New Knee and Ol’ Blue

[NKQualtieri]

I’m almost 3 months out of knee replacement. It’s been slow and steady this time, following almost 3 years of knee surgeries, to get to the point I’m walking flatland pain free.

I set the goal of being ready for Spring Turkey, Kayak Fishing, and Cinco De Bearo. Two of the goals are down!

I took Ol’ Blue after finding him preseason and 5 days of hobbling around the scablands of Washington. It was a great learning experience. I’m fairly proficient at woodlands birds, and am successful routinely. This was a new adventure that I cherished.

First step was to identify his roost, which was pretty easy due to there being only a few aspen groves in within spittin’ distance. I was cocky and thought I’d kill him easily on day 1.

Nope, I found a bluff near the roost, and set up an hour before dawn. I proceeded to over call when the gobbling started, but thought I was kickin’ ass. The birds proceended to fly down to the bluff, but out of range. Cover was nil, so I decided to sing the sweet songs of love to draw him in. Nothin’… Ol’ Blue kicked the feathers out of the four smaller toms and slowly walk away. I failed to perceive that any calling just pushed the birds away. There was gobbling, but the hens and jakes were silent… Nick just kept calling. FACK!

I proceeded to chase them all over the scablands, and even bust them at as close as 5 yards. I was determined to harvest Blue though and I couldn’t get a clear shot.

That afternoon I visited the roost, and created a new plan. I would shift my location closer to the bluff, and come in earlier. I showed up even earlier and fought to stay awake. I overcalled again. Blue was wise to the game and flew his crew in the opposite direction, and into an even harder to hunt set of rolling bluffs and with a few patches of spiked bush hell. I failed and failed again, but had a smile ear to ear.

So… the next morning found me hidden against the cliff waiting for the fly down, and I was confident. Through 546 trial and error episodes I sat silent. I was sure he would forget the predator sneaking in near his roost. Nope again… He bugged out ditching his ladies. This ended up being his undoing though. The hens flew for the cliffs!

They went silent and began feeding down the edge of the cliff. Blue began to gobble his was up the creek bed searching for the ladies. They never once called back to him. They must have made a date. I hobbled my broken butt up over the cliff, and started scanning down the jagged line. I could see the hens and jakes feeding along. I guessed on an ambush and hit my top speed of old lady with a walker.

I snuck up over the ridge to check when I hit a predicted halfway point. Damn, what was I thinking. A hen had turned back and happened to be starring at me. I was sure I was toast, but I decided to roll the dice. I hobbled my way to a fisher in the cliff where I knew I could double back on their location. As I arrived, I realized I hadn’t hear Blue for some time.

I became sadder than a puppy locked out in a rainstorm, but decided I’d slink around the corner. A gobble! Close! He had to be within 100 yards. I inched around the corner. I saw what looked like a rock through the grass, and assumed it was a rock. Nope again... I took a step forward and there was a hen staring at me, and my brain processed that the rock was a turkey with its head down. The hen bolted straight into flight off a cliff. Ol’ Blues head appeared at 36 yards, and his wings raised. I snapped the shotgun to my shoulder, set the glowing green bead and squeezed, and Ol’ Blue tumbled off the cliff.

This was just the start to an amazing weekend! I am so blessed to have what I dreamed of as a teen.

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Congrats on getting past the hard stages of replacement! It's a helluva journey, and this is awesome to see!

 

[mxracer317]

I've had full replacements in both my knees, did them at 35 & 36 and now I'm 39. Mine were both in advanced stage osteoarthritis thanks to some malformities in the joints, 20 years of hardcore sports (soccer, lacrosse, horses, running), and Lyme's disease. I'll say this though, if your quality of life is affected, you're never too young. Prior, I couldn't walk a mile. I'm back to jogging 5ks. If your pain is affecting your ability to be active, find a good doc and harass them until they do it. My two cents.

Running would be a dream.

 

[NKQualtieri]

Running would be a dream.

It's not a dream — it's the future. Replacements have gotten infinitely better and more younger people are needing them. I researched various options and decided on a model called the Verilast knee and tracked down the doctor who could do it. It's designed for active people, and they call it the 30-year knee. The "cartilage" is replaceable should it wear down, meaning that just one piece would need to be replaced.

I waited a year and a half before I tried running, didn't feel right. Gave it another six months, and was good to go. And when I say running, I mean slow jogging.

Combine strength training and rehab slowly, and you'll get there. If you decide to go through with it. If you're already on the edge, I'd say get it done as soon as you can.

You Should Understand the Risks of Running After a Joint Replacement Before You Do It

Doctors have long warned that high-impact exercise will cause new devices to wear out faster. But not everyone’s convinced that’s true.

www.runnersworld.com

 

[Hammsolo]

I've had full replacements in both my knees, did them at 35 & 36 and now I'm 39. Mine were both in advanced stage osteoarthritis thanks to some malformities in the joints, 20 years of hardcore sports (soccer, lacrosse, horses, running), and Lyme's disease. I'll say this though, if your quality of life is affected, you're never too young. Prior, I couldn't walk a mile. I'm back to jogging 5ks. If your pain is affecting your ability to be active, find a good doc and harass them until they do it. My two cents.

Thanks for the inspiration! It’s such a rollercoaster ride. Today is a good day!!!

 

[Hammsolo]

I can’t wait to get back on my mountain bike. Today will be my first day taking my road bike for a little cruise. I’ve been spinning, but that’s different. Next week I’m taking my 8th Grade Students to the San Juan Islands for a week… Hiking and not participating in the fun stuff will be a step in the right direction. Last year I tore my right meniscus on a high ropes course. The tear was there, but I finished it off with a multi-centimeter bucket tear that caused ”locked knee.” I will be using my Sissy Sticks all week.

 

[Dougfirtree]

I don’t give two shiz. I’m 46. I shredded my left knee the first time when I was 18 my freshmen year of college at the U of M. I transferred to Montana Tech after 6 months of rehab, and shredded it again.

I then lived a life of mayhem and shenanigans trying to feel young. In the last 4 years my left knee disintegrated and I have had 2 surgeries trying to save it. I‘ve also had a cleanup on my right knee.

Do your research. What life do you want to live? How will you feel? The tech has come so far. I went full robot and a high-tech, but tested implant.

I’m always willing to share more to help in any way.

Hmmm... I'm guessing we overlapped at UM. I was there '95-'99.

Glad your knee is doing better and congrats on the turkey!

 

[NKQualtieri]

Thanks for the inspiration! It’s such a rollercoaster ride. Today is a good day!!!

Such a rollercoaster! You've got this! It just gets better and better, my friend

 

[Hammsolo]

Hmmm... I'm guessing we overlapped at UM. I was there '95-'99.

Glad your knee is doing better and congrats on the turkey!

Yep! I was there fall of 95. Blew the knee, and went back home for rehab in the spring. School on crutches with a knee the size of a watermelon was no fun.

 

[BRI]

Happy to read this thread. I'm 54 and have been in "pain management" phase for the last 12 years. I finally set a date in November to have knee replacement. Nervous but excited. I appreciate hearing the good recovery stories.

 

[Hammsolo]

Happy to read this thread. I'm 54 and have been in "pain management" phase for the last 12 years. I finally set a date in November to have knee replacement. Nervous but excited. I appreciate hearing the good recovery stories.

BRI, Holler anytime. It’s a process, but well worth it. Slow and steady will win you the race.