The surgery on Bud’s knee went well, but the surgeon did have to mess around in there a bit as Bud had not only worn through the cartilage but quite a bit of bone, too. The surgeon added 10mm of metal to one side of the bone.
Here he is, 8 days post surgery in the camper with our dinette converted into a convalescent couch. The big contraption his leg is resting in is a Continuous Passive Motion machine. He uses it 6 hours a day for three weeks and every day he increases the angle to which it bends his knee. I think he’s around 95 degrees now, he goes up to 120. The white thing on his calf is not a dressing, he has one on each calf and it’s an inflation cuff to prevent blood clots. We call them the puffers. He’s supposed to wear them 22 hours a day (read all the time) for two weeks. The small white cords hanging off the bed are leads from an electric massage device. I stick four little pads to the part of his back that seems to be constantly aching and it sends a small current to massage those muscles. Jamie lent that to us. I might have to get him one for Father’s Day. It takes about 10 minutes to get him set up like this, with the TV remotes and a drink in easy reach. Oh, and off to the left you can just see his walker. Because of the extra messing about and a strange and painful “pop” Bud felt the second night in the hospital, he is supposed to use the walker for 2 weeks.
But, all in all, he’s doing well. He can move around in the camper pretty well. He gets in and out of the camper and in and out of the truck on his own (I just need to move the walker and a small step stool we are using for the truck). He’s gone to physical therapy twice now and today we had a visit at the office of the surgeon who will fix his carpel tunnel problem. The very good news is her scheduler was able to slot him into a cancellation so the surgery is scheduled for May 15 with the follow-up visit on May 25th and we can hopefully be on our way as scheduled on June 5th.
I’m ready for some disc golf!
On the Roam Again 
I’m really glad things are moving in the right direction for Bud! Where is the angel measured from that he has to achieve?
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It’s set on the machine. The frame is hinged, his foot is strapped in a bootie, his leg rests along a padded sling in the frame and the frame bends under his knee.
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By the way, no angels present that I have seen. You must get that from our dad. I remember he used to send Mom cards that said “To my angle”.
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I’ll try to do better on my spelling! : ~ ) I should have asked my question differently, too. What I wonder is between what two things in the angle measured? Like between thigh and lower leg, or thigh and bed, etc.?
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It must be a great relief to have that over with.
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Oh, the angle is between the thigh and calf, the angle the knee must bend.
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OK, so if the leg is straight, there is a 180* angle between the thigh and calf. A 95* angle would be approximately a right-angle bend. A 120* angle would be less of a bend than a 95* angle if it’s being measured between thigh and calf.
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Took me a while to figure this, it’s thigh to calf but measured from the top of the leg. Straight leg is 0 degrees. Then the more he bends the knee the greater the angle from a reference line along the top of his leg.
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Sounds like all is going great. Isn’t it great to live in an age of electronics!
Carpal tunnel surgery will be a piece of cake after this. I had it done on each hand a few years ago.
Will Bud be cleared to drive by then? Should be/
Love to you both, Judy
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