THREE MONTHS!!!!!

Today is three months since my surgery.  Funny story:  I went in the doctor's office this morning.  They wanted new x-rays.  No problem, I thought.  The technician started setting up the machine and it was near my waist.  I said, "What are you x-raying?"  She said, "Your hips because of your hip replacement."  I said, "Whoa, I didn't have a hip replacement, I had a knee replacement in my left knee."  She said, "But, the order says..."  I said, "It doesn't matter what the order says, I didn't have a hip replacement, and I am not going to have a hip replacement."  She went to talk to the nurse.  When she came back, she changed the order and x-rayed my left knee.  Whew!

So, the gory details.  The first picture is my new knee (white stuff showing), compared to my right knee without the replacement parts.  The left knee is perfectly aligned and all looks good.  My right knee has some arthritis starting, but doesn't look like I need a replacement any time soon (YAY!).  That was glorious news to my anxious heart!

The second x-ray is the side view of my knee.  You can even see the patella - isn't it cute?

Now the bad news:  I need more physical therapy.  My range of motion is 100* by myself, and 114* with the therapist pushing it.  The surgeon wants me at 115-120* all by myself.  So, I have some painful work to do.  Tonight I really tried to bend my knee - we'll see if that speeds things along.  The therapy is very painful, in case you were interested.  Some days after therapy I hurt until I take the ice off.  Other days, it hurts until the next therapy session. 

The other day, I did my first long walk.  With the weather being so nice, I took a chance and walked about a half mile.  It felt good to finally walk a long way.  I miss my morning walks.  I do my exercises three times a day, with 10-12 minutes on a stationary bike.  On therapy days, I only exercise twice that day.

If you think about it, please pray for my range of motion to get better.  I really need that so I can quit therapy sessions.  They say it takes a full year to get to 100%, I am hoping to beat the odds.  Thanks for praying!