@oerin : I agree with lioness that you should try to do some swim-specific exercises in the water. Will definitely help recovery process. I did rehab in the pool for my TKR with great results. Regarding the crawl - patience, patience! I had rotator cuff surgeries on either shoulder, and while the right one was more complicated, I was back to playing tennis - with overhead serve motion - after exactly 3 months and 29 days. BUT that motion, somewhat similar to a crawl stroke, was only a limited amount of times, quite wimpy, and not continuous. Realistically, it will take about 9 months to get 90% of strength and flexibility back, and close to 1 year to be as good as new. I started with swimming backstroke after the TKR, since breaststroke was impossible due to the frog kick motion, and have worked my way up to 1/2 mile a few times a week. Perhaps someone with the same surgery who also swims can give you better information.