Steady progress in my recovery

It's been 39 days since my knee replacement surgery.  I am getting out more often walking and going to the YMCA where I ride the stationary bike (which feels really good).  My Physical Therapist pushes me hard twice each week to bend the knee and break through the scar tissue.

Two days ago Mary Beth took me to see the doctor for the first time since the operation.  He was very pleased with the healing of the incision and the progress I am making with using the leg.  He decided I could skip the next appointment and just come back in early October.  He's such a nice man - I really grew to like him so much.

The hardest thing for me has been to give up the heavy duty meds which I did a few days ago but resumed taking at 2:00 am last night while once again failing to get to sleep.  They help block the sensation of pain and discomfort.  While not taking them, each night was full of frustrating tossing and turning, getting up, coming back to bed and cursing the night.  My knee is still mostly numb and the nerves are now and again 'firing' as if trying to reconnect.  The doctor says the discomfort is normal (when you quit the meds it's obviously predictable) and suggested I try over the counter pills which so far have been little help to me. 

I get the most relief from frequent icing of the knee. 

In the meantime I've been able to get some work done though the resulting stiffness while sitting at my desk limits my time there.  But I've been generally keeping up with my work and have continued doing a couple of radio interviews each week on the Trump Space Force proposal.  Thank goodness for Global Network advisory board member Karl Grossman who has been a man on fire writing numerous articles, doing radio interviews and more.  It's really been great to have him filling the gap at this crucial time.

I'm also doing prep work to put in motion my trip to Moscow in mid-October that is intended to make arrangements for a larger group trip (25 activists from the GN and Veterans For Peace).  It's been quite wonderful to see the excitement and interest in the study tour that we will take to Russia in the spring of 2019.  We are sadly going to have to turn some people away - but that just might force us to organize a second one later in 2019.  We'll see how that all goes.

I highly recommend an excellent and interesting article on Putin that ran in the Canadian Dimension magazine earlier this year.  See it here

Bruce