Today marks two years since I had my first knee replacement surgery.

Those of you who have been reading along for a while may recall how hard I had to fight to get to the point where they would even schedule surgery for me, thanks to weight stalls, BMI requirements, and more. And believe me, while I was in presurgical testing that morning, I feared something else would prevent or postpone the surgery, even though I was pretty anxious about having it done. Just because I had seen my husband through both of his knee replacement surgeries didn’t mean I had personal perspective.

I also feared that I would get my surgery done and then do something stupid, like turn around and gain all my weight back. That’s always a fear with me, since I’ve done exactly that before, although these days I feel more confident than ever that I can keep my head in the right place. I waver on occasion; heck, I am still working on getting off weight I gained last fall. And that’s a lesson, right there, in remembering that my body is set to gain much quicker than it loses.

I have absolutely no regrets at all regarding having both knees replaced. Now, with two years on one knee and about a year and a half on the other, the pain I endured before surgery seems a distant memory. My second knee was actually in worse condition than my first, despite not giving me more pain or structural complications; in all, I endured three offloader braces over the years, as well as numerous injections. Living with the pain and the limitations, though, was my normal.

Normal at this point in my life means easily walking a 5K while chatting with my husband. In fact, this blog entry is late because I took my mother to a doctor’s appointment (standard annual stuff) and walked the neighboring residential area while she was in the appointment. To my surprise, I overshot my 5K goal. And further, it’s my 4th 5K this week; my goal was to walk 3 to 4. Next week? 5K every day, and then I may see about extending it even more, because my body feels good doing this. My endurance is doing quite well.

Before, my knees held me back. Granted, the rest of me is still original equipment, but it’s a good feeling, knowing that my body is still capable of what I thought was lost to me. I got here, too, with incremental increases; I didn’t just decide I’d walk 3.1 miles. With the summer ahead of me, not knowing yet what it holds for any of us, I am happy and thankful to feel more fit than I have been in quite some time.

When I lost weight years ago (oh, here she goes, again!), I pushed myself physically. I walked 3-4 miles a day in addition to weight lifting. But I ended up hurting myself, so I had to back off of everything I was doing. I wasn’t smart about listening to my body, but I’m much smarter, now. I’m also much more pleased with my physical and mental progress.

Thank goodness I took this chance on myself, again; it’s my once in a lifetime shot, and I plan to make it matter.