Surgeon Post-Op #2

Well, today was my second post-op appointment with my surgeon. I was ddddreading it. Our last appointment wasn't exactly an uplifting, rewarding experience. But, this time was a bit different. He said I'm not completely where I should be in regards to my ROM, but I'm still doing good. Everything looks good- my scar is healing nicely and my swelling has gone down a bit.
I am still going to be going to PT twice a week for another few weeks. I personally don't mind it and am not in any hurry to be done with it. PT makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing, like I'm working towards a normal life. I do everything I'm supposed to do at home, but dedicating an hour twice a week to nothing but getting better and stronger is pretty priceless.

6 weeks post-op

back at work!

Today has been 6 weeks of crazy, painful, intense, frustrating, overwhelming recovery. The last 2 weeks has been infinitely better than the previous two. The best piece of advice I received was when someone told me "not every day is a good day and not every day is a bad day." If you were to have asked me 3 weeks ago, I would have told you it was all bad. All crappy, painful, discouraging bad days. Then I started to walk, to hit more milestones in physical therapy and regain my independence. It's amazing what that will do for your spirit.


No more crutch for me!

Now I'm back to work- not quite full time, but getting there. I'm in PT twice a week. I can bend my knee to 97 degrees, with improvements being made every day. I'm working on my strength and balance now: squats, hamstring curls, leg press, walking diagonal lunges with the band at my ankles, and steps (up AND down!).  I'm very close to a full rotation on the bike- which will be a great accomplishment. I am so out of shape and dying to get back into some sort of cardio that doesn't involve the dreaded arm bike. A few more weeks and I'll be on the bike and the elliptical.
It's true. Not all days are good, but I can finally say that not many days are bad.

Big Girl Panties

So yesterday at my physical therapy appointment, I was warming up on the bike when my therapist asked me why I still had my crutches. "Umm, because I can't walk yet" was my snarky, though accurate response. Well, apparently at 4 weeks post-op I am full weight bearing. I had it in my mind I had another 2 weeks, so this was awesome news! So, now I'm able to walk with only one crutch and it feels amazing. Just being able to crutch with one arm and carry something with the other is a huge relief. I was sick of shoving things into the waist band of my pants or carrying my jacket with my teeth.
Now, despite having this new sense of freedom, I am still struggling with my flexion. Yesterday I was up to 70 degrees, ten degrees more than the previous week. I'm mad at my PT for telling me I would be at 90 within the first week of therapy (3 weeks ago). Now everything I do below 90 seems below par. I'm too competitive to hear that! It's the most discouraging thing to hear I'm not as far as I should be. Everyday I push myself to the brink of tears trying to improve and continue to be disappointed. I have a follow-up with my surgeon tomorrow and I am worried he's not going to have anything good to say to me. He never seemed too happy with my progress pre-op and that seemed like a cake walk compared to this. My PT reminded me that even though I want to be above and beyond, the important thing is that I am making improvements every week and I'm within the parameters the surgeon set for me. So in reality, I need to suck it up, put on my big girl panties and keep working hard.

Can we be done yet?

Well, it has officially been 4 weeks since surgery. I'm having less pain and am able to get out a little more now. I am still locked in the brace, but spend most of the day with the brace off, doing my PT exercises. Last week my therapist doubled my exercises because I'm not where he wants me to be. I am supposed to be at 90 degrees, but I was at 60. So I've been working extra hard to get my flexion back! I don't like being below average. Pre-op PT was easy- I did the bare minimum and my knee responded very well. But this time around my knee is being stubborn and making me work extra hard. But I'm in PT twice a week now, so I will hopefully make some big improvements in the next few days and weeks.
It's been warm and sunny here, which makes being gimpy so difficult. All I could think about was what great cycling weather is was, or how much I wanted to go hiking. It was very hard. But I was able to sit outside in the sun with Lucy and work on my knee brace tan.

Week 3

Hoping for an awesome scar

Today marks 3 weeks since surgery. Not much has changed from last week- I'm still locked in the brace and not walking. I have PT tomorrow morning and I always leave there feeling a bit better about myself. I have been working on my flexion and I'm able to bend about 45 degrees. I need to be at 90 next week, so I'm right on track.
I'm finally able to get up and go out without being cranky pants. I went to Mark's indoor soccer game on Saturday and it was torture just watching and not playing. But, I am embracing my role as team mom and am just glad I can cheer on my team.

Week 2

Week 2

I think I am finally over the hump and the worst is behind me. I started physical therapy yesterday which was a much-needed dose of encouragement after a very hard 2 weeks. My therapist, John, is a good guy and since he did all my pre-op PT, we are to a point where we give each other a hard time and he laughs at my jokes. Yes! We started out very slow- some heel slides to get my knee bending a bit and some hip strengthening exercises. He was impressed with the strength I still have in my leg and told me he thinks I'll have no problems getting my flexion back. Very good news. I know we still have such a long way to go, but this seemed like a very big step and means I am on my way. Once I'm able to bear weight on my leg, the real work is going to start. I know it's going to be really hard, but I'm more determined than ever to get my knee back to normal.
I have to say the last week has been the hardest, mentally, so far. I am not sure why, but have been really frustrated and just generally bummed. I am usually not a crier, but have been crying more than I have since this whole debacle started, and not because of pain. I've heard depression is a very common side-effect to being immobile. I didn't experience it when my knee was first injured, and I'm not sure why, but it sure snuck up on me this time. I am trying to stay optimistic and remind myself that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even though the tunnel seems really, really long. I just have to take it one day at a time, work hard on my recovery and be thankful the worst is over.

Lookin' Good!

My new ACL/ my old hamstring

I just had my post-op appointment with my surgeon. He was very pleased with how the knee looked and told me everything was looking good. I get to start physical therapy next week. He wants me to be at 90 degrees by our next appointment in 3 weeks. He also explained the images he took. I got to see the damage to my meniscus and also the blob that used to be my ACL. It was pretty cool once I knew what they are.