Part II Fearful Loathing in VF

  One of the things that bothered me the most when I had TKR last May was the swelling in the foot of my operated leg.  I hated looking at it.  One condition I'd never had was swollen feet or ankles, not even when I was pregnant.  It seemed like such a deformity, and the foot was an innocent bystander.  I couldn't understand it until I researched (googled) the surgery and learned that during the surgery a tourniquet is applied to the thigh for pretty much the duration of the operation, almost 2 hours.  As little blood as possible  is wanted in the theater of operations.  The swelling does disappear after a while, but I think it exacerbates varicose veins. 
          June 21, 2014         A Specific Worry
                         Back before my knees had given me any real grief, I worked with a woman who was a farmer and of  necessity did a lot of physical labor.  Her knees began to bother her, and she sought relief.  She looked for a cause, and was finally told it was probable that her joint aches were due to the mercury fillings she had in her teeth.  That was and still is a real concern, but it has been quashed at every opportunity by the American Dental Association.  No dental advocacy group even wants to think about the expense involved in removing all those old fillings,  not to mention the inevitability of monstrous lawsuits if credence were given to mercury-caused ailments.  
                     Jean, the farmer, did have her mercury fillings taken out, but she still had the aching knees, which had doubtless already been damaged beyond redemption by this time, irrespective of cause.  She went on to have both knees replaced, though I can't recall if in single or bilateral surgery.  Her knees felt better, she said, but she had one overriding fear.  She spent a lot of time on her considerable  farm acreage, out in the fields, winter and summer, and she was afraid she would fall and, with her 2 artificial knees, be unable to get up, being unable to kneel on her knees.  Working with animals and machines, and on slippery and muddy ground, slipping and falling were to be expected, but now much more ominous.  She had fallen once, alone, out in the fields, and she said if she hadn't fallen near a tractor  she would have been unable to get up.  She needed something to grab on to. 
      The orthopedist who performed the surgery on my right knee last year said I would be able to  kneel on it if I wanted to.  I've given it a half-hearted try a few times, but did not like the sensation, so I always use the unoperated knee to kneel on to get up if I'm cleaning the bathroom or just sitting on the floor.  I don't know what I'll do if both knees have been replaced.