After limping my way through five months of increasing knee pain, I finally reached the day of my knee replacement.

The first surgeon I saw didn’t want to schedule me for a knee replacement until I had tried a couple experimental treatments first. These treatments were not covered by insurance and costed thousands of dollars. He admitted that they would not fix the issue and were just putting off the inevitable knee replacement. With my cancer diagnosis, I don’t have time to waste. I wanted to get back to where I could be fully active again, and get there as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, the next surgeon I met understood my concerns and put me on the schedule. I would have to wait about 4 months, but I was good with that.

The surgery itself was smooth sailing. I stopped taking my Ibrance for about 10 days prior to the surgery and had a blood test just before the surgery to confirm that my blood counts were strong.

After I awoke from surgery, I was on oxycodone for pain, and they had me do a short walk from my bed into the hallway using a walker. They had these leg compressors on my calves while I was laying down to help prevent blood clots. I stayed in the hospital for one night.

When I was released, in addition to oxy for pain, I was given gabepention for nights, celebrex, ferrous sulfate, and senna (to help with any constipation from the oxy). My least favorite was the self administered Lovenox (Enoxaparin) shots in my stomach that were to help prevent blood clots. It ended up not being too bad. It’s the smallest needle gauge there was and it didn’t feel like much when I stuck it into my stomach fat. I did these for about 14 days.

I’m now about two weeks out from the surgery. Below is a shot of what my knee looks like now. Still a bit swollen and bruised, but much better than when I rolled out of surgery! I can hobble around without any assistance but lately I’ve started using the cane again because I’ve been experiencing more pain across the top of my knee. They tell me this is normal but I’ll keep tracking it.

I went back on Ibrance about a week after surgery and am off the oxy. I still have some pain at night when I sleep. I do daily PT on my own three times a day and try to ice/elevate as much as possible.

I’m looking forward to regaining full use but I know that will take time. It’s a journey!