows you to push through the pain while bending the join. This is the key at the beginning to get all the mobility you can. To get to 0 (leg straight) I used those foam snake things found around pools cut in half. I position one on either side of the joint below the leg about a foot from the joint while laying flat on your back. I then place a 15 pound sand bag on the knee and allowed the weight to push the knee down. I repeated this process throughout the day for 6 weeks. You will be amazed of the outcome.

 

[fowledup]

Thank you for posting those, I agree they are by far the best I've seen. Actually that was the first time I've watched the actual surgical procedure. Whew! Not for the faint of heart. Go for MRI Monday.

 

[AzViper]

FowLedUp your welcome. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I have been down that road and my outcome was great. I have a friend like you that did not follow through with the therapy, returned to work within a month and now pays the price. He's still reluctant to admit that that his issues today are a direct result of not following through with therapy and hard work. A stationary bike that you can lower the seat to create more bend in the knee works as well.

 

[AzViper]

Yeah the OR room for knee replacement looks like a mechanic shop. The only difference is everything is stainless steel. They have drills, hammers, chisels, pry bars, saws, etc. I was amazed looking around the OR before I went under.