I didn't want to hear it at the time, especially as I had opted for a partial knee replacement, but it did take close to a year to achieve what Dr. Wang described as the goal of surgery: to return patients to their normal daily activity.
In addition to daily push ups (100) and sit ups (300) I usually bike six miles every weekday morning, weather permitting; I swim 3/4 of a mile three times a week; and I walk at least 4.5 miles three times a week. Taking off Sundays, except for half as many sit ups and push ups, is part of my "new normal" at age 72.
Thanks to a daily 15 mg dose of Meloxicam, I'm able to do this without much pain, although there's still stiffness in my right knee at night. I take the medication as much for other arthritic joints as my knees.
But since early December, I've been living in Florida where I haven't had to climb up two flights of stairs several times a day, sometimes carrying my bike, or ride my bike to shop for groceries twice a week, or to use the laundromat every three weeks. We'll see if I can maintain this level of activity when I return to Manhattan on Tuesday and the increased difficulty (and noise!) of solo urban life renews.
As they say in real estate: location, location and location. I suspect I may have to adjust my routine if I want to continue occupying 47 Pianos for much of the year, as I have done since 1978.
