Last year, we were supposed to fly out to Las Vegas to meet friends for the weekend. Our flight kept getting delayed… and then finally canceled. Suddenly, we were scrambling. Hotel accommodations had to be fixed, we weren’t sure if we were even going anymore, and everything felt up in the air.
That same feeling showed up in my first knee replacement adventure, six years ago.
Before I go into that, if you’re new here and still preparing for your knee replacement
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When I was prepping for my second knee replacement, I decided to think of it like a vacation.If I were going on vacation, what would I take? What would I need to get me through a week away from home? Those same items became the ones I needed for my knee replacement. That’s what went into my “suitcase.”
Now, if you read yesterday’s blog, you know recovery is ultimately a solo job. You’re the one doing the work, and that’s exactly why the planning matters so much. Just like a good vacation, preparation makes all the difference in how smooth the trip goes once you get there.
Let’s start with the basics.
That’s why I leaned hard on analogies—things I had done before that felt familiar. One of the strangest but most helpful ones? A vacation.Think about it. When you travel, people can help you along the way, but at the end of the day it’s your ID that gets checked, your bag that gets weighed, your stomach that processes food to keep you going. Recovery is the same. You may have family, friends or neighbors cheering you on, but it’s still your body, your strength, your healing that carries you forward.
The more I sat with that, the more it made sense. Vacations don’t always go smoothly.
You’ve probably had a trip where something went sideways—a delayed flight, a lost reservation, or weather that canceled your plans. But you figured it out. You adjusted, you pivoted, and in the end, you still made memories.
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When you’re recovering from a knee replacement, it’s so easy to feel like your knee is the center of the universe. Every step, every stretch, every PT session revolves around it. I remember getting caught in that heaviness myself, until gratitude gave me a way to zoom out.
Gratitude didn’t erase the hard stuff, but it helped me notice the good tucked into the process.
Let me share a few examples.
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One of the things I hear often is how frustrating it feels to still be walking with a limp after knee replacement. And honestly? My heart goes out to anyone in that spot. Because it shouldn’t have to be this way.
Most of the time, limping months after surgery isn’t about lack of effort. It’s usually because no one reminded you that keeping your assistive device a little longer can actually protect your healing, not hold it back.
I keep it real and authentic over here so a little of my own story for you! I let go of my walker earlier than I probably should have—because we were throwing a birthday party for my husband with 75 people in our house. I didn’t want to be the one limping around with a walker that day, so I grabbed my cane. As soon as the party was over? I went right back to my walker because it was my security.
The truth is, everyone’s timeline looks a little different—and it’s influenced by what you bring into surgery.
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