5.10.2009

Update & Remaining Milestones [26 Days Post-Op]

I am the first to admit my last post was pretty whiny. I apologize if it didn't leave a good taste in your mouth, but it is part of the recovery process, so no point in sugar-coating it!

But I can say that I am in a better place now. Yes, I am still limping, but I am feeling improvement (or, lack of pain I was feeling before) and am working more on balancing on my surgical leg while it is straightened to gain confidence in my leg as it teeters on the edge of locking/straightening or being just slightly bent. Once I feel good there, I think it will really improve my walking.

While I am physically improving, I am also grateful for the support of others who have either been through (or, will be going through!) this type of procedure, as well as those around me who continue to care about my well-being and encourage me to keep at it! I'm sure I'm not the first person to have moments of frustration and weakness in my recovery, so all I can say to those of you who might experience the same thing -- it will get better! I just hope I can remember my own advice as I continue on!

A few points of interest-
  • I am no longer on a steady diet of pain medication, as of ~3 weeks post-op. I still pop something before heading to PT, but otherwise think keeping Motrin handy should be enough to curb most discomfort.
  • I have no pain in standing for longer periods of time. (Immediately after surgery, this was what caused the MOST pain in normal day-to-day!)
  • I will be returning to work tomorrow (mainly sitting at a desk all day) and while I was capable of returning a week ago, due to a temporary lay-off (don't worry, it's just a week here and there!) my start date was pushed back. I was grateful for the extra week of being able to stay home and focus on recovery.
  • The most pain I have is in the region of my patellar tendon. Mostly it's caused by the simple motion of straightening the leg from bent, but without any support (As in, if sitting with legs dangling off a chair, trying to lift my foot so leg is straightened out in front of me). Similar to pain felt when trying to do 'straight leg raises' while lying on my back. [Note: I am not sure if this pain is because my graft was taken from this area, or if this occurs in all ACL reconstructions?? I assume the former...]
My upcoming milestones (in no particular order) include:
  • Getting my bend to ~135° (considered 'normal' range of motion)
  • Walking and climbing stairs w/o favoring my surgical leg
  • Going down stairs w/o having to put both my feet on one step before descending the next stair
  • As mentioned, focus on balancing on my surgical leg while it's straightened
  • Eventually be able to balance on surgical leg w/leg straightened and remain balanced as I work into a slight bend
  • Breaking up scar tissue in the area of the incision to allow the skin to move freely over my knee cap
  • Continue to ice, elevate and massage around knee to reduce swelling and break up scar tissue

Perhaps returning to work will bring me some new challenges (I am thinking sitting in one spot for a bulk of time will end up with a lot of fidgeting so my leg doesn't stiffen up too badly). Either way I am looking forward to a change of pace and starting my return to a 'normal' lifestyle!

And, some photos of my progress. Enjoy!


I can now bend my knee to this angle somewhat (I say that lightly...) comfortably:
Swelling still there, but my knee is slowly showing shape again:
The scar is healing up nicely, though the skin does not move freely over the kneecap yet. I am massaging daily to break up scar tissue:
And how could I forget?! ... Happy Mother's Day!!

6 comments:

  1. Very soon I envision this blog becoming a place to highlight all the activities and adventures you will be on! I'm proud of your progress Sum! My prayers and well wishes are with you!

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  2. Sum you're looking great. That is the prettiest incision scar I've ever seen, really :) Thanks for keeping us updated and hope your first day back at work went really well! Sending great thoughts your way.... :)

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  3. I walked (er, limped) for the first time today! Exactly my 3 week anniversary of my surgery! I definitely see what you mean about the limp - I don't know how I will shake that!

    I went back to work after week 1 - long days of 2 hours of PT in the morning and then 10 hours at my desk resulted in lots of swelling and grouchiness in the evenings! All I can say is, make sure you ice and elevate at your desk, if possible, and try to walk around a lot so you can practice your strut! At least that is what my PT tells me about work. I am sure you will have an easier time since you are 4 weeks out, but good luck!

    And by the way, the bulk of my pain is on/under my kneecap now as well! I had a hamstring graft, go figure!

    What do you pop before PT? I haven't taken a painkiller in 2 days, but would love to know if there is something I can take to ease the pain of PT!

    Best of luck,

    Julia

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  4. Julia- Congratulations - the first steps can be the most mentally challenging when learning the limitations of your body (or, what you THINK your limitations are!)

    If you want to leave a comment with your direct email, I'm happy to answer any questions or send photos, etc, directly to your email. I always review comments before 'publishing' them to my blog, so I could just not publish it so your info is kept private.

    Either way, keep at it and ask lots of questions along the way. Education truly will ease the mind more than you can imagine (and with me in a position of MISunderstanding right now, I can tell you it's quite frustrating!!)

    Good luck, and thanks for reading!!
    Summer

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  5. Thanks Summer! I definitely get what you are saying about "THINKING" what our limitations are! This is definitely a mind game on top of all of the actual pain/limitations.

    And don't feel bad if you can't run at 4 weeks! Everyone is different. 4 days post-op my surgeon told me his last patient was a 53 yr old attorney (I'm a 29 yr old attorney) and he walked into his 4 day post op appointment with no crutches or a brace! I don't think he meant anything by it, but it sure did make me wonder what I was doing wrong when I was only down to 1 crutch and a brace by week 3! The point is, keep your eye on the ball, focus on yourself and don't worry what others did at week 4! When you can run, you will. Plenty of people have this surgery and live normal walking, running, athletic lives! This will soon pass and we will be back to normal!

    My email is jlp368@aol.com. I'd love to hear from you, but checking your blog has become part of my daily routine anyway! haha So funny how I just randomly came upon this!

    Best of luck,

    Julia

    P.S. I am totally popping a Percocet before my next PT!

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  6. THank you so much for making this blog. I am having my ACL surgery in 2 weeks. And this really helps. I'm looking forward to getting it over with and I hope to be back to playing golf by spring. I completely tore my ACL skiing a few days before christmas. I have a 1 1/2 year old son. Keeping up with him with this torn ACL is not easy. I hardly ever have time to rest my leg.

    Your scar looks great! Much better then the other scars I have seen. Thanks again for all the great info on your blog!! :)

    Jessica

    diametricelectric@yahoo.com

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