WEEK FOUR of my REHAB

So I got hell from my interim physiotherapist at Broadmead Physio for skipping a day of my exercises. Turns out he was the Olympic swimmer Matt Rose!
http://host.evolutra.com/Olympic_Swim_Team/teamcanada/index_e.aspx?articleid=1100

Who knew. I'm back to seeing Paul Mcintyre now who promptly put me on the bike today..10 min / twice a day now on the stationary, which means I can go to the gym now.
I can finally straighten my leg which is huge in the ACL world.
It's still swollen a lot compared to the other leg, but I am told not to ice it more than 3x a day as my body needs to start dealing with the swelling more on its own.

The exercises are labourious and boring- leg raises, calf stretches, etc etc blah blah..but they DO make a difference, so on it goes. I'm going to try to get to the gym to do a workout tonight for a change of pace.

One of the biggest advantages to being a cripple is the use of the handicapped parking pass. Rockstar parking!

I have really noticed that people treat me more nicely now that I look helpless. Canadians are so friendly. :)

Week Three of my Recovery

Well, I've made it to Week 3 without falling, or doing something stupid and hurting myself! This is good.
It's been a week from hell, with my dog Kodi going into the hospital for 3 days with pancreatitis. Wasn't sure if he was going to make it and was seriously considering having to put him down. This of course turned my world upside down. I was highly emotional about everything..couldn't even watch tv without losing it. I really didn't know how I was going to keep all the balls up in the air financially, being a student etc.

So my knee. I'm almost walking and am down to one crutch! I still can't shower and have to have a bath when my Mom is here, just in case. This reduces me to baths every other day. In past days before the surgery, I occasionally would slip and my bad knee would pop out-pretty terrifying!

I'm still icing every 3 hours and doing my rehab exercises 2x a day. One great thing is that I can stand on one foot without hanging onto anything- really important if you are walking.
I can almost straighten my leg, but when walking it still is crooked.

Today, I see my surgeon.  I was thinking of giving him a big kiss, but I'm sure his wife wouldn't want that. I'm hoping he is going to say that I can finally drive.

I'm still happy with my decision not to go with my originally booked surgeon, and try someone that my physio recommended. BTW, if you need any physio, I highly recommend Broadmead Orthopaedic Physio.

WEEK TWO of my Recovery

Sorry for the sporadic posts, but I don't have a laptop and sitting in a chair for long lengths of time is too painful. 

So as of this Tuesday, it's a little over a week and going into week 2 of recovery. I still am not walking, well if walking like John Cleese counts I guess I am. Still can't put my weight on one leg, and until then I won't be able to walk-just crutches.  I still can't drive and can't go anywhere, so I'm pretty much held hostage inside my house for a couple more weeks.

It's been a real eye-opening experience to be totally reliant on another person and not myself. I've been pretty much sitting on my couch for the last 2 weeks healing, but I'm not sure how much more I can take of not getting around. Be prepared to have no freedom for a few weeks!!

I need my brain back for school on Monday, so I'm trying to not take any more pain killers (Tramacet which is an opiate and tylenol mixed) The pain killers knock me on my ass and totally unmotivate me and turn me into a vegetable state, so I need to get off those asap.

I thought I would give thanks first, for what has to be the toughest week and a half I've experienced.

Thanks to:

#1 - MY MOM!!!!!!

She has been the BEST support and is god-given, because without her I have no idea how I could have looked after myself! She shopped for me, cleaned my house and made my sorry ass comfortable while I convalesced.

#2 - My doctor, Dr. Stone for being one of the best surgeons in town and making teeny weeny incisions that after healing will be minimal. AND for doing one helluva hamstring graft! (and cleaning up a little bit of patella and meniscus fraying too).

#3 - Morphine and painkillers! Which incidentally I am weaning myself of now. Couldn't have slept without them, and sleep is SO important for healing.

#4. My EX who has looked after my 2 dogs Kodi and Keisha. Kodi recently has been quite sick so I'm glad I didn't have to deal with that.

Some reflections and advice:

Get a good physiotherapist. Don't think you can do it on your own, because unless you've been through it, you won't do the exercises as hard and as good as possible. Without doing the exercises you won't be able to walk as soon and won't heal as fast.

For the first week, rent a walker from a medical company. Trust me, using crutches right after your operation when you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night is next to impossible and unsafe.

When you get bunged up (and trust me you will unless you have exquisite plumbing ) Senoket is the best. Start taking it right when you get home. I didn't go for 4 days!!! NOT FUN.

Take at least 3 weeks off work, school or obligations. I have to start 3 new classes on Monday and it's gonna suck. I can barely write right now..hope I'm better in a few days.

So that's it for now. I'm just hoping that this pitiful TV watching couched human being will be a new refreshed one in a month..tops! We shall see.

Wow,...is all I gotta say

My surgery was on Tuesday morning. It was basically a love-in with the cuddly nurses...lol! Mind you I was pretty drugged up the whole time. The last 2 days have been a blur.

It's Thursday now and I can barelt type. The pain was so intense the last 2 days, the kind that makes you squirm....%$&&&*&&&****!! ow!! If we have an earthquake or something I am SO SCREWED!

I doubled my dose of hydromorphone (an opiate) in hopes of diminishing the discomfort.The hardest thing is lifting the injured leg in and out of bed.

Now I'm just a vegetable..a veggie. 

One good thing is that the second day after surgery you are allowed to take the bandages off. It wasn't the accident scene I was expecting at all. Nice clean incisions, Dr. James Stone!

Oh, and another thing I did is it's WAY easier to rent a walker with wheels on the front to get around the house than crutches. Once I leave the house, I'll get some crutches.

That's it for now..

Tomorrow is the big day!

I've been running around trying to do all those last minute things because I don't really know if I will be able to do much but sit around for a few weeks. One of the most important things to do is to start moving they say, but don't be around an environment that will jeopardize someone bumping into your knee. So I guess that means staying inside for a while and trying things out in the yard. 

The dogs will be with a sitter (my ex) for a while, thank god, because Kodi will definitely drive me crazy if I don't walk him less than an hour a day.

I'm guessing I'll be bored out of my tree within the week.

So, tomorrow is the day when my life will be changing for the good. Thinking good thoughts not "operating table" thoughts ..ok now stop that thought!

See ya on the other side!

Chrissie

My first post

This is my first post! It's Saturday and I have my surgery on Tuesday.I am getting an ACL reconstruction by harvesting my hamstring tendon. I will also be getting my meniscus and patella cartilage fixed. 

Now is as perfect an opportunity as I am ever going to have. I'm a student, I am home and don't need to work right now. I was always working and not able to take time off. How the hell do people do this that need to make a living??

In 1995 I tore my ACL playing floor hockey. I remember it well-it was drop in floor hockey at Oaklands Elementary gym. A guy trying to show off checked me from the side, and I don't remember too much after that, but it hurt like hell. I DO remember that he didn't help me up and continued to play. What a real jerk. I wish I could get over the anger I felt towards him as this incident has affected my life a lot. Oh well, what can you do-sh*t happens in life and you have to move on.


Nevertheless, I was told that it was a partial tear and was supposed to wear a brace for the rest of my life! WTF? Over the years, my knee would pop out at the most inopportune times-if I slid on ice or on the smooth hardwood, or even worse if I lost my footing in the shower i would usually end up ass over tea kettle on my butt because my leg could not support me. I couldn't play volleyball, no skiing, no running and especially no sprinting (tried that once, but the knee popped out and I fell on my ass.) pretty much nothing but walking.
I always had been a great sprinter and prided myself on being able to run away from anyone :). What if there was an axe murderer after me? 


When my knee started affecting my walking I had had it and went to the doctor and asked to see a specialist again. This was about 5 years ago. They were going to operate,  but I wasn't ready, being in a job that demanded too much at the time.


So here I am 16 years later and finally am getting it done...yay!! Bring on the axe murderers!


I DO hope my journey through this will help those that are going through a big surgery like this. I kind of know what I am in for after surgery, but in a way, I am blissfully ignorant to the pain. I will be documenting as much as I can...I hope that all those that are reading this and going through the same thing will be able to learn something from this.

THE PAIN that I have heard so much about! I am not going to give it much more attention as I don't want to dwell on it. I just know that it will suck and that it's coming like a freight train with a bad attitude. Too bad they are so cautious now about painkillers because apparently tylonol 3's are all I'm going to get! My big question is how am I going to be able to sleep? Suck it up princess!