Hello people, I'm sorry to have been out of contact since Friday but there wasnt internet to speak of in the hospital, and I came out on Tuesday to a regime of rest and gentle exercise. This is my first chance to get to my computer to write a proper blog.
Well it was all rather like last time to be honest. Getting up at 5am to be at the hospital at 7.15 then a long wait for the actual op. I had an epidural, so once the op was over I was pretty aware of what was going on. In recovery i had the weird experience of thinking it was like the oopma loompas in Willie wonka, with be-gowned figures rushing around with blue plastic hats on. Anyway I was quickly back on the ward, strangely in a different bay, but in the same equivalent bed to my previous one, with three other women.
I cant eat hospital food, it was quite varied and I got stuff from the M&S downstairs - fruit salads and stuff. Two of the other women were lovely, one had had a horrible thing done to her spine and she wasnt able to move properly. She was lovely, the other one was quiet and had had a hip op but with some complications. The third was elderly, she had a bad RA flare and was in a terrible state, crying and so forth. Its hard when none of you are great to be unable to help someone like that, but the nurses were kind to her and she got a lot of attention from the doctors.
The rest of the stay is about gradually getting back on your feet and doing the tick boxes they'd introduced since last November. You have to be able to walk a certain distance, get into and out of bed on your own, do steps, and if you've had a hip op, dress yourself safely. As it was the weekend I didnt get as much physio as if it was the week, and the night staff were rather thin on the ground - important stuff if you need a helping hand to get to the toilet at 3am!
Anyway I'm home, I think my leg is a bit more bruised than before but Paddy says that my knee bend and straightening is much better than the previous one. I know what I've got to do for the next week or so is to do the exercises (that's what I do in the mornings) and rest when I need. And slowly build up walking. My physio is visiting on Sunday and I'm sure she will encourage me to recover in safe margins.
At least I can look out of the window and see the green coming all over the front and back gardens, and now the sun has come out. One bonus (short term I'm sure) is that the RA inflammation has subsided a bit. Painkillers will have helped.
So that's me. I'm glad we've only got two legs !! But thanks everyone for your interest and concern. Hopefully it may help others waitiing for a knee replacement to know what its like. Mine was a total replacement, apart from that the op was straightforward. Lets hope it continues like that
Off Baricitinib and knee replacement
knee replacement 
Right total knee replacement 
Knee Replacement
