Physical Update

  I guess I should be grateful things are as good as they seem to be, if I can only get rid of that aura of darkness.  Most of the bruising in my upper leg and even in my foot has gone away.  I think of it as bruising, but am told it is pooled blood.  There can be considerable blood loss during knee replacement.  Some patients even store their own blood before surgery in case they need a transfusion.   My chart shows a loss of 150  ml but I don't know how much that is, never got into those liters, etc. I have never seen a single drop of blood, not even on the bandages, so they must do a thorough job of swiffering it away.   The swelling has decreased a lot.  If my foot has been elevated, I can start to see some of the veins reappearing. I have no pain in the knee itself, but still have a persistent sciatic misery down the left side from hip to ankle.  It goes away when walking or lying down, but sitting is uncomfortable.  I can't remember if it was there last time, on the right it would have been.   I know I had an epidural and a femoral nerve block, so am hoping the insult to nerves is only temporary.  My FU appt. is Tues., so I'll ask.  I'm coming more and more to the conclusion that it's not up to me  to make any one else's job easier.