Making decisions about knee replacement as an older person with multiple conditions

We think very carefully, say, if we want to go into the city or things like that; my husband has a bad back as well, so we think very carefully about how far we’re going to walk in the city and things like this.

I’m certainly not driving because I’m not convinced I can do an emergency stop—and they say don’t drive if you can’t do that.

So, I do feel a certain slight lack of independence by not being able to drive myself. I would think those are the two big things.

It certainly hasn’t stopped me swimming; I certainly feel perfectly free in the water. So as long as the access to a pool or the sea is easy enough that’s fine.

I can do the movements in the water, which I do, pretend you’re riding a bike in the water, you know? And a lot of water treading and things like that to keep them going and that does help.

I do notice a difference if for any reason we don’t swim, because we go normally every other day, so I do notice-, only for half an hour, you know? It’s not excessive, but it keeps us going.

Since retirement what I’ve been doing is grass cutting, you know, and that’s been, like grass cutting round the village.

People kept saying, you know, 'would you, would you cut me grass?' And I’ve limped round, you know. That’s, just to try and keep some exercise going, just to go and cut a couple of little lawns and things, just to try and get some sort of exercise.

Cos you can cut a stretch, and then sit down on a seat or something. That, helps you know? Just rest it rather than just say, “Oh I’m gonna sit in a heap.”

I’ve tried to, to keep it going you know? And I keep thinking ‘am I just making it worse here?”

Yes, it’s affected my being able to get out and about and meet friends like I used to, you know, I used to go out every week and at least twice a week and even sometimes, you know, two or three hours, I mean, just shopping, having a coffee, etcetera, but that’s been affected, and also, yes, I used to like to do keep-fit exercises and I found those more difficult to do as well.

And as I say, I used to like to walk a lot further, but now I tend to do my exercise walking round and round the garden [laughs].

You know, that seems to be the only way to go for any length of time is when I’m walking round and round the garden—if I feel it’s getting too much, I can sit down and rest for a bit.

And it has affected my gardening as well because I like gardening—but I find now I have to do sort of a quarter of an hour limping round the garden and then sit down for 10 minutes, you know, if I want to do any more.

I’ve got co-codamol from my GP. If I’m going on an outing or if - I went to - I go to a class for Golden Zumba, which is for old people [laughs] this morning and they do a normal impact, but I do a low impact.

I stand at the back of the class, and I just want to keep moving. And so that I know it’s gonna hurt a bit. So, I take two co-codamol from the doctors. And that helps. And but I did feel it a bit this morning.

And I did think that I would have to go and get something to like a brace for it, a sort of a soft elastic pull on, something to support it. A support bandage or something, you know?

But I don’t go mad. I just go, I sort of I just don’t want to stop moving. I don’t want to give in. But it’s, if I didn’t take the tablets, I don’t think I’d get, I wouldn’t be able to go.

And I’m a bit insecure so I walk around with a walking stick and if I go outside, I take the, what I call the trolley. So that I can walk and then sit down, walk and sit down. Well, the walking stick I bought myself, and the trolley I got from the physio department.

I’ve got an automatic car. And so, I don’t have to clutch, I just have to brake, and that’s my right leg, which is the partial knee.

And then I’ve got a mobility scooter. ‘Cos I can’t walk the distance. So that keeps me active, I can slip off into town. Drive into town, go to the car park and offload my, my scooter and I’ll go into town. I used to be able to go and, with my scooter. Sit on the scooter and watch the rings performing and stuff like that, but they’re restricting now, no visitors. Which is I find very, you know, I used to enjoy the weekends because I’d get out in the fresh air and watch, watch the dogs and watch my daughter judging if she’s judging, or, or if she’s competing, and, yeah.

But you see the problem now is the knees are so bad I’ve now got a four-wheel walker because I just can’t walk much more than the length of a car.

And they’re absolute agony depending on how far I’ve got to walk.

Gosh.

So, while they had meetings on Zoom, virtual during the pandemic, in a way that was easier for me.

But now they’re gonna go back to meeting, so the community college moved their meetings downstairs, which is good. Deaf academy is a modern, new modern building so that’s fine. But it’s the distance I’ve got to walk before I sit down. So, I’ve got a four-wheel walker because the problem is I fall over. And when I fall over, I can’t get up.