Manipulation

This is an update on the knee situation. Friday morning (5:00 a.m.), I went to a surgical center in Provo to have my knee maniuplated. They put me out with general anesthesia (only a mask and a light bit of it) and gave me a block in my upper thigh. The doctor then bent my knee as far as it is meant to be bent and then manipulated it to break up the scar tissue that had adhered to the incision site and around the knee. The procedure took about 10 minutes. When I woke up the pain was acute in the back of my knee so they blocked the back of my leg. They knew that Percocet didn't fit well with me so they gave me Lortab and let me get fully awake. By 8:00 a.m. we were ready to leave. I had to use crutches and boy was it difficult to stand up. I didn't realize that legs weigh about 600 lbs when they are dead! Jim had to almost drag me out to the car. I could not do one thing for myself. He had to lift the leg, help me get in the car, etc.

We went straight to physical therapy. When I got there I felt quite nauseated but it passed and they were able to work with the knee a little bit and bend it quite a ways. Since I couldn't control the leg that's all we did for the day with physical therapy. After I took my second dose of Lortab, the nausea really set in and I threw up all the rest of the day. So Lortab is out - I won't use that again. Jim got me some anti-nausea medication and that settled things down a lot. I switched to a different drug that doesn't make me sick.

I was completely dependent, again, on Jim. I hate being dependent on someone. He rose to the occasion and took great care of me. Ammon had to go on the trip with us and we had been up since about 3:30 that morning. It was a long day and we were all glad to go to bed. The next day we were all grouchy. I guess we are all getting tired of this situation!

I went to therapy again Saturday morning and they did a lot more work on the knee. They strapped my foot on the bike peddle so I could work on the bike. Ice and further bending completed the stay there. By 7:00 p.m. I was able to get rid of the crutches - it was an "all of a sudden" thing - I just didn't need them. The front of my thigh down to the ankle on the inside of the leg was still numb until this morning but I could control the leg and do a lot of work with the leg.

All Sunday I worked on exercises, stretching, sitting, bending, etc. because I wasn't going to physical therapy and we didn't want to have a set-back. This morning (Monday), I felt so much better. I had a very hard work-out at therapy. He bent the leg way back (which hurt!) and everybody was very happy with the results. I did teach my Sunday School lesson on Sunday and was grateful for the Lord's guidance and help to get there and get through the lesson without difficulty. I will be going back to work tomorrow and I feel like there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel now.

I'm glad I did the procedure. I'm grateful for all of your prayers and fasting. I'm sure that spiritual strength added to the success of the procedure. I have been constantly aware of the small blessings that just keep coming from the Lord. Some come by way of my private prayers, some have come through the numerous (specific) blessings that Jim has given me and some have come from the family's united efforts on my behalf. All I know is that the Lord has been by my side through this tough journey and I am indebeted to Him even more.