We’ve spent all week talking about how knee replacement recovery is a lot like taking a vacation.On Monday, I laid the groundwork for that whole idea — how seeing recovery through a different lens can make the process feel less foreign and a little more familiar. It literally changes your perspective and for me it was the little boost to take the heaviness out of the surgery that week leading up to my replacement. Check out the Introduction to this blog series here.
Tuesday, we talked about traveling solo, and how this is ultimately a one-person job. This was an important concept to me because there comes a point in your recovery where it's your strength that's gonna push you through on your range of motion and extension.
Wednesday was all about planning your trip, which is really about getting yourself ready for surgery and recovery day — the packing list version of your knee replacement adventure. And This perspective helped me assemble a packing slip that I would need once I was in recovery. It helped me to prep my meals. It helped me to discover what I wanted to wear, etc.
And yesterday, we talked about expecting delays, those frustrating moments when things don’t go as planned — from canceled flights to slow progress — and how to trust the process instead of panicking. In this one, I'm just calling out the elephant in the room.
So today, as we wrap up this Vacation Analogy series, let’s talk about the end of the trip — recovery after knee replacement. The part where you start to unpack, reflect, and maybe even plan the next one.
Because just like a great vacation, recovery doesn’t always end where you thought it would. Sometimes, it leads you somewhere new When my hip started hurting halfway through my first knee replacement recovery, I didn’t know what to think. I figured it was just from added stress — the usual compensation we all do without even realizing it. But when I went to my orthopedic surgeon to get it checked, he told me my right hip was 75% stage-four arthritic.
I was in disbelief. I'm not gonna go into my hip replacement in this blog. But what I will tell, you is the part that really matters: my mindset was exactly the same for my hip replacement as it was for my knee replacement.
I couldn’t control the circumstance, but I could control my response. My thought was simple — well, this is just another adventure I didn’t see coming, but it’s going to make a great story someday.
Faith played a huge role in that. After getting through the knee, I knew I could trust God to get me through the hip. He’d already proven His faithfulness once, and I knew He’d do it again. I was also so thankful that my left knee had recovered well enough to carry me through my right hip recovery.
How to Stay Positive During Knee Replacement Recovery When Healing Takes a Detour
That’s the thing — you go through hard things in life that you’re not prepared for. No one’s really ready for what’s ahead — not when you're traveling, when your baby’s born, not when your body needs surgery — but somehow, you learn. You learn to feed the baby, change diapers, comfort the cries. And the same is true for healing. You have that same innate ability inside you to heal, to adapt, to keep going.
I’ve been through twelve surgeries — both knees, one hip, and a handful of others that taught me more about the body (and myself) than I could’ve ever imagined. That’s why I do what I do now. I’m your knee replacement coach not because I studied it, but because I lived it. I know the mental, physical, and emotional work it takes to get from surgery to strong.
I will help you through your knee replacement recovery process— as long as you’re open to trusting the process. Because it doesn’t matter what gets thrown your way; if you build on a foundation of trust and truth (I help you with both), you will succeed.
Remember this: one small mindset shift today is one huge step forward in your recovery tomorrow. You’ve got this. And I’ll be here, cheering you on — every step of the way. My schedule is always open to book a free consultation. And if you are facing a joint replacement, I suggest getting on my schedule.
You are stronger than you think you are.
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