4/30/11 - Losing count of days. :)

Things are going pretty well! I think I have gotten the "hot leg" issue under control. I haven't received the cryo-cuff yet, but a couple days after surgery my acupuncturist gave me some herbs to take. Of course I didn't take them, I just threw them in my purse. I took them out finally and looked at them, and realized that they're for broken bones, inflammation, and swelling - the formula is called Traumanex. I cannot believe how well they worked - within an hour my leg felt pretty normal. The swelling is almost completely gone. I am taking it 3 times a day and am really pleased with how much more comfortable I am.

Being more comfortable is making my rehab go better as well, but I have discovered that doing the bike first thing in the morning is what works best for me. It means I have to get up earlier, and believe me, I do not want to get on a bike within minutes of waking - but the movement gets rid of the stiffness that comes during the night and I find that I am more comfortable the rest of the day. If I put it off until after work, I'm usually already tired at that point - so this is working for me. My hamstring sets and curls are definitely getting better, and my legs don't feel as doughy. I'm doing all of my different leg lifts and glut exercises, plus the baby squats and calf raises. I'm still doing ab and upper body stuff - I got on my Pilates Reformer and did some arm and shoulder work. I just sit on it and leave my legs out of it!

Very glad it's the weekend after a hectic first week back at work - hope you are enjoying yours!

4/28/11 - Holy Hotness

I have a furnace attached to my body. My left leg, from the knee down, is ROASTING. This is apparently normal and just due to the healing process and increased blood flow. If it was winter, and a family was freezing to death and only had their oven to (dangerously) heat their home, I could market myself to be their new heater. I wish I was kidding! It woke me up last night at 2am, so I iced it again and took more Motrin. It can be a sign of infection, but it really isn't painful, nor do I have a fever or any other symptoms of that.

Maybe the heat will melt off the rest of this permanent marker from the surgeon.

I went to my PT today, and Meghan did some kind of magical massage to break down the inflammation. It feels like a normal leg, which I am excited about. She said I needed to ice more - good thing I found a cryo-cuff on eBay and paid for expedited shipping! Hopefully it will be here by the weekend, because I am going to wear that thing OUT.

PT was great! I got to add some resistance to the bike, and also am adding baby squats, calf raises, and more glut squeezes to the mix. Other than the crazy heat, I'm feeling good about things and looking forward to the weekend.

2 weeks since surgery - Woo hoo!

2 weeks ago right now I was terrified and having my IV put in my arm, while watching my heartrate skyrocket on a monitor. I was also watching my poor mother-in-law turn green watching my surgeon bend my leg every way possible. Today, I am back to work and happy to be here!

PT is going well - we're working to get the swelling down. It's settling in my calf, ankle and foot - Meghan, my physical therapist, works on it by pushing the swelling back up my leg, which hurts in a nice way. Being back at work and more on my feet is making it swell more - I need to up my game with ice. I returned my machine on Monday - if the swelling continues I might try to find a used one on eBay to buy. Rats - I knew I would miss that thing.



Would you like some coffee with your cankle?

 I am up to 15 minutes on the bike, which I do every day! No resistance yet, but I do get to go a little faster as tolerated. I still do all my leg lift variations, and I got some glut and thigh PureBarre exercises approved by my PT! Just the more linear ones that I can do with a straight leg, but I will take it. I'm also side-stepping to build stability, and squeezing a ball between my thighs. This muscle atrophy thing is just not okay with me. She had me try some bridging this week, but my surgery leg just kept sliding out from under me. So we aren't ready for that one yet, but tomorrow she's going to have me try some baby squats. Emphasis on BABY. I also enjoy chatting with Meghan - besides being a fantastic physical therapist, she's also quite funny.

I will also say that the day I am out of this brace will be a big one. My outfits are definitely not up to the cuteness par that I like to maintain, but it is making me stretch my creativity a bit. Dear GOD I miss high heels.

Day 12 - 4/24/11

Still stir crazy. The worst part is I could get out of the house, but then can't really anything. I might go to the grocery store to add a little excitement into my day - that is what it has come to.

But there is a little ray of sunshine today to share:


The return of the prodigal knee cap

 Yes, it might be encased in still-slightly puffed, marshmallow-colored skin, but that is my kneecap. I was wondering if it was still in there - I certainly didn't expect to see it for another few weeks. Bruising is also still minimal - I do have a large bruise on my calf (Meghan, my PT says it looks like a handprint - what did they do to me while I was in there?) but it's not nearly as spectacular as I had expected. I have the arnica and cryo-cuff to thank for all of this.

In other news, I did my hamstring sets today and for the first time, did not get tears in my eye. If this is what progress looks like then I will gladly accept it.

Back to PT tomorrow and I think I am going to go back to the office on Tuesday after my PT and acupuncture appointments. I have never been so excited to be back to work - my coworkers sent me a gorgeous arrangement of roses yesterday. They're a good group and I am eager to have a little more human companionship. So back to work it is! Happy Easter to those that celebrate.

Day 11 - Reality Setting In.

So, I think I am at the point in my recovery where I'm realizing, HOLY COW, what have we done. It takes all the effort in the world to do the smallest things, and my left leg is rapidly shrinking. My thigh has not been this thin since high school, which ordinarily would be a source of joy, but it's because the muscles have left the building. I will be honest - I am possibly a little on the vain side and this is causing a panic. Am I going to turn into biscuit dough before this is all done? I know it will come back but I just need to accept it's going to get worse before it gets better. My recovery is going ahead of schedule and I need to find gratitude for that and that I WILL get better - this is just temporary. To make myself feel better I am doing as many ab and upper body exercises as I can - as long as I don't turn into one of those guys that overdoes the upper body and then has spaghetti legs all is well. You know who I am talking about.

So lets talk about the good stuff. The swelling is getting better - there are some big lumps but overall I think it's looking pretty good. I'm really impressed that the bruising is minimal. That's pretty awesome.

I always hated exercise bikes, but since that's all I can really do it's my favorite part of my rehab. I am only cleared for 10 minutes and I don't want to overdo it, so right now I am dying to get on the bike but will probably save it for later. I listen to my little iPod with my running playlist, full of super-hard angry rock music. Since I am riding at a snails pace for 10 minutes, that music may be overkill. I think I will make a new playlist and fill it with softer, more appropriate music. Or maybe I won't.



 I don't know if you can read the stats on that baby, but I go about 2-3 miles an hour for 10 minutes, for a grand total of one half mile. And it's absolutely amazing I can get my knees to allow the rotation on the bike at this stage - my PT says most people just do half-circles back and forth for weeks. This whole process is making me a little tired of being so hard on myself. It's a little exhausting - maybe that is the bigger lesson I am supposed to get out of this.

Thanks for reading - this whole journey is definitely not all puppies and butterflies, but my goal in sharing it was to give a realistic view of what happens during the process. Prior to my surgery, there were many blogs that were great resources to me - I hope that someone stumbles upon mine one day so I can give a little something back.

Enough cheesiness- I am getting on my bike. Tool playlist and all. Have a beautiful Saturday.

4/21/11 - First Day of Physical Therapy!

I started physical therapy today and was so ready - I don't sit still very well and have been itching to find out what I can (and can't) do. I also learned that as I suspected, 120 degrees in the CPM machine is very different than that range of motion out of it. I already have some of my hyperextension back in my surgery knee, which is great news. I wanted it to at least somewhat match the other, and I would look funny with one bendy knee and one tight one. I have about 3 degrees now and would like for it to stay that low. I can bend to 95 degrees on the surgery leg. Sounds great, right? However, with my flexibility I have a little more ground to make up. My non-injured leg is at 5 degrees hyperextension and 145 flexion. But I'm in a good place for now.

I am approved to do straight leg lifts and hamstring sets, which are hard! Because I'm so mobile already, she is focusing on my hamstrings first - later she will work on my quads. The quads extend and stretch the ACL, so we don't want those getting too crazy - the hamstrings balance them out and stabilize the ACL. I finally felt today for the first time that my hamstring is missing a little something. I can do the leg lifts in all directions except for the one that focuses on inner thigh work. My hamstrings are not able to stabilize my knee, so my lower leg drags and bends to the side. Gross.

I also got to get on the bike today! I am not winning any races, but I could make full rotations. It felt incredibly good to move - I really think that not moving causes me more discomfort than the surgery. Now if I can just find a way to be comfy when I sleep - having this giant thing is not a good sleep aid. I tried to roll over onto my side a couple of nights ago and it did not go well - my hubby found this hilarious to witness.

So for now, I will do 10 minutes on the bike, and my leg lifts and hammie sets 3x a day. Thank goodness I love my physical therapist, because Lord knows we are going to be spending a LOT of time together.

Day 7 - First Follow Up with Surgeon!

My doctor's office called yesterday and had to move my appointment up to today, which sounded good to me! I was interested to hear how things were from his perspective.

Overall it went great! He said that the incision on the side of my outer thigh is a little different, because he had to attach everything higher on my femur. Also, because I am small, the bolt-like thing that holds the new ligament in place was popping through the tunnel. He added a washer to make sure it was secure, so that is a good thing. So far it feels really strong! He said he couldn't believe how low the swelling was and was thrilled I am already off the narcotics.

His biggest concern for me isn't mobility; it's getting my muscles strong enough to protect the new ligament quickly. Without that, I can easily rupture it and I really don't want to do this again. So physical therapy will be key - I called and was able to start on Thursday morning. He also said my little arm weights and ab exercises were fine, but to lay off the leg lifts and lower body work other than the physical therapy. He did some additional testing on my uninjured leg during surgery, and he has concerns about how long it will hold but I am optimistic that this strength training will be great for both my stems. He just kept telling me how unstable I was - which struck me as pretty hilarious. Good thing I didn't do this 10 years ago.

Best of all, I can DRIVE! And SHOWER without stupid plastic bags and Saran Wrap. I start back to work (working from home, I am not that aggressive!) tomorrow under the watchful eye of my new manager.

I hope you weren't planning on a long lunch today.