I am getting a total knee replacement today.
But don’t think for a minute you won’t hear from me!
I have written several posts in advance to cover for my absence today and tomorrow.
I will have my iPad in the hospital and in the rehab that follows.
Several people asked if they could send flowers.
In a word, no. If you want to make me happy, send a gift to the Network for Public Education or to your local organization of parents and educators working together to save public schools.
Or, perform an unsolicited act of kindness, to a child, to someone in need. And when you do, send me your love and thoughts.
And, if you are so inclined, I am always grateful for prayers.
Diane

Prayers for Diane and hoping you have a speedy recovery.
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Hope you have the speediest of recoveries and get back to the good fight as soon as possible. Blessings,
Edna Serrano LULAC 1083 Sponsor
‘He who has hope, has everything.’
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Prayers for a speedy recovery!
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Sending prayers for a swift recovery! blessings to you, Diane.
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Be Well! Most of all THANK YOU for your undying gift to education and humanity at large.
All The Best,
Debby
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Buena suerte.
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May all the thoughts of others – myself included- BE HEALING!
Get well!
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In our thoughts …..
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You are always in our thoughts and prayers but especially now, Diane. God Bless!
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Your are in my thoughts, today, Diane! Best of luck with this, and a speedy recovery!
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Oh, I’ve done that. It’s all easy from now on, because everybody else does all the work. You just count backwards, and the next thing you know it’s all done.
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Oh and also..a thought as you go under anesthesia… that this fight for democracy and the restoration of public education is not going away… AND GROWS EXPONENTIALLY EACH DAY….
And know that the movement against “ed reform” will have grown even bigger by the time you are in the recovery room!!!
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Dear Diane,
I am really sorry to hear about your knee. I hope the replacement goes smooth.
I am a regular visitor of your blog from Pakistan. I have done my PhD in Educational Theory and Policy from the Pennsylvania State University and have recently come back to Pakistan. Much of what you post on your blog closely relate to my research and scholarly interests. You will always have me on your blog! My best wishes and hopes for a smooth replacement of knee and quick recovery. Best regards,
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I hope all goes well. Get plenty of rest!
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I hope your surgery is a great success. i’ll pray for you and your doctors.
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My prayers are with you.
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I’m not much of a prayerful person, but I am wishing you a speedy recovery.
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Thinking of you – hope all goes well with surgery and recovery!
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Good luck Diane! Thank you for keeping the fires burning even though you are undergoing surgery!
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As many prayers as need for you, your medical team, and your loved ones.
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Best of luck to you!
Soon you will as good as new, and a Bionic Woman.
We’ll keep the lights on for you 🔦👀
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Looking forward to your return with a new knee… blessings!
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Saying prayers and sending healing thoughts. Thank you for your tireless efforts on the behalf of our children. ALL of our children. Take time to look after you.
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Heal quickly. You are in my prayers. Thanks for posting about Read to Achieve. I was recovering from a medical procedure myself when you posted it. I have an update about the Read to Achieve Law I will post later. But right now just get that knee fixed 🙂
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Hope all goes well!
Carol Gamm
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BLESS YOU, DIANE!!!! Sending love and healing!
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Best of luck with this, Diane. Hit the rehab hard and you will come out better than ever. My thoughts are with you today.
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You’ll do great! All smart people get knee replacements today. It’s a “walk in the park”.
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Here is wishing you a speedy, pain free recovery. Get well soon, nobody provides more hope to students, parents, and teachers than you! We will be praying for you!
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Wishing you all the very best.
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Best wishes on your knee surgery. Rehab may take a while, but people say that it feels like a normal leg once you get used to it. Rest and exercise will bring you back to normal.
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I hope you are feeling better soon!
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Be Well, Diane. I brought munchkins for my kids today who will be testing for 6.5 hours. That’s my act of kindness against the madness that surrounds us.
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Diane, I am not exactly religious, but I will meditate with your knee in mind today.
Very best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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In New Orleans for IRA. Will be mentioning your name and your blog regularly. Doing acts of kindness and thinking of you. Heal well and quickly as possible. Had no doubt you would be on your IPad! Do they allow this during surgery? 🙂
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I have a knee replacement in my future—I will be interested in following your rjourney. Let’s hope it is a fast and full recovery. We need you at your best to continue the fight.
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Praying for a speedy recovery for you.
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Diane, I hope you have a speedy recovery. Please write about your experience with the surgery. The doctors have recommended it for my mother, but she is refusing. I am hoping that reading about it from someone else going through it will help change her mind.
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Diane…I wrote you about my experience and the super outcome. You will be so glad to have this bionic part, and of course, you are in my thoughts. But please allow yourself some time to heal….and do what you are told by your doc as to rest and physical therapy. All the best of luck today…and for the next few weeks of recovery. Chicken soup is not as helpful in the next few days as a corned beef sandwich.
Donna, tell your mom it is not a ‘walk in the park’ but it is an amazing blessing to have hip and knee replacement available. I have two bionic hips and am so thankful for this surgery that let’s us retain our mobility.
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Best wishes for a successful surgery and smooth recovery.
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Get well soon!
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Diane,
You are in our thoughts and prayers for a most successful recovery and rehab! Your tenacity, drive, energy, enthusiasm, and spirit are so inspiring. When I complete your requested tasks, I’ll let you know….
Best wishes and love!
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Teacher from GA-
You forgot to admire Diane’s GRIT! Especially, today.
The PosterChild of KneeReplacement GRIT.
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Love
Thoughts
& prayers your way!
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I”m sending good thoughts your way. My husband had a hip replacement and feels so much better. Take time to be good to yourself and let them pamper you. 🙂
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Diane, May the odds be ever in your favor!
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Godspeed.
You are a powerful voice for some of the voiceless.
Speedy recovery!
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I just said a prayer for your speedy recovery! God bless you for your support of students and teachers.
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God Bless!!!
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Thank you for all you have done to help our children. Prayers for your healing.
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My thoughts and prayers are with you
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Betty from the Bronx is thinking of you
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You are such a lovely hearted person. Speedy recovery!
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Good luck Diane, just think in a couple of weeks nobody will be able to keep up with you when you are running around the country doing battle with the reformers
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Sending good wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery your way.
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Diane Ravitch,
The education deformers should cover their groins, when you have your new knee!
(I apologize, if my post offends.)
Get well quick.
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Diane, I am a reading specialist in NC and very new to following your blog. Thank you for all you are doing to keep us aware of the many crucial education topics that are stifling teachers today. My motto has become, “Just let me teach!”. I WILL definitely remember you in my prayers. May God bless you with a rapid and successful surgery.
Karen
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Had #2 on Cinco de mayo. So far so good . Thinking of you. Hug your PT.
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Sending you prayers of courage and positive energy. Heal and rest, Diane, and let all other worries belong to others for the next few days.
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Diane, based on my heritage I will pray for you to the ancient Greek gods, lots of them…strength in numbers…for a speedy and full recovery.
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Good luck and god bless you. You are a pillar of hope. I will be chaperoning an all night after- prom party tonight, THE BLAST! Keeping the community safe and connected!
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I send you breath and light. You will be doing PT and taking some heavy duty pain meds for awhile. Be well. Thinking of you.
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Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Thanks so much for being what feels like our only voice of reason.
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Reblogged this on Kmareka.com and commented:
Thoughts and prayers (and extra kindness to others) today as Diane Ravitch gets her knee replacement.
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Thinking of you today, Diane. We’ll keep up the fight while you rest.
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Know that we are sending you white-healing light and love your way. And best wishes for a speedy recovery. Hopefully you will be skipping to your next lecture in the very near future.
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YES prayers being sent for an speedy/easy recovery.
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Wishing you a very quick recovery!
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Thank you sincerely for what you are doing for students, teachers, and schools.. As a retired educator, I am disheartened but so encouraged by your efforts. You are in my thoughts and prayers all day today and I pray for a speedy recovery for you. You lift the spirits of so many. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. God bless your continued efforts.
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You are in my prayers today and for the next few weeks. I had a TKR last June and the two things that I did made all the difference. I stayed in a Rehab facility for two weeks and religiously took my pain meds every 4 hours so the pain would not ever get so bad that meds wouldn’t help. The only thing I did wrong was when I came home from the Rehab place, I overdid it that day (moving plants from the front to the back!) and hurt like crazy the next 2 days! The surgery did hurt more than I was expecting but after 2-3 months, I felt fine. Actually lost my appetite and went down a dress size! Had to buy Ensure to supplement for not eating enough. Take care of yourself and I REALLY believe the Common Core stuff will be a thing of the past in a year or two. There are too many parents that are taking action for the politicians and moneymen to prevail. Blessings to you, Alice Towery
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Best of luck and warm wishes for a speedy recovery. Thanks for all you do!
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This is the BEST thing that will happen for you !!! I had a DOUBLE knee replacement 2 years ago (exactly!!!) & I am completely mobile sans the pain. Three days of pain meds – so no work!!! Then on to rehab!!! I only took ibuprofen from then on because I wanted to be “present” in my therapy. I was up & walking almost immediately. Listen to the therapists…Capture the pain…The reward is beyond comprehension.
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Wishing you a very speedy recovery!
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You are in my thoughts and prayers today. May you be comforted by all the well wishes of those whose lives you touch. So many of us voice how much we love, love, love you! Take care.
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When the teacher is absent, she always worries about how her students will do in her absence. You have even left lesson plans! But you have taught us well, and we’ll continue to learn while you recover. Let us carry you, just as you carry us through the miasma that the deformers emit.
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I wish you the very best recovery and thank you for everything you do. Let me say that one of my eight grandkids got into the “gifted” program today. That sounds wonderful and I am thrilled, but what I said to my daughter was that what they consider gifted today should be the normal curriculum not only for some children but all of our children so they can learn to their potential. For example, even if some children can absorb America history at a higher level, the other children will at least be exposed to it instead of just seeing how fast they can read a page in a minute. And a clever teacher knows how to adjust the material for individual children. This particular grandchild has spent an entire year learning nothing but working towards the Common Core test.
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My thoughts and prayers are with you, Diane. Best wishes.
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Thanks to all of the above for sending their well wishes to Diane:
“The best of healers is good cheer.” [Pindar]
I add mine to the mix.
😎
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Should we now refer to you as the Bionic Grandma Scholar? On a serious note, you will feel better and move better after therapy. It will be worth it. We know you will come through this well. As with others, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
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My thoughts are with you. Thanks for keeping the posts coming even on a day like this. That’s way beyond the call of duty. Here’s to a quick recovery!
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PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU. may your recovery be swift. We need you!
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Get well soon!
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Thinking of you and enjoying seeing your friends here. Virtual hugs, flowers and balloons!
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You will undoubtedly get well soon with ALL your MANY friends, admirers, et al who are thinking of and praying for you. Our VERY BEST to you.
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Thoughts and prayers.
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Good luck. There’s a long recovery…my husband just had it 3 months ago. It takes 6 months to get back to normal.
Kathleen
Kathleen Migliore-Newton 362 Adelphi Street Brooklyn, NY 11238 Tel: (mobile) 1-917-804-2145 Paintings: http://urbanpaintings.com
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You are in my thoughts and prayers. I wish you a speedy recovery, as well. Rest.
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Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Diane. You are amazing! So glad that I will keep hearing from you during your rehab. Your blog posts are very important to me. But more important is that you take care of yourself. I’ll be sending healing thoughts and energy your way. Diana Rogers
Sent from my IPhone
>
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Diane- I envision you having an unusually swift recovery, up and walking in a few days. A friend had this operation and that’s how it went. So be it. So there. Prayers.
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Dear Bionic Grandma Scholar, Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
(Great new name, Old Teacher.)
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Dear Diane,
Praying for a successful surgery and a quick recovery. Rest up and get well quickly..
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I hope it all goes well and hope you have a fast recovery!
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Prayers are submitted, My two new knees are wonderful. You’ll be dancing soon
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Will do! My dad was a new man after his knee replacement. Our thoughts and prayers are with you
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Good luck, good luck, good luck. Get well soon.
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Diane, here’s to a new and improved you. Sending healing thoughts your way.
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Take a week off. Public schools will survive it…
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Thanks. I wrote a week’s worth of posts. They will arrive no matter what my condition
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Are you already back online? How was the surgery? Hopefully pain meds will keep you comfy enough for now. Prayers for you and many thanks for all of your leadership and wisdom and strength.
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Well, there’s day one down. Probably, the sun will come up and the physical therapist will arrive today with a walker. It’s a good thing the columns are written, because s/he’s got a busy week planned.
Up and at em, with all our best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery. Hopefully, they’re taking care of that ice thing for you.
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We all hope you’re having a happy mothers day, and that your grandkids have made you some silly kiddish tribute thing to keep in your room.
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Diane–sending positive, healing thoughts your way! Here’s to a speedy recovery!!
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All the best for a good recovery.
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Best wishes!
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Praying for you, that you will have a good recovery, free of complications, and that God will continue to use you to cause people to reflect and to act on policies in education.
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I wish you complete success with your new knee. And I thank you so much for your wonderful blog, for being a reliable source of encouragement and information.
You make an immeasurable difference in innumerable people’s lives.
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Best wishes Diane. Rest and be well!
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Well, I told a parent they could “opt out” their child from testing next year…I hope that counts! Get well soon.
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God bless you.
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May the Force, which you have helped to create and empower — and which grows stronger every day — be with you, dear Diane. But, of course, it is. With love and gratitude from Pittsburgh.
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Best wishes for a speedy recovery, & I am sending good thoughts and prayers.
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Best wishes Diane. Thanks for all you’ve done and continue to do!
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Here is to a speedy recovery. We know you’ll be back with us soon, but do take the time to heal well; that knee replacement is gnarly surgery. We need you for the long haul!!! And you are very correct: History will remember this moment and remember us. Our stories, thanks to you, are being heard. Get well soon!
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Sending good thoughts your way. Take care of yourself with the same energy and devotion that you provide to all of us.
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Hope your recovery is quick and painless. Best David David C. Berliner Regents’ Professor Emeritus 120 E. Rio Salado Parkway, Unit 205 Tempe, AZ 85281-9116 Ph: 480-861-0484
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I always appreciate prayers when I’m ill or about to undergo surgery. I offer my prayers for your speedy recovery in that vein, especially now that we approach Mother’s Day.
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Hi Diane, Best wishes for a speedy recovery, & please find here my blog about my own testimony about a “Total Knee Replacement” which I had in 2010 ===> http://temoignagearthrose.wordpress.com/2014/05/09/operation-du-genou-la-reeducation-semaine-1/ <=== I hope this could be useful for You? I had to do 20 weeks of rehab, so be STRONG 😉 When You make Ergo-therapy, ask to do it in the water pool, if possible, it gives best results and less pain also…
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Happy Mother’s Day, Diane. A speedy recovery to you.
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