Sunday, October 23, 2011

10 Months After Surgery

Another month has passed, and I am happy to report only good news once again. My new knee continues to feel fine. I traveled via plane to Philadelphia for the EDUCAUSE conference last week. Everything went well. Security check-in at both Detroit and Philadelphia went smoothly. Both airports had the full body scanner which made the "security check" fast and easy.

I also traveled in Canada from Windsor, Ontario to Niagara Falls, Ontario  with my wife Margaret, her sister Gudrun, and her husband Jim via train. We had a great time and walked several miles each day seeing the sights of  Niagara Falls. Probably the most walking I have done since surgery over a short period of time. I would estimate that we walked 12 miles over the 3 days in Canada, and my leg felt fine the whole time. There was no swelling or stiffness.

Only one disconcerting thing happend when I was traveling. While in Philadelphia at the Sheraton hotel, I was in the fitness room working out one morning, and I accidentally stepped off a three foot step into the weight room and landed with my full weight on the surgical leg. With the full force of my weight coming down on the right knee there was a sensation of discomfort, but no subsequent swelling or pain. Doing this, quickly reminded my why Dr. Denzin recommended against running with a knee prosthesis as the continuous impact (like this) will prematurely wear out the prosthesis.

Only two more status reports (11th and 12th months) before completing this one year blog on a total knee replacement. The December report (the one year anniversary) will be the last blog entry.