Post Surgery Week 6: Living on Borrowed Goods

Friday, June 28

Doug's Walker

Back when I first told people I had knee replacement surgery scheduled, friends started coming out of the woodwork with medical equipment to lend me.  Lucky for me, too, since all of this stuff is expensive.  

First came a walker, courtesy of Doug, who has had his knee replaced - twice.  Ed picked up the walker from Doug.  And crutches.  And an ice machine.  We stored them in the garage while I awaited the fateful date of surgery.

Denise's Walker, with brand new tennis-ball feet

On the same day that these things appeared, my friend Denise, who broke her ankle in our early October 2017 blizzard, brought over her walker.  Denise’s walker had also seen double duty, since she used it first when she was recovering from the surgery to put pins/plates into her broken ankle, and then again a year later when she had surgery to have the metal removed.  She also had a scooter ready to lend me, but that just doesn’t work for a knee replacement, so it didn’t make the cut.  What did make the cut were the two new tennis balls that are designed specifically to go on the walker feet to keep the metal from scratching hard surfaces.  Denise had worn through her original tennis balls, and thoughtfully brought along a brand new package to adorn her walker.

My friends Dianne and Tom also had lots and lots of stuff to drop off, a day or two before surgery.  Tom had his knee replaced in January, and I think he was happy to be rid of all the equipment.  They arrived bearing scads of “gifts”:  another set of crutches, a toilet seat raiser, a cane, a grabber-thingy (the gadget that allows you to pick up stuff without having to bend to the floor), and - wait for it - walker number three!  When I tried to gracefully decline the walker (who needs three walkers anyway?), Dianne was there to demonstrate what a Cadillac of a walker it was, complete with a seat and a storage pocket and super-duper brakes.  How could I pass that up?

Tom and Dianne's Cadillac Walker

When I got home from the hospital, Doug was back with more stuff:  a soft wedge to elevate my leg, and a contraption that would allow us to set up the wedge in our bed.  The wedge itself was a Godsend during all those weeks when I needed to keep my knee 18 inches above my heart;  we never did set up the contraption on our bed since I spent most of my true sleeping time on the sofa anyway.

I had thought that three walkers was, well, overkill, but oddly enough, it turned out that three was just the right number.  Doug’s walker went upstairs, where we have more carpet than hardwood.  Denise’s walker - with the new blue tennis balls - stayed downstairs where the floors are almost all hardwoods (that scratch way too easily, but don’t get me started on that, or we’ll be here all day).  And Dianne’s walker, the Cadillac?  Well, it was the perfect thing for when we took those walks outside in the early weeks.  Without question we would run into neighbors, and would stop to chat.  The seat on that walker saved me over and over again.  When I quit using it to walk down the street, I would take it out on the front porch and use it for my foot rest:  the brakes made it perfectly adjustable.  It truly is a Cadillac.

A few weeks ago, when things were looking up and I was walking without any aid (except for the cane that I used mostly to make sure people gave me some space, and maybe for a bit of balance), Ed suggested that we start to return the borrowed goods.  Certainly, he argued (and reasonably so), we don’t need all these walkers and all this other equipment sitting around.  My superstition told me - wisely, it turns out - that it might invite trouble to give all the stuff back so early.

And so it’s happened over the last couple of weeks: I’ve gone backwards.  Doug’s walker is by my bed at night now (again), since my stability has suffered with the inflamed soft tissues.  I use it to help steady me when pain wakes me up in the middle of the night, and I get up to walk around and go in search of another ice pack.  Orders from PA and PT this week were that I need to use crutches, even for short walks outside;  good thing that they are still right here, next to the door.  The cane is still my go-to weapon of choice when we make short car trips.  The wedge is on the floor near the couch, ready to come back into service should it be needed - otherwise the sofa pillows are serving well to allow me to elevate my knee some.  That ice machine?  Still in use, almost 24x7.

There’s an old saying “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”.  It’s an admonition that one shouldn’t question the value of gifts.  In this case, the “gifts” are all loaners, and I think the advice is just plain wrong.  I’m so very lucky to have friends who have helped out by loaning me all this stuff.  I’ll feel oh so very much luckier when I can finally return it all to its rightful owners.