It’s my a-KNEE-versary! 🎉
It was SEVEN years ago today that I had bilateral knee replacement surgery — just 14 months after having both hips replaced.
This was an incredibly difficult time for me. Lola was just six months old at the time (the photo of the two of us sleeping was taken on Valentine’s Day, just four days after surgery). The only way I could hold her was when people would carry her into the bedroom for me.
After all Amy and I had gone through to become parents, I became despondent. What kind of father could I be, if I couldn’t even WALK into the other room to see my little girl?
She was my inspiration to push forward. To keep going. To NEVER GIVE UP.
It was during this time that Amy told me I was like the PHOENIX. 🔥 That I could rise from the ashes — and fly higher than I ever had before.
So I did.
One day, I forced myself out of bed, and onto my walker. I made my way into Lola’s room — and looked down at her tiny, smiling face. That’s when I knew — I could never, ever give up.
I learned how to walk again — while Lola was learning how to walk for the first time. I returned to work a month earlier than planned. I was able to get back on my RA medications — and eventually found a treatment that worked.
I never gave up.
In one of my darkest moments, I choose to look back and remember how determined I was. Whenever things get tough — if I feel overwhelmed; if my RA symptoms are getting the best of me; if I doubt my abilities as a parent — I look back on this time and remember how I persisted. How driven I was. How I learned the true meaning of fortitude and perseverance.
It’s another reminder to me that, no matter what I still have to face, I will never, ever give up.
Happy “akneeversary,” knees. We still have many more miles to cover together. 🙏❤️
#PSNeverGiveUp #aKNEEversary #RAwarrior #chronicillness #chronicpain #arthritis #arthritisawareness #arthritisfoundation #petesprogress #jointreplacement #surgery #nevergiveup
