Are you recovering from knee surgery? About to have yet another go under the knife? After eight knee surgeries, my hubby and I are quite practiced at getting me in and out of the car without tweaking the painful knee. Since my sister had a partial knee replacement earlier this week, he decided to write up instructions on how to get someone in and out of the car when braced or sore. By the way, this post assumes the surgery has only been done on one knee at a time.
Think of the knee that has had the surgery as the injured knee. We know that the surgery may or may not be for an injury, but it makes the writing easier. Also if you can practice this before the surgery with the injured knee held straight, you will find that the trip home from the hospital goes much smoother. Your assistant should know how to do this ahead of time as you may be too groggy from the drugs to remember how.
Your mileage may vary and do not use this technique if you health care provider objects. Also, riding sideways in the back in this way is not the posture the seat belts and other safety equipment were designed for. That said, it has always worked very well for us. Nothing else has worked. We have also found that the people from the hospital who help you to the car do not seem to have any clues whatsoever .
You will need a 4 door car with a back bench seat. Do not have any objects on the floor in the back of the car. We had tried the front of the car several times and it has been judged a bad idea.
The position you will want to start with is the injured person outside the car with his/her back to the side of the car and the injured knee closest to the tail lights of the car. You will want to be standing (with the assistance of the crutches or walker) just behind the back door.
Watch your head in the next step!
Your assistant will open the back door and roll down the back window. Be careful not to use the glass as support as it might shatter. With help from your assistant, back up to the opening and lower your buttocks onto the edge of the seat. Your assistant may wish to help by supporting your ankle.
Rest for a few seconds.
Place one arm on the top back of the back seat, one on the top back of the front seat
While your assistant supports you injured leg by lifting the ankle scoot back into the car as far a comfortably possible using the good leg on the ground outside the car. Take several scoots if needed.
When you are far enough into the car that it is possible, bring the good foot into the car and resume the process but with the good foot on the floor of the car between the front and back seats. Now your assistant can gently lower your injured leg onto the back seat.
You will wind up on the back seat with the injured leg supported by the full length of the car seat and your back to the inside of the back door that stayed closed. Buckle your seat belt. The assistant must close the door you came through as you will not be able to reach it.
Getting out is the reverse of this process.
(This is the first of a series of posts on preparing for and surviving knee surgery. I hope you find them useful!)
