What's been happening & Post Knee Surgery

So, as ususal I have been horrible at posting on a regular basis. There have been a lot of changes since my last post. We switched houses with Grandma and Grandpa after living with them for about 3 months. Meanwhile, we rehauled the trailer house. Everything got a fresh coat of paint (except for the paneling). New carpet in the big bedroom and living room. New front entry faux wood flooring. Replaced the sub floor in the big bedroom, in front of the front door, and a couple other random spots around the house. Replaced the wall in the big bedroom closet. Complete gut and remodeling of the main bathroom. New sink in the half bath. New window in the bathroom and well as resetting all the windows in the rest of the house. Painted the trim on the outside fo the house. Stained all new trimwork for a few doors and all the windows inside the house, as well as the trim for the bathroom. And I think that is it... I got to practice my mudding techinique on the closet wall and the bathroom. I suck at corners, but hopefully I will improve. It felt good to do something all by myself.

We also have started on some projects in our new house. More on that at a later time.

I have been sitting on the couch for the last week and a half. It is driving me crazy. I want to actually do something. But I am limited by my knee. I had surgery on Tuesday, November 23rd. Dr. Reeves in Sioux Falls tightened some ligaments, while released (loosened) some others. The hope is that my kneecap will stop dislocating itself. I am in a straight brace for 3 weeks, then they will allow my knee to bend some slowly. I will have to start physical therapy soon. I am already sick of my knee being straight and would like nothing more than to bend my knee. Argh. It's going to be a long couple of months. My goal is to be able to go on the annual snowmobiling trip in February. We will see... I have actually been bearing weight on it since day one. Below are some pictures from the evening after the surgery.


I came home with a hemovac, a pain pump and an ice machine (not pictured). The hemovac is the round thing with the red hose attached to it. The hose is inserted under the skin in my knee into the surgical area. It drains the blood and the fluid they put into the area during the arthroscopy. Kinda gross, but necessary. The pain pump also has a hose that is inserted into the same area. I could push it every 4-6 hours. Wonderful thing to come home with. The ice machine is still in use. You fill this little cooler with ice and some water. It has a hose that hooks up to the blue pad that is under my brace. It circulates the cold water through the pad to basically ice the wound without having to keep putting an ice pack on it. Very convient and a very awesome tool.

Chris has been a pretty good caretaker. Maybe there is hope.... hehe! And that is my knee surgery story.