Another knew knee, here we go again.

The Belgian system sounds wonderful and at a bargain price too. It shows what can be achieved with good organisation. Our NHS should have lessons from them because they are so wasteful.

After 3 days in hospital following my knee replacement, I was happy to go home but would have appreciated more after care ( just 3 physio sessions and someone had to take me - a 30 mile trip which was so uncomfortable). The hospital physio made me walk up and down stairs before I left and I could manage without crutches straight away at home and only used a stick out in the street for a short while so cars would slow down when I crossed the road! Although the pain was awful for weeks, I could cook and shower for myself but it wasn't until I could drive again and I started to go swimming 3 times a week that I began to see improvement in the bend.

I got used to it last time, I will not be stuck in bed, I can go out in fact that is encouraged.
Last time I was in a specialist rehab hospital near Hasselt, a tiny village which had adapted itself to the needs of the patients.
All pavements had been lowered, the little supermarket near the hospital had extra wide aisles and Crutch holders at the check outs.Sometimes a group of us would go into the village square where all the cafes had extra disabled features to encourage us.
It was a big employer, and the locals appreciated this.
There were no set bedtimes and people would gather in the hospital cafe and play cards, chess etc.
Visitors could stay until 11.00pm and you could have your meal in the cafe where your visitors could buy food until 21.00.

Not sure how it will work this time but I know the rehab is in a different part of the hospital so we sahll see.

Felice good luck with your knee operation and subsequent recovery. I am sure you will have lots of book suggestions, can you take your iPad/tablet in with you, if so could you subscribe to Netflix it has so many good dramas on there.

I am going through a "lightweight" books only stage at the moment, Santa Montifore, Penny Vincenzi and re-reading all the Jilly Cooper "bonk busters" from the beginning, and thoroughly enjoying myself (trying to ignore my building renovations and decorating).

I have had two TKRs in France. The first one was botched and I'm still having trouble with it six years later. The medical establishment didn't want to know. I eventually discharged myself from the aftercare mainly because of a very unpleasant physio who shouted at me and didn't believe that I couldn't do what he was telling me to do. I think the surgeon, (or maybe a student), had put the staples too deeply into the wound and caught a nerve but no one either in the hospital or the aftercare unit made any attempt to find out what the problem was. I was on crutches for 10 months and had physio for 2 years.
The second time I went to a different surgeon and the experience was totally different. I was off crutches in two days. That knee is fine. All in all not a happy experience and with one other negative hospital experience in addition I am not one of those who extolls the wonders of the French health service.

I will take my E book and a tablet, I am doing Cozy Mysteries just now, but have downloaded some other stuff in advance.
There will be Tv available and WIFI, plus telephone.
Landline calls are free here to anywhere in Europe after 5pm and at weekends so I can chat in the evening.

Also taking some real stuff, luckily I live in the granny flat, so i will leave books on a table in small piles for DD to bring in so I do not collect too many.
I will probably hit Waterstones here before i go in and get a bit of a stock up.
Lots of friends will bring them too.

Actually Kathy there are quite a few French nurses in Hospitals here, more than one told me they would never go back to the French service.

Good luck with your op, felice. My mother had her knee done about 5 years ago. The surgeon broke her femur and she has been in pain ever since. She was discharged very quickly and we found it very difficult to get any one to take any notice of her problems. It was about 3 weeks after discharge that the radiographer told her that her leg was broken but the surgeon still denied it. Her previous hip replacement was a disaster too and had to be redone.
My MIL had both her hips done in France. It was wonderful. She stayed in hospital, then a rehab unit for at least a month whilst they got her ready for living at home on her own.
We talk about having the best NHS system in the world which at times it can be, but when I see my MIL's experience and read about felice's experiences, I can't help wondering if the NHS we cling on to couldn't be improved upon by taking a leaf out of other countries' books.

It all sounds horrendous. The sooner they find a way of preventing OA in the knees and hips the better. I am off to buy some collagen tablets in the forlorn hope they might help.
Hope you find lots of good reading material.

felice - Ah! The nurses are another matter. Many were very impersonal and ignored the patient they were dealing with treating them like a lump of meat with no awareness at all. I did have three who were lovely though and such a contrast to the others.
Also, the food was disgusting - and just don't mention the tea, which was insulting labelled as English Breakfast Tea!

Meant to say good luck with your op and a good recovery!

slight change of subject -has anybody had a hip replacement? if so what was your recovery time? I am 14 months after mine and it still hurts, will it ever feel like 'normal'?

My is is a year old today , I get twinges in it but soooooooooooo much better than before , I was a bad person and didn't do my exercises and maybe I should have ! , I wouldn't say my hip hurts . Have you aske your GP for an xray or something to make sure all is well

grrrrrrr , " My Hip "

Nothing to do with knees, but my DH was offered - and accepted - a nip of whisky the night before his triple heart-bypass. This was at Edinburgh Royal in March.

I am Scottish so no surprise there Marelli

I wonder if some of the reason for a long time convalescing is due to Felice having heart problems. I have to say with both my TKRs I was back to normal life within three or four weeks - but had to wait to see the surgeon to get the all clear to drive (emergency stops and all that). I think I’d be rather frustrated at being out of circulation and stuck in hospital for that long. Can you come home earlier if you want Felice?

(Even if the hospital provides booze and a convalescence village. How far from your home is it?)

Felice,I fell and broke my femur, whilst in Brussels visiting my daughter. It sounds like I went to the same hospital. Moved after one week to their separate rehabilitation unit nearby. I was there one month, my own room and the greatest treatment. Morning and afternoon sessions with physiotherapists, about ten all helping patients. Treatment was free, I opted have own room and pay for that. I had my E111 card with me. I felt privileged to be there. Since my return ten days ago, I’m still struggling to find any hospital physio. In desperation went to one privately....£94 where I live and rubbish excercises ,after Brussels . I’m fighting all the way. Good luck with your knee, you’re in great hands.

any physio,
Endless barriers in our health system.

I'm green with envy felice! Does anyone from pour government even bother to see how health systems are run overseas or do they just assume 'British is best' so why bother?

Good luck Felice, hope it all goes well, you live in Belgium where hospitals are very different to the UK, we should not be so quick to be so opinionated on the way other countries run their health system, and if you are prepared to stay in for that length of time then good on you, hope all goes well.

I had my right done under the NHS, went in on the Monday for the op and out on the Wednesday when I showed the physic I could walk up stairs. I didn't have to wait ages for it, as we going to Cambodia for a month in Nov/Dec last year I contacted the hospital when I got back just a week before Christmas and had it done in the last of January this year. Before the op I could barely walk but I could cycle so thats what I did until two weeks before the op and was then cycled 8 miles on the flat 7 weeks after having it done and have never looked back. It was hard work after the op all I did was eat, sleep and exercise and also a a 2 night stay at a Spa when the stitches came out to take advantage of the lovely warm swimming pool and hot tubs. Best thing I ever did.

Nothing to do with my other health problems, just the way it is done here, for anyone.

As i am now in the granny flat in Grumpy guts, oops DDs house I hope i will get home a wee bit early.
I am 15 minutes on the Tram, 10 by car from the hospital, not the closest Hospital but my choice.

carpedeum, it is St Michel near Merode.

Not too far then to keep in touch with the family and friends.

I wish we could afford a health service like that in the UK but I don’t know if there’d be room for it. If everyone where I live (with a fairly high elderly population) stayed in for that length of time and with special shopping areas and facilities there’d be no room for ordinary housing! And we’d all be gate crashing!

I too wish you all the best Felice and will try and think of a few good books that would keep you occupied. I assume if you feel better you can be discharged , there is no pressure to stay six weeks if you don't feel you need it.

I am envious of you and your health system, but bit upset by some of the criticism you have received on this post. Awful when all you were doing was asking for book recommendations . I am very new to the site and found this quite off putting how judgemental some people are with regards to your hospital stay, very odd that they felt they had to ' wade in" when it was nothing whatsoever to do with them.