I start therapy at a PT Clinic next week.  No more in-home PT.  This is good because I’ll be able to utilize equipment that will help my recovery progress even quicker.  I feel like I’ve been lazy, not getting out much, but that’s just part of the process they say.  I’m anxious to start getting out more so it at least feels like I’m accomplishing something.  I can tell virtually everything–getting in and out of the shower, walking down the basement, getting in and out of the car, etc., is all getting a little easier every day as I’m able to bend my right knee just a little bit more.

I’ve been having a little rash lately around the wound & the clear surgical tape covering it.  This tape is not to be peeled off, it has to wear itself off naturally, and I’m supposed to trim it with scissors as the edges peel up on their own.  So it’s getting smaller and smaller, but the areas where the tape was removed are red and tender and very itchy.  The doctor says I can’t put anything on it for the itch though–nothing on or around the wound at all.  All I can do it clean it in the shower (I don’t have to cover the wound in the shower any more) and ice packs stop the itching for awhile.  It’s a bit of torture a lot of the time, but at least I’m getting some relief.

I’ve been checking my temperature a few times a day now as well.  One clear sign of infection or Cellulitis is a fever, and I’ve had cellulitis in my legs a few times in the past, so I’m familiar with it.  Catching that again, with an artificial knee, would not be a good thing, and could possibly be disastrous, so I need to take all precautions and catch it as early as possible.