Returned Home (09/16/11)

Hello Folks,

Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers sent my way during this last hospital procedure. I definitely appreciates every last one of them.

I had the left knee manipulation performed on September 13, 2011 at Lancaster General Health. This is the same facility that I had the total knee replacement surgery.

I was in the hospital by 10:30 a.m., registered, and prepped for the procedure. My surgeon met with me and gave me several scenarios that may happen:

1. Manipulation only
2. Manipulation and arthroscopic surgery to remove remaining scar tissue
3. Reopen wound and remove scar tissue surgically
4. Re-open wound and replace "new" knee correcting whatever problems that may exist

I finally lucked out and only required the first option... Thank goodness.

The anesthesiologist was aggressive with pain control and gave me an epidural injection, as well as, a femoral block on the left leg. He responded to the amount of pain I experienced after the knee replacement and I was very comfortable with his decision.

The surgeon had my knee bent to ~125 degrees... that's like bent and kicking my own butt... LOL! I, however, could only get it to ~80 degrees with the help of my PT. I have a lot of hard and intense work ahead of me.

My extension should be 0 degrees, but it facilitates between 15 and 10 degrees.

So, not only do I need to work on the bending but also the straightening of the joint.

One nice experience I had was with the Physical Therapy. I was treated by a PTA Instructor and a PTA student for the past two days. They focus on my needs and put me through the old grind. It wasn't pleasant, but I certainly was pleased with the attention I got and the hard work they put me through.

I am on a good amount of pain medication which is very good since my quads and hamstrings are so TIGHT! Not only are they as tight and hard a rock, but very, very painful! :(

It has been over 50 days since I bent my left knee and the muscles had begun to show signs of atrophy. Atrophy is when a muscle is not in use and starts to "shrink" or pull in due to the inactivity. In the manipulation procedure, the surgeon stretches all those muscles to a point they hadn't seen in many days... Ouch!

I returned home tonight around 6:00 p.m. and met with the insurance adjuster regarding the mud damage to our in ground swimming pool. I don't have a very good feeling about this, but I'll go with the flow (pun intended) and see what the insurance company decides.

Once again, thank you all for writing and calling me regarding my recovery. I'm hoping that I'll soon be back in shape and on the water fishing with my buddies...

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad