I had a TOTAL knee replacement this past Tuesday morning (14th). It still hurts! My most unexpected thing was the pre-surgery bacterial prevention and meds BEFORE the surgery. I had several pre-op meetings and ran back and forth to the pharmacy for different meds and vitamins (Vitamins- I already had those and take them regularly). This was the same knee that I had 3 ligaments re-attached 45 years before laparoscopy type of reattachments were done,. Doc said he didn't know how I stood NOT getting a knee replacement sooner.
An interesting and somewhat frightening thing occurred last Thursday (9th). Linda and I had been to the main pre-op meeting about where to park, what time to be there (5AM), (Memphis Methodist University Hospital) what to bring, what to expect, full timeline of procedures, and they stayed on it for the most part. Also - I would be walking with full pressure on my new knee before leaving and I would probably be released by 3 PM or 3:30. They taught me how to use the potty with the brace on. After the 1 1/2 hour pre-op meeting we went to our pharmacist for a couple more meds. Then to Walmart in the pharmacy neighborhood.. At Walmart, I get a call from my Doctor's Assistant. She said "Hank, the surgery is off. We just got your A1C report from you GP (General Practitioner) that you had taken on Dec 16. It was 7.7, which is too risky for you since you had a heart bypass a year ago. I was stunned. Then she asked "is there any way you can come by and let us take it again?" (BTW, I don't know what the A1C cut off point is.) I replied "I am 15 minutes away." Linda and I rushed over and I told Linda that we needed to pray while we traveling. We did. I didn't worry about it from that point on.
We went straight in, and the Doctor's assistant had a nurse (that we knew) prick my finger and take the sample into the lab. About 7 or 8 minutes later, the nurse went walking by the door rather fast to the doctors office. Then she came back and said, "I need to do it again because something wasn't right. I said sure. She took from the other hand. About 7 or 8 minutes later, she want walking by our door rather fast again. Then the Assistant came in and said, "Well, the surgery is on again. Your A1C was 7.0, which is acceptable for you." The doctor came by and said, "I don't know how you did it that quick but I will see you next Tuesday morning."
My GP does not do the A1C but sends it to a lab. So I don't know if they made a mistake or my A1C came down .7 point in 4 weeks, which is highly unusual, especially considering that between Dec 16 and Jan 9, We celebrated with eating cake and sweets for Chirstmas, New Years and my birthday. I give God the full credit.
It still hurts, but I am walking without a brace. At my first PT yesterday, I was able to pull my knee/leg to being flat on a table, which was good. I also was able to bend it to 85°. I probably could have made 90° but I would have been crying and screaming!
I need to get a couple of knee cold packs today for the pain and keep the temp down.
An interesting and somewhat frightening thing occurred last Thursday (9th). Linda and I had been to the main pre-op meeting about where to park, what time to be there (5AM), (Memphis Methodist University Hospital) what to bring, what to expect, full timeline of procedures, and they stayed on it for the most part. Also - I would be walking with full pressure on my new knee before leaving and I would probably be released by 3 PM or 3:30. They taught me how to use the potty with the brace on. After the 1 1/2 hour pre-op meeting we went to our pharmacist for a couple more meds. Then to Walmart in the pharmacy neighborhood.. At Walmart, I get a call from my Doctor's Assistant. She said "Hank, the surgery is off. We just got your A1C report from you GP (General Practitioner) that you had taken on Dec 16. It was 7.7, which is too risky for you since you had a heart bypass a year ago. I was stunned. Then she asked "is there any way you can come by and let us take it again?" (BTW, I don't know what the A1C cut off point is.) I replied "I am 15 minutes away." Linda and I rushed over and I told Linda that we needed to pray while we traveling. We did. I didn't worry about it from that point on.
We went straight in, and the Doctor's assistant had a nurse (that we knew) prick my finger and take the sample into the lab. About 7 or 8 minutes later, the nurse went walking by the door rather fast to the doctors office. Then she came back and said, "I need to do it again because something wasn't right. I said sure. She took from the other hand. About 7 or 8 minutes later, she want walking by our door rather fast again. Then the Assistant came in and said, "Well, the surgery is on again. Your A1C was 7.0, which is acceptable for you." The doctor came by and said, "I don't know how you did it that quick but I will see you next Tuesday morning."
My GP does not do the A1C but sends it to a lab. So I don't know if they made a mistake or my A1C came down .7 point in 4 weeks, which is highly unusual, especially considering that between Dec 16 and Jan 9, We celebrated with eating cake and sweets for Chirstmas, New Years and my birthday. I give God the full credit.
It still hurts, but I am walking without a brace. At my first PT yesterday, I was able to pull my knee/leg to being flat on a table, which was good. I also was able to bend it to 85°. I probably could have made 90° but I would have been crying and screaming!
I need to get a couple of knee cold packs today for the pain and keep the temp down.
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