The Newz…

 Aren’t these Gerbera daisies pretty? My sister gave them to me the day of my knee surgery. I know I haven’t blogged in awhile, and I’ve certainly missed all of you. But life was not exactly exciting while I waited for my knee to get fixed.

Just a quick update. I had my meniscus surgery on January 28. Since I had to come off the Celebrex a week prior so I wouldn’t bleed out on the table, my pain and my walking ability had gotten bad. Really bad.

The surgery went off without a hitch. Three holes were made into my left knee and a camera was inserted. Stills were taken along the way. 

That knee has considerable arthritis, but not too horrible, so the knee should be good for ten to twenty more years. There was a good-sized piece of cartilage floating around loose in there, so that was removed. Can you imagine?  The last two pictures are of the loose cartilage piece.  

Holes also were poked into my cartilage to make it bleed. Scar tissue will form to provide more of a cushion, as there’s one spot that’s bone-on-bone. I should reap the benefits of that in about three months. But I’m not sure what they did in regards to the cyst. I forgot to ask my ortho surgeon!

The hospital gave me a walker since I was a fall risk. I used it for two days. My stability has improved, but I’m still limping. I’m looking forward to PT and slowly getting better each day. I can’t wait! 

I was afraid of getting an IV, but it wasn’t as bad as I had thought it would be. The bruise from it on my arm is still pretty dark, though. The bandage has been removed and the stitches come out next week.

My knee is still swollen and slightly bruised. It cracks sometimes when I move it, but that’s due to the arthritis. I noticed a slight puffiness today around one of the stitches, but I don’t think it’s cause for alarm. I will be keeping my eye on it, though!

Hey, good news! I did a couple of gentle exercises today. Boy, am I weak. Sure can’t wait to get strong again.

  

Have You Eaten Enough Potassium Today?

I’ve been tracking my food in the free app, My Fitness Pal. I’m able to track my calories, my macronutrients, my vitamins and minerals, fiber, etc.

But I looked at my nutrients today, only to discover that I’m not getting enough potassium. I eat spinach, mushrooms, cantaloupe, milk and yogurt, but it looks like I need to diversify my meals even more. Part of the problem for me personally, is that I can’t eat foods high in carbs, such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.

Or if I do eat sweet potatoes, I better cut out some other carbs that day, and make sure I eat plenty of protein with that sweet potato to counterbalance any raising of my blood glucose. I love sun-dried tomatoes, and since they’re a good source of potassium… even better than regular tomatoes… I’d be more apt to eat sun-dried tomatoes instead of sweet potatoes.

But potassium is SO important. Helps reduce risks of strokes, lower blood pressure, etc. However, be very careful if you’ve been diagnosed with certain kidney diseases as you might not be able to eat much potassium. Check with your doctor if you’re not sure. And, as with any weight loss or exercise plan, it’s advisable to check with your doctor first.

For more information on potassium-rich foods, click on the link below:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=90&tname=nutrient

Deep Water Aerobics

After water aerobics workout.

My body was a mess. I could hardly move. I knew that some form of Aqua therapy was essential to my recovery. I was approved for PT, but Aqua therapy wasn’t part of the package.

So I found that Deep Water Aerobics is offered through the City of Los Alamitos at the Joint Forces Training Base on Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. It’s $5/class for a drop-in. Anyway, I took my first water aerobics class in late June, then took two more classes in July and have been going steadily ever since.

I supplement that hour-long workout with 30 minutes of water aerobics in the deep end of the little pool where I live. I swear by water aerobics. My knees have improved, I’ve got better range of motion and improved mobility, my core is stronger, and it’s helped relieve some of the tendinitis in my arms. For years, I haven’t been able to lift a gallon of milk without grunting because I had injured my rotator cuff twice in 2013, But finally there’s been some improvement in my arms also.

Taken with my iPhone.

Wow. My iPhone doesn’t take good pool-at-sunset photos, does it? Suffice to say, it was very pretty to work out doing water aerobics surrounded by a colorful sunset. Anyway, my arms were a little tender from yesterday’s arms day at the gym yesterday, but all was good. Hey, if I work out on Friday, that will make it workout #5 since last Saturday. 😎