u/nmacInCT

I did it. Finished up two days ago and was thrilled. Completed most of the walk from Tui to Santiago - I had to do a late start and meet up with the group on the last day due to stomach issues but i met them before the hills and still did over 100km in total.

The knees held up great - mine are 15 and 11 months old. Some stiffness when i get up but not bad. Hills were killers but that's because of cardio. Fortunately we missed the hottest days - only our last was really bad.

I'm posting this again to let people know there is light at the end of the tunnel. It was a lot of work to get here. I even bought little gifts for my ortho and PT because i couldn't do it without them.

Hi

I had my LTKR 15 months ago and RTKR 11 months ago. This week, I am doing the Camino de Santiago. If you aren't familiar with that, it's a pilgrimage in Europe done by thousands every year. My group is doing the last 110km of the Portuguese route.

When i signed up early this year, I was still dealing with recovery issues on the second knee. Due to back and hip issues, i still struggled to get up from standing. It wasn't until April that i felt i really turned the corner. The only reason i feel confident in committing was that there is always an option to stop at any point and take a taxi.

I'm happy to say that I've finished the first 3 of 6 days that we will be walking. The first day was 12 miles of relatively flat walking. Yesterday was 15 with significant elevation ascent and descent. Today we did just 9 miles but again, the ascent and descent was no joke.

I'm happy to say that my knees are holding up really well. A few twinges and stiff in the morning but otherwise they are fine. My feet... well, that's another story. The uphill just about kills me but that's cardio, not knees.

I have a few more days. I don't know if I'll make it all or need to do partial days. But i know it won't be my knees that are the reason. I am so grateful to my surgeon and PT for getting me here. And the advice from people in this group

I'm posting this to let people early in their journey know that this might be possible. And there is light at the end of the tunnel. And maybe up brag a bit and ask for good thoughts and prayers 😀

Fyi, photo is day 2 for reference.