Walking the Runway [27 Days Post-Op]

Today I returned to work, and while it was nice to get back to a 'normal' routine and see some familiar faces, it was a short distraction before I headed to PT in the early evening.

Focus continues to be on evening out my gait. I keep thinking it's mental; that I am just not trusting my leg. However some pains can not be ignored (even after popping a Vicodin pre-PT) and just when I feel I'm improving, I get the same pain (more shooting than general) in the area of my patellar tendon, and my body goes back to the exaggerated limp.

Also, today I was given so many directions to correct my stride as I walked the imaginary red carpet for my trainers: "Let your leg straighten out before swinging it forward." "Bend your knee more." "Pull your surgical leg forward more quickly before you step on it." "Go faster." "Hold your shoulders way back..." My head was spinning and frustrations were mounting as I couldn't seem to do what they were asking. Walking the runway was neither glamorous nor fun. I really was (and am) at a loss.

What scares me is that the two people working with me at PT can't seem to figure out how explain the intermittent pain I'm getting and one of them mentioned the possibility of tendonitis today, which, honestly, has me a little freaked out. With overuse being the primary cause of tendonitis, even hoping I don't have it, I wonder if 'powering through' the pain in hopes of a speedy recovery may actually be hindering my recovery??

Tomorrow I will be 4 weeks post-op, and while I knew it was far fetched (even my surgeon uncle said so), I remember Drew telling me I would be running around 4 weeks. I can only hope that statement was made as incentive, and that it doesn't mean that I'm doing something wrong.

I have my 5 week follow up with the Doctor in 1 week (though I did see him briefly today as he made a random visit to the PT area) and hope to have this settled by then, or at VERY least, be able to get some answers as to where I am in comparison to his other patients at this point, and how I can stay (or get) on track.

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!!