I’ve been home from the hospital for a few days now. Surgery was last Tuesday and I came home Thursday. That’s not exactly as planned. See here for details. But I’m very happy to be home.
How’s it going? How does this round of recovery compare to the last?
In some ways it’s easier. I’ve got one good knee now, more upper body strength, more core strength, and I feel pretty confident moving my recovering body around. Thanks Meg (personal trainer) and Estee (physiotherapist) for all of your help and recommendations. I ditched the walker for crutches after just a couple of days.
I’m doing lots of at home physio. This is the drill three times a day. It’s quad sets, heel slides, short arc leg extension (with rolled towel), calf stretches.
At home exercises after knee replacement
I’m also taking breaks to walk around the house. The helpful guide to recovery from knee replacement says that walking to the kitchen and the bathroom isn’t enough, but also that it’s easy to overdo yourself. I’m doing little laps of the house and the backyard.
Here’s a good description of the kinds of exercises one does when recovering from knee replacement surgery.
Later I’ll work my way up to fancier in bed knee exercises to start the day.
True confession: I fell off the no shopping wagon. There’s not a lot I can do right now–even reading is tricky– and I enjoy shopping. So I’ve ordered some new clothes and shoes and I’m trying not to judge myself too harshly for it. But I stuck to things I needed and I didn’t go overboard.
Here’s what I’m not buying this week.
Things Sam didn’t buy this week
The real challenge is sleep. OMG it’s tough. I can sleep a few hours at a time and then the pain wakes me up. I go through a little routine of taking more pain meds and getting fresh ice but there’s no guarantee it works. Then I’m sleepy during the day and nap and that makes it worse again at night. Middle of the night binge TV watching becomes part of the routine pretty quickly.
Tomorrow is the big day, my second knee replacement surgery. I’m nervous–of course, I’m nervous–but I’m also excited about having both surgeries behind me and getting on with my life.
The feeling of new beginnings is in the air. It’s Easter weekend as I’m writing this and it’s finally spring in my part of the world.
Spring temperatures
Normally these temperatures would mean spring bike rides but it’ll be awhile before I’m back on the road outdoors. I will be enjoying the sunshine and nice temperatures on my back deck while I’m home from work recovering from surgery and doing physio. I’ve even bought a new bird feeder for the deck so I’ll have some feathered company out there.
I know the next few weeks will be intense–all ice, physio, elevation, and pain meds. But I know from last time that after those first few difficult weeks, I’ll be back in aquafit and then riding my bike on the trainer. So yes, hard work but also good to get it done.
I was happy to have a relaxing Easter weekend at Sarah’s family farm. There were signs of spring everywhere. There was a lot of bird song and frog song but more surprising were all the snakes basking in the sun. One even curled up around the bottom of my cane.
Spring snake
We had a very nice afternoon walk in the sunshine. The snow is all gone but there was lots of spring mud.
Another spring snakeWalking in the muddy spring fields
I also finished three books this weekend. I think I’m trying to distract myself from worrying too much about surgery. If you’re a feminist and a rower, you’ll love Lessons in Chemistry. It’s fast reading. Enjoy!
Books
I’ll check back in on the other side of surgery. Wish me luck!
Obviously it’s good to arrive at the hospital the day of surgery well rested. I’ll try to get a good night’s sleep the night before but more importantly I’ll try to get lots of regular sleep the week before. I’m doing pretty well these days. No 4 hour nights, followed by 10 hour nights.
Check it out!
Sleep!
Work
This goal might conflict with sleep. Lol. I’m trying to get lots done at work so things are under control for the people I leave in the Acting Dean role. It’s hard because it’s not just that the Dean is away, it’s also that we’re down one person in the dean’s office. And we’re short on staff to start. In September when I went on medical leave for knee #1, things were pretty calm. Not so now. We’re still in the middle of budget conversations and there’s a lot up in the air.
Exercise
Another goal that competes with work and sleep for my time…
I’m aiming to put as much movement as possible in the bank because post surgery there’ll be a few weeks when it will only be physio plus a lot of lying around. I’ve been working on core and upper body strength too for all of the getting in and out of bed activity, which is especially challenging after surgery when your legs don’t work. All the triceps exercises, right Meg? (Meg is the world’s best personal trainer and she works at the U of G athletics centre, where she’s also the throwing coach.)
Last week I did three hours of personal training plus two physio appointments plus a ton of walking. This weekend I was happy to get out on my bike, outdoors. Yay!
Outdoor bike riding first time since Arizona
I also have some exercise goals to wrap up this week, like the Build Me Up Lite training program in Zwift.
Here’s my progress so far:
Tidying and organizing stuff
Getting around on crutches isn’t easy and it especially isn’t easy if you’re navigating around stuff. I’m going to clear out my room and put things away, leaving out only the things I’ll need. I’m swapping over winter and summer clothing early because once I’m back at work, I won’t need my winter work clothes. It’s a task that’s physically easy now but won’t be so easy after surgery.
There’s also the stuff I’ll need post surgery– the ice machine, pain drugs, crutches, etc. I’m trying to find all the things and get organized.
Iron and good eating
Readers who follow me on social media will know that I struggled a bit to get my iron levels where they should be for surgery. In the end, diet alone wouldn’t do it (I’m a vegetarian) but ferrous glucanate did the trick. I also supplemented vitamin C since that is supposed to help with iron absorption. I’m now at the top end of normal for adult women. But I am still trying to eat lots of leafy green vegetables. Sarah made this soup for us to take to a potluck on Saturday to celebrate an anniversary.
Leek Soup with Herbed Gremolata
Movies and shows
The last time through I made a big stack of books I’d planned on reading but honestly for the first few weeks I just wasn’t up to reading. I moved from philosophy to challenging contemporary fiction to popular fiction and then genre fiction, but none of it stuck. I just kept losing track of the plot and the characters and getting frustrated. For the first few weeks even challenging TV was too much. SheHulk was about right. Also, Never Have I Ever. After that, I needed gripping content. I ended up binging Better Call Saul and then Breaking Bad. This time I might watch The Expanse and Babylon 5. I’ve also never watched The Wire.
Physio
I’ve been doing physio twice a week for a very long time. But these days the focus is on getting ready for the next knee surgery. The left knee–the new one–is in pretty good shape. So we’re rehabbing the left knee, and pre-habbing the right.
Mindset
I’m struggling a bit here. At one level, I really don’t want to go through this again. I know what it feels like and I’m not anxious to experience that again.
I’ve been enjoying walking a bit and riding my bike. But I am still in a lot of knee pain, the right knee. One day this week I wasn’t sure even with my cane if I could make it to the gym. This has to be done and better sooner than later as right now it’s the right knee that’s slowing me down.
I keep telling myself that it will be good to have the summer (no ice, no snow!) to recover.
I’m trying very hard to focus on the positive–SWIMMING!–and not worry so much about missing another summer of physical activity.
Mostly it’s just a lot of reminding myself that yes, this will be very hard, but I can do hard things.
Bird feeder
Since I plan on spending a lot of time in the back room, which a good view of the deck, or out on the deck, I think I’ll get a feeder and see if I can attract some birds to our back deck.
Bird feeders
I’m also getting a haircut!
Haircut with Dante at Image Makeover, On Queen West, Toronto. Before.Haircut, after. But not yet dry.
So I’m wishing for early spring so I can ride before surgery at the same time I’m worried about what that means for the pace of global warming and climate change. The week before the last surgery I rode Toronto to Montreal and while I won’t manage that, I could at least like to get some bike commuting in.
This fall I had hoped to recover quickly enough to get out on bike outdoors before winter hit. That didn’t happen. I did get to ride outside in Arizona in January. And I did remember how to ride a bike. Yes, I’ve been riding on the trainer but it was the getting on and off and stopping and starting that was rusty. I loved riding outside again and was happy to discover that I could still ride my road bike. I’m not switching to a recumbent or a trike just yet. (To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with that switch and when I get there I will happily do it.)
But the week in Arizona wasn’t long enough. Ever since getting back I’ve been waiting for the day when I can commute to work by bike again. I miss my cheery pink Brompton! To be clear, I’m not that worried about temperature. I am worried about clear pavement. I can’t afford to take a tumble on the ice on my bike.
So here’s to some warmer weather, maybe even some rainy weather to clear the roads, and then some 10 degrees C + days for riding to and from the university.
Last Monday, February 27th, I spent the morning at the hospital, London’s University Hospital, getting my left knee checked out by the surgical team. It’s been 6 months since total knee replacement surgery. While there we discussed the timeline for the next surgery, total knee replacement of my right knee. I left thinking it would be sometime before September. I kind of had July in my mind.
And then the next day they phoned. It’s April 11th. Wowsa.
Surprise!
So I am rescheduling my life, cancelling some trips and conferences, and getting ready for another 6-12 weeks off work. And MORE PHYSIO!
For example, I’m now not going to this great looking conference. If post secondary education is your thing, you should go and tell me all about it.
What are universities for?
I am also not judging the National Ethics Bowl in Canada.
I am going to spend the next month getting ready for surgery.
That means…
Physio, physio, and more physio. It’s rehab and prehab at the same time.
Personal training for strength, mobility, and balance and general fitness. (I’m adding in a bunch of extra sessions.)
Taking iron supplements and eating lots of green, leafy veggies to get my iron levels up
Collecting the walker, knee ice machine etc from friends who’ve also had knee replacement surgery in the past month
Organizing my life at work so things are ready for an Acting Dean to step in
Cleaning and organizing the house as much as possible
Finding people to help out. This surgery is the day my mum leaves for England for two weeks and we’re on dog duty so we are reshuffling things in the family so other adult kids can step in.
Sneaking in some things before surgery that I can’t do after such as a spa day
I thought it would help me, and maybe help others going through this, or contemplating going through knee replacement surgery, to see what the six month journey after knee replacement surgery looks like. For me, it’s to remind me–as much as anything–how far I’ve come, but also to think about what’s next as I gear up for surgery on my right knee.
In the draft of this blog post I was referring to my new knee as 26 weeks old, but I have decided that new knees are like babies. At a certain point, you stop the weeks talk and move to to months
If you’re reading this and thinking about knee replacement surgery, pls know that your mileage may vary. I’ve gotten to know a group of people who’ve had this surgery and our recoveries all looked different. I had the advantage of going into surgery in pretty good shape. I did the Friends for Life bike rally, riding Toronto to Montreal, the week before knee surgery. The downside of the state I was in prior to knee surgery is that my right knee also needs replacing and it’s slowing down my progress.
These days I’m not needing the cane as much for walking. I keep leaving it places which is a pretty good clue that I don’t depend on it the way I did. I’m riding my bike on the trainer on Zwift. Today was an hour and 26 km.
Sam and Zwift
Here are some milestones along the way:
My surgery was supposed to be day surgery but my blood pressure had other ideas.
Day two I came home with a walker, lots of at home physio instructions, and all the drugs. Really there were enough drugs–not just pain meds– that it required another adult to keep track of all of them.
Day Four I switched to crutches, went to my first physio session in person. It’s lucky I like Estee, my physiotherapist. I’m still there twice a week, now in the evenings.
Day Five I made it upstairs to sleep in my own bed, rather than the fold out sofa on our main floor, and managed to have a shower! I felt human again.
A week after surgery, Sarah returned to working some of the time from her office, and I was getting around reasonably well on crutches. Still, the first two weeks really were a blur of pain meds, physio, icing, elevation and napping. I couldn’t really read or watch complicated television. Thankfully there was SheHulk!
I was only able to sleep a few hours at a stretch and kept the ice machine on my knee pretty much constantly.
Week Two, I got my staples out and had a follow up appointment with the surgeon. Still no driving (because pain meds) so Sarah had to take me. I was able to start taking tiny walks down the street each day and could manage basic household tasks such as unloading the dishwasher, sorting laundry, and making lunch. I got back on the bike (with a stepladder, lol) and started to work on range of motion. I couldn’t do a complete rotation of the pedals yet. I also managed to attend a friend’s wedding. I was likely the only guest there with her own ice supply. We didn’t stick around for dinner and dancing but it felt so good to be out in the world.
Sam on the trainer bike
Week Three I started small outings and we even made it to the farm in Prince Edward County. Still no hot tub for me but it was nice to have change of scenery for physio. I was no longer taking the serious pain medication except occasionally at night. I went to a Tafelmusik concert and saw a movie.
Week Four Finally, I could manage a complete pedal stroke on the bike, backwards but not forwards, but still it was progress. Throughout all this I’m doing physio exercises four times a day and still there’s lots of icing, and elevation, napping and TV. I moved on to binging Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, shows I never watched back in the day. I also started to drive again.
Week Five I discovered that I could pedal forwards on a recumbent bike at the gym, even if I couldn’t manage forwards on my trainer bike just yet.
Week Six I started aquafit and I returned to work. I had the option of staying off for 12 weeks but there’s only so much TV a person can watch. I started using the cane instead of crutches–leaving the all-important coffee-carrying hand free!
Week Seven I discovered that if I raised the seat on the trainer bike I could pedal forwards and I started riding a few minutes each day. For the first few times I didn’t even turn Zwift on. I just watched TV and tried not to tink about how far or how fast I was going.
Two months, I flew to the Dominican Republic for a short vacation in the sun. I did an underwater spin class! When we got back I started personal training again and started to focus on strength and balance as well as range of motion.
Three months, I started to see a massage therapist as well as a physiotherapist to help with range of motion and getting rid of the last of the swelling. Check out my fancy physio tape!
Fancy physio tape
Four months, annoyingly my right knee started to bug me as I did all the physio for the left knee that’s recovering from surgery. I was fitted for a right knee brace so hopefully the right knee won’t slow down my recovery from surgery too much.
Five months, I rode an actual bike again, outside, in Arizona and went on some desert hikes. Read about it here. Our longest ride was 25 km and I struggled a bit with the mechanics of riding–clipping and unclipping, and getting on and off the bike, but it felt so good to be riding again.
Six months, I’m back at hot yoga (yin) and lifting weights, as well as riding my bike on the trainer, going for dog walks, and doing physio and personal training two days a week each. I’m doing group rides in Zwift–The Thundering Turtles and Seattle Baby Steps and Ride On For Health –as well as rides with the slowest of the virtual pace partners. The thing I’m working on now is cadence.
At six months it isn’t over. It’s still an all on thing recovering from knee surgery. There is still a lot of physio. There’s still some knee pain (though frankly the right knee is worse than the left). Some days I hop up and forget about my knee altogether and other days it’s a struggle getting around. That’s the weirdest thing, how much it varies from day to day. I know movement helps and the days where I ride my bike and lift weights are the best. I think this would be very hard and extra challenging if you weren’t already an active person for whom physical activity is a large part of your day.
Today I’m seeing the surgeon about my right knee. Wish me luck!
We had a wonderful trip to Arizona, with lots of regular movement, hiking and biking galore.
And then I got home and my physiotherapist pronounced that I don’t have to use my cane if I don’t feel I need it. My gait is pretty normal. (And yes, I’ll still use it or my hiking poles outside while it’s snowy and icy.)
I’m feeling confident now that more movement is better than less for my knee after Arizona. I’m going to try to use the trainer everyday and as soon as I can, get back to commuting to work by bike.
Strength training is going well too. I’m starting to feel more like my old self at the gym. You can see muscles in my leg again.
As this blog post is published my flight home from Arizona will be touching down at Pearson airport in Toronto. (Update: Fight delayed and so this blog post will be published first. Fine.)
It’s been a wonderful week of philosophy, riding bikes, hiking, and generally hanging about in the Arizona sunshine.
Arizona Workshop in Normative Ethics
I’ve been trying think about how to organize my reflections on this trip which has been very different from past Arizona bike trips but successful and important in other ways.
I mean the biggest difference was that it wasn’t an organized bike tour with tour leaders, a schedule, other riders, and big distances. I’m very much still recovering from knee replacement surgery and I can’t commit to riding a certain number of kilometers each day. I wanted to go riding for a week in Cuba but with my right knee now getting worse, I knew that was too much.
What’s the same? Disassembling bikes, loading them and all of our cycling clothes and gear for a week into bike boxes and then reassembling, moving clothes into bags packed in the bike boxes. It’s like going from a plane trip where everything is carefully organized into checked bag and carry on to a car road trip with stuff strewn across the back seat including random roadside snack purchases, and then back again.
Bikes in their boxes on a luggage cart with suitcases
What’s different about the do it yourself trip with bikes is making individual decisions about where to go and where to stay and where to eat. I kind of like that bike tours take that out of your hands. We stayed in the full range of places from the conference resort hotel for a couple of days after the conference, to a bed and breakfast in Ramsey Canyon, to a KOA cabin near Picacho Peak to a Best Western on the outskirts of Phoenix, and finally a cute boutique hotel in Sedona.
This trip was more like ‘rent a car and drive around and bring the bikes along’. It’s not my usual style of riding from place to place. We were heavily car dependent and not even riding everyday. But we did ride most days and it felt so good and so important to get back on the bike.
Often Sarah and I would hike in the morning (when it was colder) and drive to the new place and bike there. That’s the other difference between past Arizona trips. Not surprisingly January is colder than February. It was below freezing most nights and we even had some snow. But by lunch hour it had warmed up to 13-15 degrees Celsius most days.
My longest day of riding was 25 km. We also did more riding on bike paths than I usually do. I needed the safety of the path and the ability to concentrate on pedalling and the mechanics of riding without worrying about cars and drivers.
The really good news is that it felt better each day. It’s remarkable. On the first day, when I struggled just getting on and off the bike and clipping in I began to understand why some people just give up. I began to understand why someone might just decide that the road bike riding stage of their life is done. It was hard. But it helped that the road bike is the bike I had in Arizona and it helped that Sarah was super patient. And so we continued to ride and things got better.
I have a friend who had knee replacement surgery and who gave up riding with clipless pedals. She said it hurt too much clipping and unclipping. I thought it wouldn’t bother me because I’ve been clipping and unclipping on the trainer, but it was different out in the world. It took effort and concentration to do it in a way that didn’t bother my knee. After a few days, I think I’ll be fine with my pedals and shoes.
On the one hand, it’s an incredible luxury to have my bike here and just ride a bit each day in the sun. On the other hand, road cycling is a thing that really matters to me and I’m so happy to be back on the bike. I’m looking forward to longer bike trips again, like Arizona and Cuba and maybe even Newfoundland. But for now I’m enjoying my little 20 km rides on sunny Arizona bike paths and quiet roads. It was confidence building and a reminder of how much I enjoy riding my bike.
I’ve really loved my US winter riding trips and I’m hoping to add Cuba to the rotation soon. I’ve also been wondering about bike tours in New Mexico. Anywhere you’d recommend for a week of warm weather riding?
Here’s my accounts of past winter bike trips:
March 2022 Alton Illinois. See here and here and here.
Tucson loop trail in Oro ValleyRamsey Canyon bike path That’s Picacho Peak in the background. Great quiet roads near the KOA campground.An afternoon of riding on the canal pathway in Scottsdale
Finally let me just say there’s nothing like holidays to make fitness feel fun and easy. Even while recovering from knee surgery, I met my step goal everyday and even logged enough intense activity heart points.
Here’s hoping for some dry pavement and warmer weather at home so I can start commuting to work by bike again soon!
Sam from behind hiking in Brown CanyonSam in her new purple beanie and hoodie, more on that later, hiking in the sun
I’ve got say after a few icy months of walking in Ontario, I’m loving the clear surfaces here in Arizona. Yes, it’s been frosty at night and there are signs warning us of winter driving conditions (we laughed), by the time the sun comes up (and so far that’s been consistently the way everyday) any ice has melted.
I don’t know why the dry air helps with joint pain. It certainly seems to. And yes, I know a very large study published in the BMJ says it doesn’t. Maybe it’s just the bright yellow ball in the sky that’s beaming down at me that’s responsible for distracting me from pain, Whatever it is, my knees are very happy in Arizona.
It’s fun to be walking recreationally again. And that’s it really. This is a very short blog post. But I’ve shared so much knee sadness over the years, I felt like sharing some happy news and a smile.
Since knee replacement surgery five months ago, I’ve been riding on the trainer. That’s true. First my goal was a full rotation of the pedals. I could do that backwards first, then forwards. Then I got my seat back to its regular height. (It’s easier backwards and easier with the seat elevated.) Next up were some distance goals. I rode my bike on the trainer 20 km the other day for the first time.
But I’ve been nervous about riding outside. I had hoped to try it with my Brompton outside late this fall but our roads have been a mess of ice. There hasn’t been any good weather for outdoor riding for someone as nervous about slipping and falling as I am right now.
My right knee is giving me issues now too. In the end I said no to the big Cuba trip I was hoping to do. Bah, but it was the right choice. Next year, I hope after I’ve recovered from right knee surgery.
Now as you might know I’m in Arizona for the Workshop in Normative Ethics. And Sarah came with for some sunshine and we brought our road bikes. Best yet, Air Canada didn’t lose them. Sarah assembled the bikes (and worked and rode horses!) while I was conferencing and today was the first time I was able to get out for a ride.
We’ve had our eyes on the Tucson Loop, a 130 mile bike path that circles the city.
Love the Loop
Obviously, 130 miles is too too much, even at the best of times, and these aren’t those. So, what section to do? We’re close to Oro Valley and the Catalina State Park so we set off to ride around there. We took the bikes in the rental SUV and off we went.
I was VERY NERVOUS.
I keep hearing from friends whose parents had knee replacement and who would never ride long distances again. I have another friend who can still ride her bike but gave up on clip in pedals. Another friend’s mother struggles to get on the bike and can’t swing her leg over the frame. I had all these stories running through my head.
I knew I’d be slow. I’ve been slow on the trainer as I struggle to get my cadence back up but that feels like I thing I can work on. It’s the mechanics of it all that had me worried.
I kept reminding myself that I was struggling to walk and dealing with more knee pain than now when I did the Toronto to Montreal, 660 km, bike ride. This isn’t new even though I haven’t ridden in four months.
First, I noodled around the hotel parking lot making sure the seat height was correct and it all seemed fine. And then we set off to find the trail.
There was a lot of sunshine this afternoon–love the desert weather, cold nights and high teens by the middle of the day, perfect for riding. The loop seems well used by locals and visitors. We even gave directions to some cyclists from Montana.
My knee held out okay and while there was some fussing clipping in and out that too was fine. We stopped for a quick patio lunch after about 10 km and then rode another 10 km or so after.
Here’s some photos from our ride:
Sam and Sarah riding in the sunshineRoadrunner!Fun desert vegetationSam on the Tucson Loop trailSam and Sarah saguaro selfie
