Therapy and the first two weeks

After the initial few days are done and you accept the fact that therapy is a part of life, it's really not all that bad. Here's the thing, though... you have do to exactly what they tell you to do. Don't push too hard, but don't get lazy. If you need to do exercises three times a week, then do them. It doesn't matter how bad it hurts. There were times I would've rather cut off a finger than do my exercises, but you just have to.

At about the 1 week mark, I had already broken 90 degrees on my bend and could start to get a good quad flex. A few more therapy sessions later, and I was at a 128 degree bend. I was thrilled to death. I only have about 10-15 degrees left to get to a full bend! That's not to say I'm almost recovered, but at least I can bend my leg.

I've graduated to just one crutch and can walk with my brace unlocked. It gets a little wobbily from time to time, but as long as I focus on my steps and don't try to walk over too much of an un-even surface, I'm pretty good. I've conquered stairs (albeit VERY slowly), and already sat through my first Pirates game post-op. Things are progressing rapidly now. I just have to keep at my rehab, keep at my exercises at home, keep it elevated, and keep it cold. If I can stick to that, I think the next couple of weeks should fly by.

Oh, the bruising...

So one thing nobody tells you about is how badly your leg bruises. And I'm not just talking about around your knee. The whole leg. Check it out...

That doesn't even start showing up until maybe 3 days post-op. It starts to fade a few days later, and by 2 weeks there's hardly any trace of it left. Since they aren't trauma-bruises, they don't actually hurt. It just looks horrific.

Days 2 & 3

The next two days are pretty much the identical to each other. I spent the days feeling great one minute and crappy the next. I had to do my workouts 3 times a day and let me tell you, they're not fun. One of the most important exercises is to flex your quad muscle (the thigh muscle right on top). It's UNBELIEVABLY hard to flex that muscle, but absolutely critical to continue to use it. Otherwise it tends to shut down and the road to recovery becomes even longer. As painful as it is, it's key to just push through it. Pop a pain-pill, bite onto a towel, and push through.

The other thing to expect is a fever. I've been hanging around a 99-100 degree temperature for about 2 days now. I called the doctor and they said it's completely normal, and they expect that to happen. As long as it doesn't go above 101.5 and the knee doesn't turn "angry red", everything's still normal. I have to say, I'm very anxious to shake the fever.

I'm getting to the point where I can bear all of my weight on my leg for brief moments. I fatigue easily, but I'm already seeing the benefits of working hard on my exercises and trying to stay active. I'm hoping to be rid of these crutches within a couple of weeks.

Sleeping is difficult still because I hate sleeping on my back. I've moved into the bedroom now because I'm starting to cramp up on the couch. It's the little things you never expect that make this a crappy experience. But as I said in a previous post, I couldn't have done anything without my fiance. She's had about 10 hours of sleep in the last 3 nights because she's constantly making sure everything is okay with me. Having someone there for you is seriously half the battle.

I'll try to update more regularly now. The last few days have gone by so quickly, and hanging out on my computer is seriously the last thing I wanted to do. If you're checking up to see how I'm doing... I'm doing great and thanks for checking up on me! For anyone reading this in anticipation of what's to come... I won't lie, the first few days suck. However you keep getting better each day. And always remember, it's just a knee. There are people out there with real problems, real health issues. You can do it, just stay focused. Until next time...

Day 1

So after getting through my first night, it was already time for rehab. The doctor had told my fiance to schedule my PT first thing in the morning so that I would have a spot. I was in shock that I was supposed to go so quickly, but at 11:30am, just 17 hours post-op, I was off and running. They removed all of the dressings and I got to see how it all looked. All things considered, it wasn't bad at all. The knee cap was very swollen and the stitching on the front of the knee was pretty ugly, but honestly it could've been a lot worse.

Here's a cleaned up version of what you can expect.

Could be worse, right? My thoughts exactly. So anyhow, they started me on range of motion activities immediately. I'm not going to lie, they suck. Bring tears to your eyes and wish you weren't going through this hell type of sucking. However, you can tell it's the first step towards getting back to normal again. I pushed myself to my limits, but refused to overdo it. The PTists really encouraged me but kept me from hurting myself. At the end, they gave me electrode-therapy and let me tell you, it was wonderful. After about an hour or so, I was on my way home again with a book of exercises to do at home and an at-home electrode-therapy machine (pretty cool, right?).

The rest of the day was spent on my couch, sleeping and watching movies. I could hardly move and had to keep taking pain meds. It was sort of a blur of a day, but all things considered it could have been worse.

Post-Op - The first night

So above is what my situation looked like. They attached the brace over top of all the dressings. The tube coming out of the bottom is actually an ice machine. The tube attaches to a simple box that looks like a Coleman Cooler, and it pumps 50 degree water to a pad that surrounds my knee to keep the swelling down. It's really cool, actually. The slipper is because all that cold water keeps my foot cold, also.

The first night was a bit rough. Because my throat was still hurting, I was drinking a LOT of liquids. All of it had to come out sometime, though, so I woke up about every 4 hours to pee. I used that as a chance to take pain pills as well. That kept everything pretty manageable.

For anyone going through this, make sure you have someone you can really depend on by your side on that first night. My fiance took care of EVERYTHING for me, and I honestly don't think I could've survived that experience without her. Between refilling the ice machine, helping me get to the bathroom, making sure I was comfortable, and keeping me pumped full of pain meds, I think she got a total of about 8 minutes of sleep that night. I'd really like to thank her!

Surgery Day

Yuck. I can think of an infinite amout of things I'd rather do than have surgery. Once I got to the hospital at noon, they rushed me back to the "preparation room" where I got changed into my very fashionable hospital gown and socks. From there, I had a parade of nurses coming in asking my name, which knee was being operated on, and if I needed anything. They set the IV and I was ready to go. I was very thirsty, very hungry, and very annoyed. I wasn't allowed to eat after midnight prior to my surgery, and it 4:15pm before I went back for the operation (it was supposed to happen at 2pm). All I wanted was a glass of water and a cheeseburger, but that wasn't happening. Finally, the nurse came into my room and it was time for me to say my goodbyes to my fiance. The nurse gave me a "cocktail" to relax me, and after about 10 seconds I was flying high. I remember getting to the operating room, asking the doctor how he was feeling and having them shave my leg. By that time, they were having me breate deeply and I was out like a light. Although I was out cold during the operation, I can give you the brief rundown of what happened. They made a 3-4 inch incision in the front of my knee to remove the middle 1/3 of my patellar tendon. From there, they made two very small holes in the side of my knee and drilled through some bone to get to the inside. One hole was for the camera, the other for the dirty work. They screwed the two pieces of bone that attached to the patellar tendon to the inside of my knee and there you have it... a new ACL. They also sewed up a partial tear of my meniscus, but said it wasn't anything major at all. After all was said and done, I was out of surgery at around 6:10pm. Post-op, I slept like a baby for about 2 hours. Around 8, I woke up confused and as thirsty as I've ever been. The anesthesiologists put a tube down my throat filled with funny-gas to keep me asleep throughout the procedure. The removal of that hurt the hell out of my throat. The combination of that and the lack of water intake for almost 24 hours had me a bit cranky and in the mood for a drink. It took about 20 or so minutes of struggling, but I finally got my eyes open and started talking. After the first couple of drinks, my focus turned to my knee. I couldn't move my leg and boy-oh-boy did it hurt. I told the nurses and they started pumping me full of pain pills. Over the next hour, they served me toast, jello, and a Pepsi. My fiance was allowed to join me, and I began the process of checking out. By 9pm, it was time to go home. The last chore was getting myself on crutches to the bathroom and peeing. The nurse said that doing so was my "ticket out of there", so I did it without hesitating. Before I knew it I was in the car and on my way home. A few more pain pills and I was out like a light at home, new ACL and all.

Tomorrow's the day

Well, tomorrow I begin my journey towards getting back into sports. The hospital called me earlier and gave me a 2pm surgery time and ran through about a million questions (no, I've clearly never had any organ transplants). Now that the day and time are set in stone, I'm definitely getting nervous for everything. I've never had surgery before, so this is going to be a crazy process for me. I'm sure I won't be able to post anything tomorrow, so I'll see you post-op.