krissyblog

And so we start the pre-op routine. I’m a week from my first knee replacement, and there’s so much to do.

So. Much.

I’m sure the surgery will be a success and everything will go smoothly, but the small chance of catastrophe or worse has me finishing countless home projects, work projects, and personal odds and ends.

The yard is done, the mulch is down, the plants are planted. I feel like I got hit by a truck, and I’m glad these errands are happening now so I can take a few days to recover. Tomorrow is the last day I can take my usual pain meds, so things might be pretty rocky this week.

I can feel some anxiety bubbling up and hopefully I can tick things off the rest of the to-do list in short order. My goal is to tackle the things I can, and work through the things I can’t.

I took a shot of my knees the other day, and it may be the last full length picture of them before surgery. Since I have existing scars, my knee replacement scar won’t be like most others – my OS (orthopedic surgeon) will have to go through my existing scar and extend up and down from there.

That means I’ll end up with one heck of a zipper. 😕

Turns out there’s a lot of stuff to do ahead of knee replacement surgery. One of those things is joint replacement class (not making this up). I’m a veteran when it comes to knee surgery, so I went in thinking I wouldn’t learn much*.

*or anything; it’s not my first rodeo.

I was totally wrong. The class was located at the hospital itself, and on the floor where I’ll be staying after surgery (hopefully for just a night). Just seeing the hospital and getting my bearings was worth it.

The class itself had just a few people in it, was lead by one of the nurse navigators (they are responsible for the logistics before and after surgery), and was well organized with a slide presentation and ample time for questions.

I’m having the surgery at Sibley Hospital in Washington, DC. They were super prepared. All class attendees were given a binder full of great, relevant information*, and it’s durable enough to withstand being marked up and re-reviewed. Thanks, Sibley!

*questionably relevant:

Welcome to my blog.  For several years I ran a personal blog based off random musings of my day to day – but the last few months I’ve been getting more into changing my life through schedule and exercise and just being more organized in general. It feels like the right time to kick-start a more targeted blog. I’ve almost always been over my ideal weight and maintaining a decent level of fitness seems to get harder each year.  I probably peaked in high school when I was a three season varsity sports player.

Here’s why.

Somewhere along the line it became a chore instead of  pleasure.  And it still is.  So my focus here is to post thoughts and suggestions and comments on my own personal fitness experience – ways things suck, ways things can be fun, and how I talk myself into getting off the couch and into the gym or out onto the bike trail.

Every little bit helps.

What’s more, I have severe arthritis in my knees (after a long history of injury) and I’m going to have at least one of them replaced this year. So all of my exercise musings will be, by definition, modified. I’ll also talk about surgery, preparation, pain, and what to expect (based on my own experiences).

So enjoy, comment, relate.  I hope to be in the best shape of my life (what I’ve started to call “skinny and strong”) by the end of 2018 (with at least one new knee by then).