And on the tenth day, he rose again ....

[Berti66]

hi there terry
sounds like you will be like a "surgeon improved" , soon playing.
don't tease them nurses too much.
wife won't like

speedy recovery to you from tulip and cheesehead country.
berti

[CordaTesa]

Hello Terry!
Delighted to see you again so soon. Happy recovery.
Ro.

[s1m0n]

It's a pity you weren't awake while the surgeons repadded your knees. You could have explained that the historical term should be 'elastic balls', instead!

[Dan Gordon]

Hi Terry,

Glad to hear the op's behind you. All the best with the rehab (for the knees / morphine dependency) and I hope you start to feel better soon.

My nurse sister in law mentioned that one of the patients in the ward was a rogue Irish flute maker, which just goes to show that there are spies everywhere!

Dan

[Jon C.]

Hi Terry,
Get well soon!
Look at the bright side you can update your website while you recover....

[a432511]

Glad to hear your back! Sorry for the onslaught of emails while you were out. I got a bit excited reading all the information on your website!

[Terry McGee]

Thanks all for the cheery messages. It does help. And sorry a432511 for not getting back to you - that's going to be the way of things for a while yet.

Hi Terry,
Get well soon!
Look at the bright side you can update your website while you recover....

Heh heh, that's certainly the cruel irony of it, Jon. In the weeks leading up to the operation, and knowing it would be some time before I was safely back in the workshop, I put together a list of things that I could do while recuperating, many of them relating to website articles and research projects. I look at the list now and groan. Even at these morphine levels, there's no crispness of thinking. I can't sit long comfortably in one place (certainly not in front of a computer), and pain is a major distraction. Even eating is a difficulty, and that's unheard of! They kept telling us that a knee operation is "major surgery" and to expect pain, discomfit etc., and I guess two such operations is at least 6dB worse. Sigh. So, a time for grinning and bearing (well, at least grimacing and muttering).

The good news is that, every now and then when actually walking as normally as crutches permit (standing erectly, all weight on knees and the crutches just touching the ground at fore and aft in case of sudden imbalance), there are moments when you can see the future. Without those moments, this would be hard work indeed.

Many years back, Irish fluteplayer Mick Hand visited me, having just had both knees replaced in Dublin. He had decided that the distraction of travel might be the answer to the recovery process. We had a great session at our place in his honour. Sigh, I think back now, what a man!

Terry

[Jon C.]

You need to set up the computer so you can lie in bed and stare up at it, through the morphine induced fog...
Well, just take it easy, there is light at the end of the tunnel! The nice thing about knee replacements, they have a very high success rate.
I wouldn't recommend travel though, that must have been one tough guy!

[toughknot]

Terry, thank you for reminding me of Puckoon. I read it 34 years ago and will always remember my favorite line even when dementia grabs hold and I can't remember my own name.
"Hang on Vicar, the cats pissed on the matches!"

Hope you recover quickly.

[benhall.1]

"Caw!" said a crow. "Balls!" said the Milligan.

[a432511]

Thanks all for the cheery messages. It does help. And sorry a432511 for not getting back to you - that's going to be the way of things for a while yet.

No worries! I understand. In the mean time, I am practicing my lathe skills. I will become a craftsman yet.

[Terry McGee]

Hmmm, coming up to 40 days, so I thought I should raise my head and say G'day again. Just in case anyone remembers me from so long ago! Hey, I'm almost "traditional".

Woah, getting two knees replaced is definitely hard work. Still in quite a bit of pain if I do anything stupid, like overdoing the exercise, or trying to lighten off the medications a little early (heh heh, definitely won't do that again!). But making good progress (top grade if you believe the physio and her Protractor of Doom, the handy-dandy device that indicates how much movement you've managed to recover). Down to two-thirds morphine levels, so the head isn't quite so woolly, and the renal system so retentive. Lost 10kgs (22lbs) without really trying, but I think there are easier ways!

Even managing to do a little flute-thinking, so things are definitely looking up. I look forward to rejoining you all soon!

Terry

[benhall.1]

Keep at it, fella! If they say you're making good progress, then I'm sure you are. Someone down the road from me had his knees done about 5 years ago. Before he had them done, you'd swear from the look of him he was on his way out - he looked so old and decrepit. Now, even 5 years later, he marches past my house every morning for his early morning walk, waves cheerily, and strides up the road with a positive bounce in his step. Here's hoping (and expecting) that you come to love your new knees, and have as much bounce as my old neighbour.

[anniemcu]

Good to see that you are doing better! Knees are nifty gadgets when they work, pain in the patella when they don't!
That lost weight will be good for them. Mine are still the original equipment, but complain regularly, though less since I've lost 15lbs. Glad you are back!

[Thalatta]

Get well soon Terry! As you can see, many friends here.
Shane