This is a daily video blog of my first 40 days post op: a totally honest no frills look at what it was like for me in that first month. I have recorded them from day 2 post op and included all the ups, downs and what walking looks like. Click on each day number and a video will open in a new browser.
From week 6 post op, my updates become weekly and can be found here.
The First 6 weeks
DAY 2: First time I was able to get up and walk.. baby steps
DAY 3:Walking progress and the CPM machine.
DAY 4: Today was a benchmark day where we definitely turned a corner.
Day 5: First day at home and the small signs of improvement are still showing, which is important to me because so many things are still impossibly hard too.
Day 6: I have had a rough ride to get to this point so apologies for not posting earlier. I just wasn’t up to videos until now.
Day 7: It’s been a tough tough day today. I wish I could figure out why, maybe there isn’t a Why.
Day 8: Glimmers of light. Today’s mini triumphs:
1) hamstring pain a tiny bit better allowing me to reach my foot and put a sock on! 2) 85 degree bend achieve with a lot less pain3) mini trip to the garden!
Day 9: Getting out and about.
Day 11: Today has been the first day in almost two weeks where I can say I have felt ok most of the day. I am conscious however, that this is not a sign to rock on down, so I am also taking it easy, but there’s more tiny triumphs to report today!
Day 12: I think (hope) we are in the process of turning a tiny corner 🤞🏻 because for the second day in a row now, I have felt a lot more well in myself than I have the whole of the past two weeks and am even having a couple of pain free moments! Here’s today’s thoughts.
Day 13: 1st outpatients physio appointment and the day the staples came out! ** Warning this video contains a photo of the actual wound with the staples in **
Day 14: Today is the first day of my new exercises and I’m feeling way better without staples in my kneecap too! Practicing heel strike walking (weird!) and trying to stay focussed and motivated.
Day 15: oops.. maybe I overdid it a bit.. so I have been on ice ever since! Here’s what I achieved today.. including 4 yes FOUR tiny triumphs!
Day 16: able to walk with one crutch!
Day 17: Up days down days roller coaster.. plus another completely unexpected tiny triumph!
Day 18: well.. I’m starting to feel slightly positively encouraged at last today and I have AT LEAST 4 tiny triumphs to show you today!
Day 19: Happy Travels. Today I have another disabled eye view mini soap box rant, plus Sunday travels and lunch out! 😁
Day 20: The first day of knee class.. and boy was it entertaining!
Day 21: Grrr. Today has quite simple been one of those blooming days.
Day 22: Today I took my one peg leg down town, I show you what walking without any crutches looks like for me at the moment – how the exercises are progressing and what EXTRA exercise I have decided to add to the mix and why.
Day 23: Guess what I can now do? Feeling pretty excited… yep… squatting!
Day 24: wait till you see what I achieved today!! I went for a deep tissue massage with Megan Luckin at Ryding2Health today. I asked her to have no mercy – (avoiding the knee joint directly of course) since I had significant muscle pain that was keeping me awake (not the knee!) After her massage I was pretty feeling amazed how instantly better it felt and I was even able to do this… I almost cried I was so happy!
Day 25: I have had a busy day today… (tip from me.. don’t expect me to walk around the shops like you used to 3 weeks post op, regardless of how fit you were pre-op!) I mastered another teeny triumph today, a wee move I bet you all take for granted and never give a second thought! Also finding the question ‘what have you done to yourself’ quite amusing… everyone seems to think I have maybe broken a bone, pulled a muscle, but never expect my ‘full knee replacement 3 weeks ago’ answer!
Day 26: Today has been a down day. Several sets of tears and lots of frustration. I almost canned the Vlog but no, I committed to documenting this journey daily including downs as well as ups, so here’s today’s thoughts and one mini triumph to report.
Day 27: A physio lecture reality check, another hilarious set of conversations at knee class and I got another horrid exercise to add to my collection! 😣
Day 28: OMG you know your life has hit rock bottom when an unexpected trip to work becomes a highlight of your day! 😂 Plus I have an hilarious story to tell you about how I ended up being there!
Day 29: Some small curious things have started to happen and I’m beginning to feel some positivity.
Day 30: Rant Alert! There are a number of things that are starting to irritate me in the questions and comments that I am getting lately, so I think it’s time for THE REAL TRUTH.
Day 31: Exactly 1 month post op. Today was a day of two halves. It started down low and finished a bit more positive, I’ll explain why sunny days get me down when you’d expect it to be the opposite. Leg lifts still elude me as the blessed quad refuses to wake up, so here’s what I’m doing about it.
Day 32: OMG have I had some exciting mini triumphs today! I can’t quite believe what I can now do..!
Day 33: I mastered an uneven surface (super excited about this!) and a walk worth mentioning that didn’t involve a wheelchair! Oh.. and did I mention I got 90 degrees..? 😎😎😎
Day 34: OMG that guy I was chatting to a few weeks ago at knee class.. who told me magic things happen around the 5-6 week mark.. well he was right!!
Day 35: Exactly 5 weeks Post op. I have a new goal, a new mini 7 day plan and here’s your opportunity to ask me anything and I will line up the questions and answer them live on here. I already have two excellent questions to get me started.
Day 36: I have now started to add in a few of my own exercises, now working on balance.. here’s what they are. Plus I think I may have exited phase 1 and entered phase 2.. 😁😎😁😎😁
Day 37: Sufficed to say my lack of independence is starting to frustrate me somewhat! Plus, I think my one remaining peg leg might actually be a hindrance! Here’s what happened today! 🙄
Day 38: Today was my first time at hydrotherapy and I have two might exciting new triumphs today.. I don’t even think I can call them tiny!! 😁😁😁
Day 39: Ok, pretend to be amazed here for a second, because today the final piece of the movement puzzle slid into place that meant that I might finally had a fully functioning quad returning from its sabbatical! LOOK WHAT I CAN DO (pretend for me and go ..W.O.W!)
Day 40: First time in a pool post op (😁🏊🏻♀️) and oops.. I failed to rein in my excitement! But.. I did manage to get in and out without a hoist 🤣.
Day 41: Tips to increase knee flexion
Day 42: The last of my daily vlogs, with another knee tip or two
The rest of the story
From week 6 onwards, I switched to weekly, then bi – weekly updates. They can be found here.
Knee Replacement Resource 