Six Weeks - Gig is Getting Old!

An objective evaluation of the knee six weeks after surgery yields a positive overall impression: I walk well, have good balance and my mobility improves daily. I think I'll be very happy this time next year, but I do wonder why pain can still be quite debilitating. Is it because I'm a big baby who also avoids pain medication whenever possible? Or do I simply have a tendency to "overdo" -- like Christmas Vacation's Clark Griswold?

Like Clark, I've been known to overdo, so that is probably the explanation. I do know that I don't want to end up like some of the people I know who claim to be very satisfied with TKR results, and yet they can't seem to do more than walk around the block.

We'll be leaving for Cocoa Beach, Florida, tomorrow morning. I intend to spend the 10 days we're there as wisely as I can, with the primary objective of improving my stamina and increasing the distance I can walk. When I return to work two weeks from today, I'll have to be able to walk more than a few hundred feet without needing to rest. I also hope that the cool weather in Florida will give me an empty pool to work in! I love to swim laps, especially in the early morning, and I have a full complement of pool exercises to help with balance and knee flexion.

I'm beginning my re-entry into normal life, with only a little apprehension about a 3+ hour flight to Orlando. If we're lucky, the plane will leave on time and we'll be able to get our rental car right away. I have my fingers crossed.