In the fourth week after my total knee replacement, I enjoyed noting the progress I was making.
-I could walk upstairs properly using both feet, first one foot and then the other.
-I now had to to concentrate on doing the same downstairs instead of coming down one step at a time. This was harder as it takes more bending of the knee using muscles that I hadn’t used for a long time.
– I was able to walk along a path by the river to go blackberrying one evening.
– I had a bath instead of a shower. We went to stay with my brother for the weekend and the bath had handles each side and a shelf at the end so I could manoeuvre myself in and out
Months before when I had no idea of the date of my operation , I had booked to go and see the private garden of Malverleys through the National Garden Scheme. I was still determined to go on the hour’s guided tour.
I managed it by taking one crutch and leaning on it at each time the group stopped, and by finding benches to sit on whenever I could. It was doing these outings that made me feel as if life was progressing and stopped me going stir crazy because I was stuck at home.
Who else would have a sculpture by Anthony Gormley in their back garden?