Entry #9, I'm shopping again!!

Thanks everyone for your kindness and support. I am now day three without narcotics to ease the pain. I am using tylenol extra strength. 2 pills every 6 hours or so. It seems to do the trick. I still have pain and stiffness but it's bareable. Since being off the percocets I have my appetite back and can enjoy the taste of food. I do notice that I feel very cold during the high pain times, but once the tylenol takes hold I warm up. Today we went shopping at Walmart and I used one of those electric carts. Fun to drive but not very comfy. After that we went groceries shopping and I decided to use the canes and walk around the store, but I had to let Mom finish the job while I found a chair to rest in. When I got home I was pretty sore and exhausted. I had to take a couple of tylenol and laid down for about an hour before I started to feel better. Seems like such a simple day but it's big for me. I am hoping that Tylenol will continue to hold my pain at bay. I've been doing all my rehab exercises everyday. The toughest of them is almost like some sort of torture - You loop a long belt (I use my dog's leash) around your ankle, feed the end under your chair and over your shoulder, then pull like crazy to bend that knee under the chair. Yep, it hurts but my knee is bending well so that's the big payoff. My knee still isn't completely straight on the extension but I'm still working on it. My doctor and the rehab hospital suggested that I may not require further physio until later on if I keep up their exercises on a daily basis. I am hoping to do this so I can save up the physio time (our insurance covers only so much per year) to really build strength and stamina, the big thing is to not develop scar tissue and keep these babies moving. I'll keep you posted.