After My Knee Surgery
Linda Bairstow
Treated by: Nick London
Procedure: Partial knee replacement
Shortly after Linda Bairstow’s partial knee replacement she told us,
“It went fantastic. You can barely even see the scar. And now I honestly can’t believe there was ever anything the matter. I can do everything – so we’ve booked a skiing holiday in Canada for next May.”
You can read about her experiences here.
A few weeks after the skiing holiday, we caught up with Linda to see how the knee had fared.
Linda’s skiing trip took her to Banff, Canada. So was she apprehensive about ‘risking’ the knee on the slopes?
“Not at all,” she laughs,
“I never even thought about it. I’m not a brave skier, so the main thought that went through my head was the one I’ve always had: ‘bloody hell, this is dangerous’. But the knee wasn’t a factor in that. Actually it felt considerably less dangerous than it did before.”
When the knee was at its worst pre-op, Linda had no hope of being able to ski on it, but she explains the difference between skiing on a resurfaced knee compared with a deteriorating one:
“When you go into a turn you have to really put your foot down, transferring your weight to push you round. I think before, because it was so painful, I never really put my full weight on my leg so I was unsteady. I was pulling back from the turn, whereas this time I had complete confidence in it.”
What Difference Did That Make Practically?
“My knee enabled me to make the turns when I wanted to make them rather than fighting for them,”
Linda explains.
“That’s even more important these days as global warming is making the snow slushier, so you need to carefully judge your turns and you need your knee to be able to respond. It also assists anyone following me, because my movements are nicely predictable – no surprises.”
After six days on the snow, Linda headed for Calgary. Her muscles ached, but no more than anyone else’s would after the demands of Banff’s blue slopes. In Calgary, however, her knees faced a challenge of a different kind.
Still Standing
Prior to the operation, standing was painful.
“I was unsteady and needed a stick.”
So after three days touring Calgary’s museums, how did the knee hold up?
“I couldn’t have done that much walking or standing for at least the two years before my op, with or without the skiing first,” she says. “Now it’s really good. In fact, we’re gearing up to book next year’s trip at the moment.”
Left Knee Next
Next, it will be the left knee’s turn.
“I know I waited too long for the op on my right knee,” Linda confesses. “My left knee is swelling and, although physio has helped with that, I know it won’t be long before I need it doing.”
The only real issue is timing. After all, she wants to be ready for the next skiing holiday…
To Speak To Nick London About Your Knee Pain
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