Knee Replacement Part 1

Today is exactly 2 weeks since I had total knee replacement on my right knee. I was fortunate to get a very good doctor. He was recommended to me by a couple of ladies from Winton who had their knees replaced. I decided to trust their judgement and made an appointment with Dr. Temnyk in Turlock. Since then, I learned that everyone has high praise for this doctor. Everyone from the hospital staff in Admittance to nurses, physical therapists and everyone else. One person said that after you are in the operating room, the doctor has all the windows and doors sealed so no germs can get in. A nurse said she has known the doctor for 20+ years and has never know a patient to get an infection.
My operation was at 7:30, Wednesday, the 17th of November. I woke up as they were wheeling me to my room in the surgery section. I saw my sisters peeking around the corner, all with smiles on their faces. Everything went well.
Later that evening, I was surprised to see Sandy and Dol stopped in to see me on the way to Merced. They had just flown in to San Francisco; an 11 hour plane ride from Amsterdam. They rented a car for the drive from SF. My sister Carolyn then picked them up at the car rental place in Merced.
The next day, the physical therapists get you out of bed and help you stand up. The scary part was when they helped to lower my right leg to the floor. The muscles are unbelievably tight and sore. And painful. I was hoping for a catheter, knowing that I can't seem to be able to use bed pans. But a catheter would be risky for an infection, so a couple of nurses helped me on the porta-potty next to my bed.
I wanted to sleep on my side, but that is not allowed. It sounded like it would feel better, but in the long run, it would not be in my best interests. They did roll up a pillow and placed it between the bed rail and my back. That helped a lot.
Saturday I was allowed to go home, after walking 100 feet with a walker and someone beside me. I was very happy to get home, but the pain doesn't stop when you leave the hospital. I was allowed 1-2 pain pills every 4 hours. Later they wanted me to stretch it out to 6 hours. I usually only took one pain pill, so if I didn't make the full time, I thought I was still doing O.K.
At home, I couldn't get out of bed by myself for the first couple of days. Sandy took care of me around the clock. The first night I hollered for her 3 times. It was either for a pain pill or to go to the bathroom.
I'm sure we were both glad when I could get out of the bed by myself.
Tomorrow I have my first post-op appointment with the doctor. The plan is to have these staples removed.
More details to be posted tomorrow.