I skipped sign-in, in hopes of finding a seat where I could elevate my leg again. The worst pain has been when all that blood goes rushing to the knee area at first stand!! But it tends to subside, slightly, enough to be tolerable. But I didn't see Drew, my physical therapist, right away, so I laid out on a table until someone told me to move. Our first steps were to remove the immobilizer (which I'd only worn when in the car from the hospital, and now, on the way to PT) and then to undress the wound. There was an ace bandage from my mid-calf to mid-thigh, and under that, a layer of gauze. Around the knee was additional gauze and tape covering the incision sight. Once all of this was peeled away, it looked a lot like this:
As you can tell, I haven't taken the time to shower, as the doc's and my initials are still on my surgical leg!! But the wound was a lot 'prettier' than I expected, as I assumed there'd be more bruising, and perhaps oozing, in the area of the cut. I hear the bruising is on it's way, but otherwise I had minimal additional bleeding, and while this is good for clean-up, it may mean there's extra work for my body to do to relieve the swelling. No worries!
So, at this point I was fully exposed and thought Drew would give me a few pointers on how to be a little more mobile, give me a few things to do at home (simple, like wriggling my toes on the surgical leg), perhaps clean up my wound a little, and be on my way. In these assumptions, I was WRONG. Time to make me work!
First a baseline. I could get my leg completely straight, which is great. As far as bending, I could only get to about 35 degrees. Goal: 90 degrees by Monday (5 days after this visit). As a matter of fact, Drew said if I can't get it to 90 degrees by Monday.... HE will. Yikes.
From here it was a series of seemingly simple exercises for my leg, but it was my mind that took the real toll. I consider myself somewhat tough, but I was so scared that certain motions or movements would hurt, that limited me more than anything else. So whether it was trying to bend or straighten, or trying to use my quad muscles to move my leg, I had a VERY difficult time. And, being scared had me pretty emotional as well- I had to trust that Drew wasn't (a) asking me to do something I couldn't do and (b) if I required his support in moving or lifting my leg, I had to know he wouldn't move or twist too fast, or worse yet, drop my foot or leg unexpectedly. Of COURSE, he was 100% trustworthy, and knows what he's doing, but I felt so vulnerable, it was, again, just mentally tough for me.
This doesn't mean all the exercises were a piece of cake. We did about 5 or so, all just working on firing my quad muscles, or gaining range of motion, sometimes using gravity as an aid, when I couldn't get muscles to fire. (Some more detail available in the 4/15 PT entry of ACL calendar, found in the links to the righthand side...).
All of this reminded me... don't forget to BREATHE. I found myself not relaxing when I needed to, or holding my breath as I did something strenuous. I am lucky to have had an upbringing where I was often told to 'take a few deep breaths' and I will definitely be calling on those skills as I challenge myself in PT in the coming weeks.
Drew tells me I'll be running in 4 weeks. My orthopedic surgeon uncle said this is a very aggressive recovery, so I will follow directions, but don't plan to be a hero and try to get out there before I am good and ready. I am still assuming 6 months before I can get back to what I really love - those organized team sports!
But at home, while there are times of discomfort, I am getting so much support from Eric and my family (and his!) and it's been pretty seamless. I hope to continue in this fashion, and while there are sure to be times of difficulty, I will still manage to try and keep a light heart about it all. Thanks to my great friends and family, I have lots to keep me busy (and, fatten me up as I sit on the couch! hehe) and I am so grateful for that!
Next PT visit is tomorrow (Friday, 4/17) at 4pm. Until then, I'll work on exercises at home, and keep a positive outlook. How could I not, in this atmosphere? ....
But I can't say it enough... THANK YOU to EVERYONE for your amazing support!! xoxo
I am impressed with your nurse- when D had his- I remember the post op instructions- I was suppose to be able to drain it....erggg. I could not even look at it. Good going Eric for taking such good care of her.
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