TKR

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Total Knee Replacement (TKR) is not a joke. For the first 24 hours after my surgery I felt that I had been dealt what I imagine a Technical Knockout (TKO) feels like.  

I don’t mean to scare you or talk you out of TKR surgery if you’re thinking about having it done, but I’d like to share my experience in the hopes that it can help any of you out there thinking about it or who are about to go through with it yourselves.

The surgery is quick, but the recovery and physical therapy (PT) take some time. Just stick with it.  The solicited (and unsolicited) advice I received from people who had either hip or knee surgery is that knee surgery is different from hip surgery; it takes more time for recovery so you have to be patient. There are more muscles that must heal and strengthen after TKR surgery as compared to hip surgery.  

I am a fast moving, independent, determined person raised with four brothers to be tough. I thought I could avoid TKR. I believed I could bear the pain and that was all that mattered. If I didn’t have the surgery I was tough, not the “old lady” I was apparently appearing to be to everyone else. My children would do not so kind imitations of my walk, or should I say limp. The problem was that my knee just wouldn’t hold up. The pain increased until surgery was inevitable. Despite all my reservations, or what may have really been stubbornness or vanity, I had to have the surgery.

My knee looks really good now. It’s almost straight and the scar is fading. I’ll decide later if my vanity will push me to take further action on my scar. For now I’m looking forward to wearing heels (or wedges) again and increasing my spin time.

Surgery: March 23, 2015                                                                                  

Recovery: Ongoing