On December 8, 2014, I had knee replacement surgery on my right knee due to osteoarthritis, a degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone. I have this condition in both my knees, but my right knee had the worst bone loss and zero cartilage. My old insurance company in California, Kaiser Permanente, refused to do anything about it. Their solution was to take 600 mg of Advil every 4 to 5 hours and wear a knee brace. I did this for over a year before getting relief through knee replacement surgery under Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas.
Now, I have flexibility and no knee pain when I squat, or walk up or down stairs. The nerves in my knee area have returned, and the numbness usually associated with the surgery is non-existent along with the pain I suffered with for years. I had an excellent Baylor Texas surgeon, Dr. Jason Davis.
My scar 10 months later.
One week after surgery.
Three weeks after surgery 
I am not over-glorifying the benefits of the surgery, but just as important to recovery are the exercises to strengthen the muscles surrounding the knee, calves, and thighs--which I did faithfully. Preforming the exercises in a pool, helped most of all because the water took some of the strain away, until I was strong enough to do them easily outside the water as well. Oh yeah, losing 35 lbs didn't hurt either.
