(A gentleman asked me to describe my surgery and recovery and tell him if it was worth it. Here's my response.)

          My birthday was Jan. 25th—I just turned 52, and I can safely say that my new knees are fantastic and worth every bit of pain during recovery. I had both totally replaced on Nov. 12^th. The operation took about 31/2 hours I’m told (two doctors working simultaneously). The surgery was on a Monday and I went home on Friday morning. I began PT right away (limited), and it was all natural. They had one of those stupid continuous motion machines, but it DOESN’T fit all, and it was actually not working properly, and I finally convinced someone that it was defective and causing me agony, so I told them “No more.” I progressed much more rapidly and happily without it. I was on my feet the first day after surgery, off the catheter and hobbling on my own to the bathroom by the second post-surgery day, and on Thursday (3^rd day after) I walked out to the lobby area and proved I could climb stairs. (That’s a pre-requisite to going home if you have any stairs to negotiate in your house. )

          Although that sounds simple, the truth is, recovery, or at least the first few weeks, is hell. Pain is the major issue, and I honestly wondered when it was going to get better. I was housebound for the first 3 weeks—the PT came to ME!—and then I could venture out with my trusty walker as long as someone else drove. I would have gladly gone for little walks except Seattle had torrential downpours during November and much of December, so I still felt cooped up.

          Don’t expect the recovery to be all progressively up. I had days when I felt like I had regressed, but by week 5 I was feeling pretty chipper and walking quite a bit. The trick is to DO ALL YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY. I can’t stress that enough. I am considered the poster child for bilateral total knee replacements with my doctors and others, and the key to my success was doing exactly what I was told—no more, no less. (It didn’t hurt that I’m rather competitive and highly motivated, so I really wanted to prove that two at once can be good).

          I was off my walker and driving by Dec. 31, and I went back to work on Jan. 7. I am able to walk two miles already, and I intend to work that up to 3 as soon as possible. I just have to be sure not to overdo it and still remember to do my PT everyday. It means getting up earlier, but I feel so much better and so much more limber because of the exercises.

          Everyone who knows me says I’m already moving and walking so much better than before. I certainly enjoy my new knees, and the doctor said that the total recovery period is a full year—at 6 months you’re about 80% there. I look forward to each day of improvement.