I spent the first "real" weekend of spring looking out the window at summer temperatures from inside Bob's hospital room. Cyclists were out on their bikes and I wondered how long it would be before Bob is well enough to ride his bike. I checked my first total knee replacement (TKR) blog and saw that my first ride was in early April about 12 weeks after surgery, but I'm fairly sure I could have ridden my bike 5-6 weeks after surgery last fall. Of course, by then it was winter and there was no bike riding.
Bob came home from the hospital on April 29, and I was immediately drafted into action as fetcher and heavy lifter. I get up between 5 and 6, feed the cat and make coffee before bringing Bob his coffee at 7. By the end of an average day, I've made many trips up and down the stairs, especially if I'm doing laundry that day and am hitting the basement 3 or 4 times as well. My own quads are getting very strong and I don't feel the strain on my knees anymore. The CPM machine is quite heavy and unwieldy but the upper body exercises I've been doing for 6 months or so have paid off and it's fairly easy to manage. The activities of daily living are keeping me more active than I ever was sitting at a desk all day.
