As usual, I had to go through some pain to learn something
It was late spring or early summer. I left Odessa Texas, on a plane to El Paso. I was escaping Odessa by joining the Navy. I had gone on the Scarsdale Diet to get my weight low enough for Navy guidelines. The thought of my bad knees never crossed my mind. The Recruiters gave us a series of tests. The test where we had to squat down and duck-walk across the floor almost put me in the hospital.
I failed the physical after begging the doctor not to reject me. The navy sent me back to Odessa on a bus. Forty years later, it was time to follow in my mom’s footsteps.
My mom had both her knees done, the first one in the ’60s. The last one was in the ‘90s
It was March or April of 2019 when I had my right knee replaced. I had my left knee done in November. The same type of surgery, but different outcomes.
The aftermath of the first surgery saw me lying around and not walking, or doing my exercises. I was going to physical therapy. The Therapist would give me homework.
I was supposed to walk around outside with my walker. I was also supposed to do the assigned exercises. I didn’t do them as often as I needed to.
I lied around in pain, my own damned fault
Because I didn’t do my part, I had to take prescribed opioids longer than I should have. I also had to do extra physical therapy. In December, seven months later, I had my left knee replaced.
I vowed before the second surgery that things would be different. I walked around my apartment complex every day, pushing my walker in front of me.
The second surgery recovery was a different story
I did the assigned exercises several times a day. I was in a lot less pain. I didn’t need a refill of Oxycodone. I was happy about that. I also didn’t need an extra six weeks of Physical therapy.
I have been using a cane the four years since the surgeries. A few weeks ago, I put the cane down for good. It dawned on me that I was dependent on the cane, not because I needed it to walk, but because I was using it as a security blanket.
Crutches make you weak if you use them for too long
Crutches, canes, and comfort zones are good things, as long as you use them the right way. I held on to the cane too long. It was messing up my posture.
It was also causing the pain in my knees to linger. I put the cane down. I now have to focus on my posture to retrain myself to walk erectly.
My posture has never been great. I’m focusing on making it better. I’m walking all over the place, and I don’t mess the cane at all. I learned some important truths after the surgeries.
It was a learning experience
1. You can’t lie around and do nothing if you want to improve your life. Whether it’s exercise, going back to school, or finding a better job. It’s not going to happen unless you act. Get off your butt and do something.
After the first knee surgery, I was miserable and my wife worked herself half to death taking care of me. It wouldn’t have been so hard for either of us if I would have got up and moved my body.
Whatever you’re using as a cane, put it down
2. You have to focus, and you have to work hard to achieve what you’re focused on. I didn’t work hard enough after the first surgery, but I did after the second, and the results were a lot better.
3. You have to put down the cane, whatever your cane is. You will never grow or improve unless you stand and walk on your own. Having a cane is comforting, but that comfort will lull you to sleep. Put it down and stand up straight and walk.
Final thought:
It’s easy to use a crutch or a cane. You have to make a choice: do you want to grow and be all you can be, or do you want stagnation and despair?
Put down the cane, whatever your cane is, and live the life you’re supposed to live.
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