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From Injury to Independence: Overcoming Pain through Surgery Preparation and Recovery

A dog accident left this woman with injuries, making her unable to walk for months. Struggling with pain, depression, and weight gain, she felt hopeless. Her journey changed when she found the Power Over Pain Portal, especially the “Guide to Total Knee Replacement Surgery” course. It provided the knowledge and support needed for surgery preparation and pain management. With determination and the right resources, she regained independence. She shares how the Portal helped her manage physical and mental pain, encouraging others to use its resources to prepare for surgery and face their pain with confidence.

My Pain Story

My life changed when I was 42 when I was involved in a dog accident. A dog rammed into me while I was working. I fell over on the asphalt on my left side. There was no bruising. But my shoulder, elbow, and ribcage all along my left side were injured including my left leg and hip. The dog hit me so hard that my shoes came right off. I couldn't walk for nine months. At the time, I had my horse and couldn't do any of my regular riding activities, which was my mental health outlet. I became depressed because I couldn't ride, and I gained about 60 pounds because of the medications I was on. I was in a total funk, right. Move ahead, I was on workers' compensation, and didn't work for a couple of years.

Eventually, I returned to work with a job that didn’t involve much walking. I was doing nails, and one of my clients told me I would make a terrific nurse. She was the dean of nursing here. I told her this was something I’d wanted to do for decades. When I attended orientation, I learned that I would have to wash corpses and that scared me off. Ten years later, I ended up doing the program, and in 2017, I graduated as a nurse. I loved it. I worked through the COVID pandemic, and one day my legs gave out. I was in a lot of pain – physical and mental. I had trouble sleeping and concentrating, maybe because by the medication. There were days I questioned my sanity because I was getting more forgetful. The pain in my legs intensified. As much as I loved being a nurse, I couldn’t continue because of the pain. I went to see the doctor who eventually diagnosed me with arthritis in both knees, with one knee being bone on bone. 

How I was directed to the Power Over Pain Portal

Once the decision for a knee replacement surgery was made, I was referred to the Transition Pain Program (TPP) in Newfoundland, where I received a joint replacement assessment. After I was sent to Dr Kathryn Wheeler, a pain specialist. She was fantastic. As part of the TPP program, they offered me a course available on the Power Over Pain Portal called, Guide to Total Knee Replacement Surgery. Prior to the surgery, to attenuate the pain so that I could be in good shape for the surgery, she gave me a steroid injection. I was also given a course booklet that explained the type of pain I was to expect, what to do, and it offered a series of exercises, and all kinds of information on what we need to do to get back onto our feet.

Before the Surgery – The Course

I did the course before surgery; and my gosh, it was wonderful. I even did it twice, and I showed some of the exercises to my husband. The thing is, before the course, I just wanted any kind of pill to take away the pain. I felt completely depressed. I couldn’t recognize my life. My poor husband was burnt out from trying to help me. I wasn't walking. I needed help to do everything from bathing to getting dressed. I didn’t want our lives to be this. There was no joy. We wanted to be out walking together with our dog again. The wait lists for a knee replacement surgery were four years, so as a last ditch-effort, I wrote our Premier (who was a doctor), because you have to be able to help yourself, too. A while after that, I got a phone call from the Total Joint Assessment Clinic for my appointment. When I hung up, I turned to my husband and said, “My surgery is going to be soon!!” I had my assessment, met Dr Wheeler, did the course, and had the surgery. Actually, my husband and I did the course together because he didn’t know what to expect either. It prepared us as a couple.

Post Surgery

My recovery was fantastic! With this knee replacement and the course, I went from not being able to do much for myself – not walking, and not believing my life would improve – to learning to live with the pain and knowing I would get through this to being able to walk again, alone! I even went to do the groceries independently, something I hadn’t done in over three years. My husband told me he was so proud of me.

Without a doubt, the course prepared me for surgery. I understood it wasn’t going to be easy – it’s the second most painful surgery. It gave me the courage and strength to persevere because in the course it explained that you could have down feelings. It gave me the education that I needed to help me get through that process. While the whole course was fantastic, I think the section about opening up your feelings, expressing them, understanding that this was going to be another wave in the ocean made a difference for me. It gave a step-by-step list of what to expect.

But there’s something else the course helped me with. On the way home from my celebratory grocery shopping experience, we were rear-ended. This activated pain and caused other issues. The course laid the foundation for me to be able to face this new challenge. I also knew that I recovered from the surgery well, and I would recover from this, too.

The Power Over Pain Portal

To access the course, I created a free account on the Portal. Once you have an account, there are self-assessment questionnaires you can do to help you track your progress on pain and mental health. This really helped me to keep myself in check with my physical and mental health. I also used the resource Bridge the Gapp that helped me get an appointment with a counsellor. 

I discovered other things on the Portal too. First, I liked the way the content was organized. It made it easy for me to search for what I was interested in. I signed up for other self-directed courses. 

Advice for others – in order for you to prepare for your surgery and have the best outcome, do these courses. They improve the outcome when you know what to expect. You’re going to have times when you’re down and out. You’re going to have time when you say, My gentle God, why did I do this to myself. You have to push through. When you bend your knee and you want your knee to go flat, you have to push through the pain. The course helps with this. Remember, I thought being medicated was the answer. I can see how people can get pulled into addiction. You watch your life deteriorate. But there are other ways of dealing with our pain! Get support. Do the courses on the Portal – they helped me so much that I went to see my doctor and asked when I was getting the next one done!