I can climb the stairs again!

I watched No Country for Old Men last Sunday. What was that, a mere ten days after I received it? I didn't get it. Maybe I shouldn't admit that - I want people to think I'm sophisticated. But I'm not. The desert landscape was barren and frightening. Javier Bardem was great as the scary bad guy, but geez, shouldn't he get what he deserves eventually? I prefer movies that end, if not happily, at least with some sense of resolution. Oh, well, now I've got Season 2 of Heroes waiting to watch!

But that's not why I came here today. I wanted to add to my knee-replacement blog.

By mid-September I was ready to try climbing stairs one foot at a time again. I'm picturing the alternative as me jumping up the stairs, landing two feet at a time! But actually, I was just using my right leg, pulling the left leg up afterwards, the way a toddler does. Coming down, I'd lead with my left leg, so that I could keep it stiff and it remained more stable. Going up in a way that involved using my left knee involved my making a major leap of faith: I had to believe that the new knee wouldn't collapse under me. It didn't.

The first weekend after I started climbing stairs normally, I had to keep reminding myself I could do it. When I got to the stairs, I'd automatically grab the banister and start hauling myself up, leading with the right leg, dragging the left one up afterwards. After two years, it had become a habit. Now I'm unlearning it.

This week I was ready to try a new skill: walking up the stairs without holding onto the banister. I practiced at work, where I have a quiet stairway with banisters on both sides. I walk up it every morning to get my coffee. This week, I've done it three times without holding on. Woohoo! Look at me! I'm climbing the stairs, no hands! Coming down, I was holding my coffee and I didn't want to risk spilling it, so I held onto the banister until the last 3 steps. They went fine. Today I allowed my hand to skim along on top of the banister, just enough to give me some confidence.

I'm still having physical therapy for my knee on an outpatient basis in the same hospital/medical school complex where I work. I think my physical therapist is doing a good job. I have to do exercises to strengthen my leg. Last week he had me balancing on the weaker leg and throwing a weighted ball at a kind of trampoline that had been placed at about a 45-degree angle. I had to catch it while remaining balanced. This week I had to do squats. They aren't what I thought squats were - I have to stick my butt out as if I were sitting down, while holding onto the bar with one hand if necessary. He also had me balancing on a little tippy disc, only holding on if I needed to. That one I can do pretty well. Today he had me practice stepping onto and off of the stairs. My right leg is still a lot stronger. But the left one is coming along well.