Beginning of Week Six

I definitely didn't think it would take this long, but today my knee feels great. I was up on it most of the day, in the brace and now as I take it off and do my exercises and get ready for bed, I can't help thinking how strong it feel. And for that I am very grateful.

By the way...

I went to my loves' house Friday night so my friends could go to Oktoberfest. It was more like I sat around and the kids took care of me. They are great kids and it was the first time I had been there since my surgery. They got me ice for my knee, cold drinks from the basement and snuggled me a lot. Here's some action shots:

Good times.

BIG day!

It's been exactly six weeks since my surgery and I got to exercise for the first time! Yeah! At physical therapy, I got to ride a recumbent bike for 10 minutes and walk on a treadmill backwards, very slowly for 10 minutes. Then I had to do this balancing machine- ten, ten second intervals that were sooo hard. The guy (NOT my physical therapist- that's another story..) said I may hold lightly onto the handles at first...uh, yeah right- I had to hold on almost the entire time! My balance isn't great and hopefully this is something I will improve on. Then I did some adapted lunges- 30 to be exact- and my legs were burning after about 10. It was awesome.
So about my physical therapist....Luckily I have GREAT insurance and pay nothing out of pocket for pt sessions. If I did, I would be complaining. My physical therapist said maybe 20 words to me in the hour I was there. He was working with someone else when I got there and was deep in conversation about restaurants/ food while he stretched/ massaged him. He did walk me over to the bike and told me I'd be on it for 10 minutes. And immediately went back to the guy he was working with previously. So I finished (nobody checked on me the whole time) and walked back over to my therapist. He did stop what he was doing then and walked me to the treadmill and showed me what to do next. And immediately left again. Kind of scary...I had no brace on and was a little worried I may trip or something since I was on a treadmill for the first time in months, walking backward, nonetheless. So i finished and nobody was looking so I walked back over to my therapist. He asked the assistant to take me to the balance machine, where again, I was left alone. Same thing for the lunges. Thank goodness I am semi-coordinated and didn't hurt myself. So then the assistant guy gave me an ice treatment, and all the while my therapist continued his conversation and massage next to me. I was SO jealous of that massage, by the way. He did put my brace on me when I was done and said he'd see me next week. This physical therapist is so nice, and is great when he actually works with me,  the place is so convenient, but I'm a little annoyed at the lack of attention I'm getting. I wonder if this is always how pt is???
Anyway, I am sore after all that, but in a great way. I feel great. I got some new exercises and can't wait to go back to Friday, if for nothing else, for the opportunity to exercise!
Here are my new exercises for home:

 

Week 5 1/2

So I totally over did it this weekend. I haven't really felt any pain lately, but after a kind of busy Friday night and an extremely busy Saturday, I spent all day Sunday and Monday in bed icing. I have some weird sharp pain in new places and to top it off I was up all night last night with a really bad sore throat and runny nose. I am nervous because I am supposed to go back to work a week from today. I think if I made it through this past weekend, I can make it through a 7 hour work day. I am definitely going to ice all during my lunch breaks.
So I haven't really written about this but two weeks ago, my dad had an achilles tendon debridement and is in a cast and unable to put weight on his leg at all. So I have extended my stay at my parents' house to take care of him in the daytime while my mom goes back to work. It hasn't been too bad and I have enjoyed spending time with him. I was thinking today that I got at least one positive thing out of my family's injury-surgery-filled summer. In June and July I spent tons of time with my mom after she had a double knee replacement, and more as she helped me recover from my acl surgery. Now I get to spend days with my dad as he is healing. I promise, we are usually a totally healthy family!!!! I hope this is the year of the injury and 2012 will be healthy and happy for all of us. Anyway, this is time I am sure I would not be able to spend with my parents otherwise and am grateful for the opportunity to do it.
Anyway, about my acl healing....other than these new pains, I am getting concerned about walking up and down stairs. I still have sharp pains behind my kneecap when I try to do stairs the 'regular' way. I think this may have more to do with the chondroplasty then the actual acl surgery. I don't know, but I do not plan on doing stairs like a toddler/ old person for much longer so I hope this heals soon!! I plan on asking about it this Wednesday at pt...I get to ride a bike Wednesday- I'm so excited. Hopefully it will be challenging but pain free!

Physical therapy Day 2

Today was my second time going to see Chris (my pt) and it went really well. I slept at my own place for the first time in 5 weeks last night and it was really weird. I could not fall asleep and convinced myself that I smell different since I had surgery. It must be that stinky cadaver acl I got!! I do, however, still have the comfiest bed ever and enjoyed it immensely. I took my second shower standing up, which is still hard and drove myself to pt, which is also still hard. It hurts more after I get out of the car and sit down and I have a burning feeling in my knee.
So I made it to see Chris. He measured me (straight and bent) as soon as I got there and said it looked excellent. He said "excellent" several times. I don't know the exact measurements, but I know he didn't have to stretch me or anything. He gave me an ice treatment and called it a day. I was like, "That's it?" He said there was nothing else he could do for me today since I am doing so well. He also said this is what happens when you follow the doctor's orders and wished everyone he saw was this easy. Yay me.
Anyway, next week I see him twice and best news I have heard in a while: I get to ride the bike, walk on the treadmill and do balancing exercises. You mean I get to do real cardio!?!? Yeah! Needless to say, I am totally looking forward to that.
When I left I asked if I was supposed to continue the three easy stretching exercises I have been doing and Chris said, "Just rest and keep telling your knee to heal." I can totally do that.

Week 5!!!

 Hello, cool brace!
Week five was a good week. I went to the physical therapist for my first visit and got my new, cutsom, awesome,smaller brace. It makes such a huge difference! For the first day after I got it, I was advised to go back to two crutches, but as of today (9/20- end of week 5) I am pretty much crutch - free except for stairs!!! It feels soooo good! I can really feel my leg getting stronger every day.


Thanks to my wonderful insurance, I was able to get a custom-made brace. I was even allowed to pick out the color. I could have gotten this:

...but I went with metallic black. I'm not that girly. These DonJoy people are so sure I won't re-injure my acl while wearing their brace, that they pay me if I do. Hardcore. I look like a football player with it on.
So my first physical therapist's appointment was great. He said my straightening and bending were both great - in fact I was a couple weeks ahead of schedule according to my dr.'s protocol. If I wasn't doing well I would have been very surprised because I have been busting my ass on these exercises for four weeks!! The pt made an interesting observation when looking at both of my legs straight. He asked if I played basketball or soccer and I of course said no. He said that if I had, I would have torn a lot sooner because my legs are regularly so hyperextended. Thank you, swimming. Most swimmers I know who swam their whole lives have legs like this. But this has helped me get my bad leg get back where it needs to be so its a good thing.
I was told to stop all my exercises. He gave me three (the easiest three) to do this week, but I wasn't allowed to use a weight and I was to cut back on the repetitions. I was already where I needed to be, so he didn't want me to put unnecessary trauma on the knee. He said this past week and the week coming up, I really should just take it easy and let it heal. Watch some movies, he said. So my dad's new running joke this week was, "Sarah, you'll be fine- just rest and watch some movies!" I mean what pt tells you that? I was expecting to get beat up and bent and stretched in there, but I guess I had been doing that to myself, so there was no need for the pt to do it. He seemed a little disappointed, actually.
So Sunday morning(9/18), I was feeling great and decided to try driving over to my apartment (maybe a mile from my parents' house). I was so happy to be home that I cleaned a bit, thought I could take a shower standing up and drove back. Not a good idea. None of those were good things. My knee throbbed the rest of the day and I pretty much stayed in bed with ice all day. Thank goodness for football. So I'm still at my parents' -I don't want to be stuck alone at my apartment. At least there are nice people here who will help me. And I don't mind their company much either...:)
Looking forward to tomorrow's pt session. We are going to see if my knee is just as straight and can bend just as far after easing off the exercises. I'm sure it will be fine. I'm hoping for a massage...do they do that at pt?

Goodbye, hot, uncomfortable, forever falling down (but very supportive) whole leg brace!!!!!

Days twenty two- twenty six

On day twenty two, I went back to see my surgeon for a check up. I (finally) got the okay to start putting weight on my leg. It was again explained to me what the hold up had been (chondroplasty- which I have a much greater understanding of now and will explain in a later post). So I was instructed to start with 25% - 50% of my weight on my leg while using both crutches. I did that all weekend, although I am not sure how I am supposed to gauge what percentage of my weight is on my leg....it was sore but okay. I went downstairs more often - a couple times a day- because going down the stairs without putting any weight at all on the leg was hard! This made it much easier. I was told that later this week I can move to just using one crutch if I am able to. I am excited and scared. Bring it.

So here's kind of how my knee has been feeling: tight. And not in the way my students use the word. When I wake up it feels like everything is in a tight fist in there. Once I stretch it out and do my first round of exercises, it feels better. About three times a day, my knee cracks. Like when your knuckles crack. Usually it cracks on the outside, where one of the chondroplasties was done. It doesn't hurt before it cracks, but feels better after. I hope this is normal. I asked about it at my appointment and they think it is happening because the swelling is going down. I hope so. And I hope it stops soon- it's weird. All of my exercises are getting much easier, so I am increasing their frequency and duration. Sometimes, my knee feels totally normal and I forget anything is wrong. This is usually when I am not moving. :)
 I'm feeling a little more independent...my mom went back to work last week and I pretty much just stayed in my room while she was gone. Today I was downstairs for about an hour. It was boring. I think I'd rather just stay up here and do my exercises all day. I got a lot of stuff for work done today and I'm feeling back to normal a little.

Here's what my knee looked liked Friday (day twenty four?) :

Still a little swollen and a lot ugly!

 

 

 

 

 Here is what it looks like today (day twenty six):

My friend Kim calls this a "wormy" scar. I have been massaging and will continue to do so!!

Not bad, I say. Plus scars make you look cooler.

Days eighteen-twenty one

Not much new to report with the knee- it's feeling better and better every day. My sleeping gets better every night. I have been watching way too much tv, as evidenced by the other night's dream that I lived in the Jersey Shore house. As it gets cooler, I notice my knee is tight in the morning when I wake up....hope this will go away. Tomorrow I go back to see the doctor and am hoping, hoping, hoping he will see all the hard work I have done and say I am ready to start weight bearing. I will update tomorrow. Until then, I have the first season of Gilmore girls and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights to keep me occupied!

Day seventeen

I really miss working out. Especially swimming laps. Many will agree that there is nothing like doing laps outside on a sunny day. Fortunately, I was mindful this summer. I made sure that every time I got into the lovely water at the OCC, I stopped for a minute and was thankful. Fellow lap swimmers complained: the water was too cold, too hot, had to many leaves....I thought: I am so lucky to be able to do this every day. The way the sun twinkles down to the bottom of the pool when you are swimming into calm water in an empty lane is the best. Just the best. Here is where you could have found me most every day of the summer at noon on the dot:

                                (thanks for the pic, chris)

 Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.........
 I am so very glad that I really took the time to enjoy it before my surgery. I was up to swimming around 3000 meters a day for the weeks leading up to my surgery and I was feeling great (but missing breaststroke!). I can't wait to get back into the water! My doctor says that the order of things will be stationary bike>elliptical>pool. Pool by December. That's a long time away!

In acl recovery news, I am still working really hard in my daily exercises and added another set of everything today. I need a challenge. My quads and glutes are sore and it feels so good. On the other hand, the top inside of my knee (the spot that has been bothering me most consistently) is still really sore. And yay, I woke up and another of my bandages had fallen off during the night.

Still swollen and Frankenstein- like, but getting better. The area from that large incision to about three inches above it is my problem spot. It throbs pretty much all the time. You can't tell from the picture, but that large incision is really one huge bump. No good.

Days fifteen and sixteen

This business of putting little to no weight on my leg is for the birds. I have been reading others' accounts of their acl surgeries and people say how they are walking like a week later! It is frustrating but then I have to remind myself that I had some other issues going on besides a torn acl. Namely a hot mess.  This is what a normal knee cap should look like:

 



Nice and smooth, right??

 Here is what my kneecap looked like when they got in there:

 Nice and furry / spikey.






 So they scraped all that junk off and finally got it to look like this:

Still not super smooth but a lot less like a jellyfish.





And then the holes were drilled. I love those pictures so I'm going to post one again even though I already have.

 Gotta love it. So that's why I'm not walking yet.