How's my knee doing? Well, let me tell you...

Hi guys! How’s everybody doing today? I’m doing well, actually. I’m in a bit of shock realizing that the Fourth of July weekend is already behind us, but yeah… doing well!

Speaking of holiday weekends… I wanted to update you on how things are going with my knee. (Reminder: full right knee replacement) I had booked my surgery for April 2^nd. Since Todd and I are boaters, we wanted it to be early enough in the spring that we’d be able to salvage our boating season. We hoped I’d have enough healing by Memorial Day weekend to be able to get out and have some fun; not need to put all of our usual activities on hold. I knew that six or seven weeks might be a bit optimistic in “Knee World” to be all healed up, but figured that surgery in early April would be my best shot at a full summer.

As I reported a couple of blog posts ago, my surgery went well. I attended every physical therapy session, and religiously exercised, as assigned. I mean… my not being able to boat would have changed everything we normally do in the summer. I wanted to do whatever I could to get my strength back, and try to make it happen. I met with my surgeon for my final post-op appointment a few days before we were scheduled to go out of town. He said I not only could get back to my normal life, but that I should. I fired out my usual “20 questions” just to be sure (like, REALLY sure). “Can I go out on a boat? Can I go into lake water? A river? A hot tub? Can I…?” He just kept nodding his head “Yes” and told me to go live my life. I figured that with his advice, living it was at least worth a try.

For those of you who’ve never been boating, I’d describe it to be both very relaxing, mixed in with a whole lotta work. I know full well what it takes for us to perform (what seems to be) even the simplest of maneuvers: cast off our lines, back out of our boat slip, and head for the lake. It can be quite challenging, even when we’re at 100% physically, which I wasn’t. I began to doubt/second-guess myself. Will I really be ready to get in and out of our boat, much less climb around, as needed? As boating time approached, I wasn’t so sure.

And it isn’t just the boat, either. The boating process actually starts on our own driveway. We have a pretty large truck with which to tow the boat. It does have one of those bars to step up on, and it does have a grab bar overhead, but even the (usually simple) task of hauling myself up into the truck, seemed daunting.  

For a couple of weeks, neighbors witnessed me standing on the driveway, cane in hand, carefully eyeing our truck from various angles. One kind soul even stopped to ask me if I was “okay”. “Yes,” I said. “Just figuring out the best way to step up into the truck.” For motivation, I kept singing one of Tony’s (my singer/songwriter son’s) songs, running the lyrics over and over in my head. “I am never, never, never gonna give up; never, never, never gonna give up…” How can I have a son who writes songs like that, and not be able to get up into our own truck? To my way of thinking, this had to happen. And, of course, eventually, it did.

It's funny how the healing has been happening for me. My Physical Therapist would suggest a new exercise for me to try, like walking up a few stairs. It would sound crazy to me - totally out-of-line wrong. Then, within a few days, I could do it – a whole flight, even! It’s almost as though there really is a time-frame for knee healing. Hmmm… Who’d have thunk it?

Anyway, long story short, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, Todd and I got ourselves all packed up – groceries, clothes, tools and other boating supplies. Without much trouble at all, I awkwardly pulled myself up into my truck seat. The research I’d done, weighing out what seemed most workable, had proved to be quite helpful. One big obstacle behind me… one-hundred more to go…

I won’t walk you through every step I took, but will simply say that as our boat calmly floated in her summer slip, nervousness built up inside of me. I slowly walked down the dock, feeling as though I was walking toward a wild horse. Will she allow me a clean entrance, or buck me off? There was only one way to find out. I tried to remember everything I’d learned, and all that my physical therapist had advised. With a new-found confidence, I grabbed the boat’s mane – I mean handle - and lifted my surgical knee first, just as though I’d be climbing a flight of stairs. Before I knew it, I was up and in. Yes, it had seemed a bit awkward, but my fear had been faced and even squashed. I was standing in our boat!

We ended up having a nice weekend. Only one day gave us good enough weather to actually get out on the water, but I was able to participate in most everything. I felt good that I hadn’t allowed myself to cancel, or even go to a motel like I thought I might. If I’d really had to, I would have, but that wasn’t necessary. We’ve been out several more times since then, including a nice long weekend over the fourth. Our summer is in full swing, and my knee is holding up nicely.

I’d like to thank all of you for your kind comments and support back when I announced my surgery. I referred back to the advice numerous times, and found good encouragement there. As always, it paid for me to open up and tell my story, allowing people to help me through. After all, that’s what friends are for, right?

I hope everyone has a good summer. With the fourth already behind us, don’t blink, or you’ll miss all that’s still ahead.

Katie Kolberg Memmel is the author of three books: “Five Fingers, Ten Toes…” (and now a 10-Year Anniversary Edition, with Photos!); “From This Day Forward…”; and “Silly Stories and Sentimental Stuff”. For more information about Katie and her writing, visit her website at: www.KatieKolbergMemmel.com