@ellerbracke I'm not posting on Mako and nerve ablation (which itself was very painful) to gain bragging rights on doing something faster or better or with less pain, so I am surprised that you proclaim yourself reassured that I had to suffer like everyone else. Knee replacement surgery is evolving and hopefully that evolution will mean less pain for all of us, as well as better and longer-lasting results. It seems that individual differences in pain perception and also uncontrollable things such as surgeon skill are as important as anything. My goal is to keep a record that is public and can be viewed by anyone who will be undergoing this process, so they can evaluate and make good decisions on their own. Instead of going to my local orthopedic center, which swears by Zimmer knees (no robotic arm), I decided to try Mako to see if it would help the ardous recovery process. I will have no way of knowing how different it would have been to go the traditional route, but as @debbraw has posted, she did one knee the traditional way and one with Mako, finding clear better results with Mako.

@dixiedog I have seen those canes, thanks for reminding me! If I need a cane for a long time I'll check them out.

@contentandwell I have some gastro issues and cannot take Ibuprofen or Aleve (naproxen, which like Ibuprofen is also a NSAID). But thanks for the advice.