All is good in the Duncans' home. Today is Day 10 following Russell's TKR surgery...not that we're counting. It's been a bit of a rough week, pain wise, but Russell seems to have turned a corner today. Did you know that the moto of the Duncan clan is Disce Pati, "Learn to Suffer"? He does that well, I must say. We have both learned a lot this week about pain management. Knock on wood, this is our first experience, in our 36 years of marriage, having to deal with any sort of surgery. So, this whole thing about taking serious pain killers is foreign to us. After talking to the visiting nurse and our pharmacist, we realized that Russell wasn't taking enough of the "blue pill"...that would be the narcotic, might as well call it what it is. That pill, combined with two Tylenol 1, does the trick for pain. As the nurse so well said, healing goes hand in hand with managing pain. So, Russell is now taking his pain meds on a rigid schedule, no more than he has too, but no less either. In another week or so, the little blue pill will start to become a thing of the past.
What aggravates the pain are the exercises that Russell has to do every day. He could choose to skip a day, but that's just not him....learn to suffer. After having said all this, a number of areas have improved. The swelling has gone down quite a bit, as measured by the physiotherapist. His ability to bend his knee has also improved, from last week's 74 degree to this week's 81. Getting closer to the 90 degree mark. The bruising is virtually gone, just some yellow in the thigh area. This morning, a nurse came to remove the 50 staples or so on his incision. She said the surgeon was very generous with his staples. She applied a bunch of Steri Strips on the incision, which will fall off on their own within the next 10 days or so. And, the best news of all, Russell can now take a shower!
So, all in all, Russell is doing good. He is on track for a full recovery. He will see his surgeon on March 6, at which time he will be given the go ahead to drive.
Cooper and Spicy haven't missed any of their daddy's exercise sessions. Each and every time, they jump on the bed and watch. They totally know that something is amiss. Our daily routine is somewhat different. At night, we don't go downstairs to watch TV, we stay upstairs, all those little things that we do differently but they adapt. In a few weeks, we will be back to normal. No big deal. Yesterday, I went for a nice walk with them. It was their first walk in quite a while, mostly due to the weather and road conditions. Russell booted them up and off we went. Russell continues to do their daily grooming and teeth brushing. We brought up the grooming table so it's easy. It's their one on one time with their daddy. They love it.
As for me, I'm good. I didn't go to the gym last week nor did I attend Cooper's training class. I wanted to stay home and be with Russell. I will resume my normal routine starting with a visit to the gym tomorrow.
This coming week will be a repeat of last week for Russell. More exercises, some rest, walk around the house with the walker, two home sessions with the physiotherapist and more improvements. This week will also mark my dad's one year anniversary of his passing, on Tuesday. It's hard to imagine that he left us, so suddenly, one year ago. It seems like yesterday. Always in our thoughts and in our hearts.
That's my blog for this week. I leave you with random photos that I took of Russell while doing his exercises, with the pooches supervising. Russell also wanted to show a photo of his knee, taken today, after the removal of his staples. Looks pretty good, I say!
Have a great week everyone! I'll write back in February!
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| Spicy is hands on while Cooper is the general foreman type supervisor as Russell does his knee bends with a strap. |
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| ...more deep knee bends using stability ball for more leverage...tough action. |
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| Spicy' cheers on her human daddy....two more...come on! Cooper is tired of watching |
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| Coop all settled in to watch some TV with daddy...we got you covered! |
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| Spicy says nothing better than a morning nap on daddy's lap. |
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| 50 plus staples removed....with Steri-strips as the replacement... Russell calls this stairway to heaven. Swelling and bruising... have reduced significantly. |
Glad to hear that you are making great progress Russell. I am sure you have had lots of encouragement from Anne and the pooches.
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