No Pain, No Gain [3-4 Days Post Surgery]

Time to bust my butt. I already talked of my first Physical Therapy visit, which was no cake-walk, but also was understanding my mental limitations when it came to rehab. Between that Wednesday afternoon and now (Saturday afternoon) I have learned even more about my abilities (physical and mental) as well as had some mini-accomplishments, including getting outside (today is GORGEOUS!) and taking my first shower! (I am not sure who is more excited about that last one - me or my caretakers, Eric and Sandy! hehe)

Let me give you a quick insight into how things are going here at home. My go-to spot is the living room couch. I have not ventured upstairs to the master bedroom, so I've made this my spot 24/7. I have slept surprisingly well! Within reach I have my crutches, some snacks, puzzles, the laptop, my camera (of course!), water and meds. The coffee table has been moved so the room is open in the middle, and I use this open space to do my PT at home; as shown here:
[Laying on my belly, I am using my non-surgical leg to try to bend my surgical leg to regain range of motion]

Also nearby is the ThermoCompression Unit, which is a machine which cycles 43 degree distilled water/alcohol mixture through a cuff which velcros around my surgical leg. In addition to the cold mixture, it also pumps air into the cuff (alternating, slowly making the cuff more and more tight around my knee). This is similar to the Game Ready unit the same company provides, but I do not have to continuously add ice to it to keep it cool. Here is a pic of me while icing/compressing using the ThermoCompression Unit:

[I try to do this 20-30 minutes each hour when possible. Control unit seen on the TV tray table]

So, that's really my daily grind. Yesterday (4/17, 3 days post-surgery) was my second PT visit, and while I understand, "No Pain, No Gain" , I also would never wish this upon anyone else. (I have also admitted that I am happy girls can get away with more tears in situations like this, because the 2nd PT was quite more difficult and as tough as I thought I was, I donated my share of tears...) Here was the routine:

(A) In seated position with legs in front of me: 15 Electric Shocks via 2 electrode pads (roughly 2"x3") placed on surgical thigh to force muscles to contract for 10 seconds (then rest for 50 seconds).

(B) Lying on back, keeping surgical leg straight, lift heel off ground and lift ~2' from ground. 3 sets of 10 (I had some assistance from Drew on first set because my brain was having a hard time telling the muscles to work.

(C) Lying on stomach, Drew forced my surgical leg to bend to ~75 degrees. This was by far the most painful thing, done 3 times. I was crying and moaning the whole time, and I felt bad for anyone else who had to witness it!

(D) Without crutches, I had to walk ~80'. This was truly learning to walk again. Drew had to walk backwards in front of me, with his hands out so I could use them for balance. This was not as awful as the forced leg bend, but since walking forced me to put weight on my surgical leg and try to get muscles to fire and work, this was the second most difficult task.

(E) My walking destination was an exercise machine which puts you in a sitting position with your legs in front of you, slightly lowered. Each foot is on an independent pedal/step, and as I extended my right leg, it would force my left (surgical) leg to bend, and for 10 minute

s I did this back and forth pushing to work on range of motion in my surgical leg.

(F) Walk (with 10% help from crutches) to where I iced my leg for 10 minutes using the aforementioned 'game ready' machine.

This may be one of the few times I have to pat myself on the back for pushing through the pain and working towards the greater goal of getting my leg back to normal! *pat, pat* But I can't discredit the encouragement of Sandy (who watched the torture occur), as well as all the kind words that you all continue to give me. Thank You!

And, after that windy entry, I'll breeze through the last few points...

I TOOK A SHOWER!! hehe Thanks to a little pre-planning, including a removable shower head, this was the basic set-up that allowed me to clean up!

[To avoid falling, I had the aid of a little stool. I am allowed to get the incision area wet, but am avoiding it as best I can to keep the tape on which will help the scar heal better!]

Some pics of the wound- Here is 3 days post surgery:

And here is 4 days post surgery (today) which has shown the very first signs of any bruising, on the inside of the knee (tho it is yellow, and not black-and-blue):

And finally, I can not discount how GORGEOUS the weather is today (low 70's I've heard!), and what great encouragement that is to want to get outside! So, to continue to work on my walking, I took to the streets (ok, just our sidewalk...) and practiced!

I might be slow, but this is just the beginning of my comeback! Yippee!! ;)