Kindle Ebook

This short (approx 12,000 words) book is an account of my Total Knee Replacement operation and subsequent recovery. Some of it was written at the time, mainly in diary form on-line on the forums of Arthritis Care (www.arthritiscare.org.uk ). It documents the immediate time before the operation, the operation itself and my time in hospital, and my recovery to total fitness. Perhaps this last part is most important, as many people write diaries and blogs of their TKRs, but few discuss the later milestones – first walk round a supermarket, being able to drive again, taking up sports, gradually getting back to a normal life. This book chronicles all that, and is designed to be informative and helpful. It is aimed at people who are anticipating or already undergoing the same surgical procedure, for it is difficult to know what to expect after major surgery like this. You are given general advice, but not a lot of details; in fact, if the operation goes well you are pretty much left to get on with recuperating by yourself. This may work for some people, but many of us would like more guidance.

It was finding out the above which gave me the idea of this book – a diary type account of my operation and the year following. A year to eighteen months is generally given by the medical profession as the amount of time during which improvement may be expected after a TKR, and in my case this was true. I have taken as much information as possible from my forum posts, so some parts may seem to be disjointed and/or repetitive, and I must apologise for this. For the rest I have had to rely on my memory, as I did not keep a formal diary at the time. So I should emphasise that some dates may not precise, especially in the later stages of my recovery.

It is important to realise that this is merely one person’s personal account of a TKR and its aftermath. Everyone’s recovery is different. Furthermore, although I kept myself well informed about the operation, I am not medically qualified, and none of this should be taken as professional advice on what to do or what is the ‘right way’ to go about things. This is merely how it was for me. And I am simply hoping the book will be useful for some people who have knee replacements, particularly those rare birds like me who have both knees operated on at the same time. So buy, read, and I hope you find it helpful.  You can find it here.