2. Surgery
Recovery, Stage I
Gobsmacked! The first 12 hours post surgery
First look at wrapped leg post surgery
I awoke to find myself in another curtained-off area, my leg heavily wrapped in white and a technician standing over me with a portable X-ray machine taking pictures of my knee. I was Gobsmacked! Remembering the good intentions with which I had begun the day, as soon as the technician finished taking X-rays, I began to wiggle my toes, do ankle pumps and flex my feet. I also tried to tighten my quads and slide my leg toward my body but was unsuccessful with both exercises. After that, I took some deep, controlled breaths and drank water.
I had been worried that I would be in terrible pain upon awakening from surgery. Instead, the experience was quite the opposite. For both surgeries, the pain medication did its job. I was slightly spaced out but strangely jubilant, recognizing that the surgery was over and that the arthritic knee that had dominated my life for so long was gone! This feeling of surreal appreciation was much stronger after my first knee surgery than after my second—when a sense of predictable expectation replaced the amazement I had felt looking down at my first new knee. “Yes,” I thought, “That is what a leg looks like post-TKR surgery. No surprises there.”
New knee post-surgery, front view
My reaction upon waking after my second surgery differed from what I had experienced previously. After my first surgery, I was ravenously hungry and kept asking for something to eat. This was not the case the second time around. Shortly after my first surgery, I lost my ability to taste most food.* Upon awakening from my second surgery, instead of thinking about the food, I remembered my first TKR experience. With some apprehension, I realized that the next few months, and the next six weeks, in particular, would be painful and difficult.
How was I going to make it better for myself this time around? I needed to remember my goals. I began by recognizing that I was in recovery and, with work, about to find my way back to a normal life. I thought about where I wanted to be six months from now—doing all the things I had been unable to do for so long. I wrote myself a letter of encouragement in my head. I also requested that he email my friends to let them know I was awake. I also requested that he email my friends, letting them know I was awake. I thought about the questions I wanted to ask my surgeon when I saw him again: “What did you find when you went into my knee?” “Were there any surprises?” Lastly, I continued to make whatever tiny movements I could with my toes, foot, and leg until I was wheeled away to my hospital room.
*After ten months, I began regaining my lost sense of taste
New knee post surgery with staples, side view