Bionic
Somewhere under all those bandages is my new right knee. It’s made of cobalt-chromium, titanium, possibly vibranium, I’m not sure what all’s in there. Either way, I expect to be doing Six Million Dollar Man stuff pretty soon:
After a couple of years of limping around and six months of pretty serious pain, I got the knee replaced Tuesday morning and came home Wednesday afternoon. Thanks to the doctors, nurses and other helpers at OrthoCarolina for all the great work. (And as always, to Alix, who works constant miracles.)
I have a list of exercises to complete every day, and laps to take through the house in my walker, and an awesome ice machine that pumps cold water into a wrap around my knee when I’m done.
Right now I’m feeling better than expected—I haven’t had to take the serious painkillers yet—but I know rehab can be grueling and I’m doing my best to get ready for it.
In the meantime, I’ll post here when I can … just hang with me for a bit as I settle into this new routine.
One thing to let you know about: On March 21, I’ll be at the Mt. Pleasant Literary Festival in Mt. Pleasant, NC to do a Q&A with Valerie Bauerlein about THE DEVIL AT HIS ELBOW, her incredible book about the Alex Murdaugh murders in South Carolina. You haven’t heard the whole story until you’ve read Valerie’s book. The whole festival is excellent and you should come check it out if you can.
Thanks to all of you who sent kind and encouraging words as I was getting ready for this knee replacement. I’m pretty sure that my recovery so far is at least partly because of all the good vibes y’all sent my way. See you again shortly!
—TT
Maybe this ridiculous recovering from surgery story will make you laugh.
I broke my arm sliding into third. Doctors put on an external fixator -- a contraption to hold my bones in place while it healed. It looked like a towel bar sticking out of my arm.
I had it on for six weeks. I could barely use that arm, couldn't drive for a while, had a hard time putting on shirts, etc.
The day I finally got it taken off, I had an apartment inspection. As I was walking with the inspector, I went on and on and on about only having one arm, how bad that was, yada yada yada.
I really laid it on thick.
Until I looked down and noticed that the inspector had a red rubber prosthetic hand.
Then I shut up.
Very excited to hear about you coming to Mt. Pleasant! I live in Concord so just down the road. I have not read her book but I vividly remember listening to your interview with her on South Bound! It’s going to be good! I’ve had both my knees replaced (4 years apart) and it’s been a lifesaver. I’ll give you my advice, DO YOUR EXERCISES and if that means taking the strong stuff to do them, do it. With a knee replacement, this is the most important part of the whole thing so that you will have normal gait and maximize movement. It hurts (I shed a lot of tears) but it’s worth it. 😊 You’ll do great and in 3 months, it’ll all be behind you. See you in March!