Geek Habitat

Stolen from one of my many posts to Bob’s Knee Board:

I think my next hurdle is to learn that my knee is no longer the center of the known universe. Sorry, left knee, it’s time you got treated like the rest of my body parts — no more showing it off to every poor, unsuspecting victim; no more “Does it look like my quad’s getting bigger to you?” (which is really just the post-op version of the dangerous-to-answer “Does this make my butt look fat?”

• 8 minutes on the elliptical trainer - 4 minutes forward, then 4 minutes backward

MAJOR MILESTONE: I see my OS for my 2 month post-op checkup on Friday. Renee, my PT, says that at 8 weeks post-op (which is what I’m at as of Friday), I’m basically DONE! Graduated! That doesn’t mean I’m 100%, by any means, nor that my exercise regimen and activities can slack off — not in the least! The way she explained it, all it means is I’ve hit the plateau in terms of the things they can have me do in PT, and that I’m now ready to assume control of doing those on my own. They’re not cutting me off, though. In fact, I’m invited to use their facility on an as-available basis to exercise on my own if I’d like for awhile until I locate a local gym that suits me. How cool is that?!

I’ll add more to this entry later, but for now I had to secure a home for my latest favorite post on Bob’s Knee Board (This is not the same Bob as “Gentle Bob”, one of my PTs, by the way!):

Read Larry’s post entitled, “If You Have To Look For An Exit ..It’s Already Too Late !“

Penned by the creator of Larry’s ACL Website, the post is a humorous yet accurate description of the day of knee surgery. Thankfully, the day of my knee surgery went a little differently — for one, I didn’t feel like I was in Dead Man Walking!

With so many entries in my “Knee Journal” now, it’s getting difficult for those who are contemplating surgery, or in the midst of their own post-op experiences, to pick their way through the Archives and find the information they seek. With that in mind, this entry serves as an inital Table of Contents to relevant entries posted thus far.

How did I tear injure my knee (complete ACL tear, medial and lateral meniscus tears)?

- First: Don’t fall or jump off ladders! (November 2004)
- Second: Stairs and laundry can be hazardous to one’s health! (January 13, 2005)

Happy Easter Sunday!

AM: I’m doing well, but Justin’s been sick the past 36 hours or so — some kind of tenacious stomach bug. It figures that he’d have to spend one of his free weekends sick in bed.

I still find myself fiddling with my post-op knee and leg, and talking about it to anyone unfortunate enough to be in my company, but it’s therapeutic. I see improvement in the muscle definition — I have a teeny little quad “bump” outline that exhibits now when I do quad sets; my flexibility and comfort level with the knee and leg continues to improve. My scars are healing and can now handle my brace worn directly against them, without a Band-Aid as a buffer — good thing, too, because my Band-Aid budget was getting pretty discouraging!

I did a little better on my lateral slides today, although after yesterday’s experience, that’s not saying much! This time, Kara ran me through the drill several times, but it still felt incredibly awkward — especially when Kara stopped and I had no one to mirror. And the cones? The cones are still too much for me, like asking me to chew gum, recite the alphabet backwards, and jump rope simultaneously. (God, I hope I didn’t just invent a new PT exercise, there! ;))

My PT regimen is now the following:

• 8 minutes on the elliptical trainer - 4 minutes forward, then 4 minutes backward