5 weeks since the operation

Wow doesn't time fly... even with the recovery, pain, lack of sleep things are moving at an increasing rate.

This week has seen significant improvements in my mobility, I now walk happily without aids, although I do take a walking stick with me on longer walks but it is a prop not an essential. I am now sleeping better; we're up to about 3  to 4 hours rather than the 2 hour sessions but I am feeling less tired during the day. I notice that on getting out of bed in the morning the knee is stiff with a fair amount of pain but as I move around this decreases and the flexibility increases. After doing my exercises the I am able to walk downstairs normally without pain or support.

I have moved my bicycle on its stand onto the balcony so that I could attempt cycling. Currently I have the saddle at its highest possible position and I have been doing 10 minutes on the bike then 10 minutes of icepack.

Since the operation I have noticed clicking in the knee but when Jen has manipulated the tendons this goes away for a while so I am happy that this is purely an issue of recovery. When doing my exercises there is a noticeable pain on the lefthand side of the knee cap, or what ever is there now, this is a sharp pain when doing the extensor exercises this materialises at various times during the day but goes away if I massage the area.

With my improved mobility I am tending to sit or stand more and this is causing swelling in the ankle so I have to take heed and sit with my leg elevated to mitigate this.

I have been keeping up with the posts on the Facebook page adding in posts or comments to support others; it is a fascinating thing to get an understanding of how other people are feeling and coping with their recovery. I am sure this is a significant factor for people in the pre and post operative periods, and a positive aspect of Social Media.

This last week I have been down to see my yacht which my crew took round to Pwllheli to be lifted out ready for some hull maintenance. I was able to climb the ladder to the gunwale and get around inside the yacht. Yachts are very good for moving around post operation as there are handrails everywhere! During the coming week I am planning to go and anti-foul the hull and prepare for Flair IV for the IRC Welsh Championships over the weekend of 17 - 19th August. I will only take part if the weather is reasonably calm though.

I am now noticing the pain in the right knee more and I am moving towards planning the next operation to remove the failed partial replacement from Feb 2015.