Blogin' 'Bout a Knee

putting pants on

marvin — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 22:08:43 +0000

I used to put my right leg into my pants first… Since I had the accident at the end of January, I didn’t have enough flexibility in my left knee to put my right leg in first. It took a long time to get used to putting my pants on with the left leg first. I never thought about that until I couldn’t do it. I always had to make a conscious effort to put my left leg in first, and I did it wrong many many times. Well… this morning I accidentally put my right leg in first, and wha-da-ya-know, I was able to put my left leg in second. I realized I was doing it about half way through and got super excited when I finished because now I don’t have to make a conscious effort to put my pants on

bye bye crutches

marvin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:04:49 +0000

i guess i’m long overdue for a post. i didn’t post the nasty photo of my knee from earlier. if you want to see it, i can get it to you.

had the follow up appt, where they took some x-rays to check the bone tunnes, and all looked good. i was told i could get around on one crutch for the day, but if i was in a safe area i could go without it, and to continue using the brace whenever i’m on my feet

on monday at pt, they checked my gait and thought i’m good to go without the crutch. so now i’m officially off crutches… i can walk… slowly, but i can walk.

i’m able to flex my knee more and more each day. stretching it really helps

my custom knee brace came in wednesday, and now i get to wear that instead of the bulky post-op brace. it’s nice because i can fit it under my jeans so i don’t have this huge looking thing on my leg.

follow up with the dr tuesday

some photos

marvin — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 17:53:24 +0000

here are some photos that i meant to post earlier. none are really gross. there’s one with my knee shaved and marked and an IV in my hand. another has me in the post-op room. and another with my leg in a crazy brace. Click more to see them

surgery done

marvin — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 20:52:01 +0000

So the surgery went well on Tuesday. It’s Thursday now, and I’m finally able to stay conscious enough to write a quick blog post.

I showed up and after signing a ton of paperwork, getting measured for a brace, and giving them some money, they took me back into the pre-op room, where I got changed into a hospital gown and just chilled for a while. Then they brought me back to the OR. They put a mask on me and I was out real quick.

I work up in the post-op area and remember being pretty with it, taking notes for post-op instructions and all…. Then they wheeled me out to the car and away I went. I vaguely remember getting to the couch.

That day I took some pain meds. Then I woke up in the middle of the night and it was time to take more pain meds. So I took 1. The instructions say to take 1 to 2 tablets, but I figured I wasn’t feeling too much pain so maybe 1 would just do it. Boy was I wrong. The next morning I felt some serious pain. It was worse than when I tore my ACL in the first place. I was in a whole world of hurt. Luckily I was able to take some more pain meds and they knocked me out again.

Skip to today, and I think I’m doing pretty well. I’m much more with it as the pain meds aren’t making me super woozy. I was finally able to watch not just one but 2 movies.

My first PT appointment is tomorrow, where they’ll change my bandages, and then I will be able to take a shower. Then my post-op appointment with my doctor is on Tuesday.

Just a couple more days

marvin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:33:34 +0000

So the surgery date is set for Tuesday, the parents are arriving on Monday, PT is scheduled for Friday, and the post-op is scheduled for Tuesday. I will pick up my perscription for pain and nausia meds tomorrow and then I’m set. I’ll be getting a call from the surgery center on Monday for last minute instructions, but I’m ready to go.

brace gone – date set.

marvin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 23:38:46 +0000

so things have been going pretty well the past couple of weeks. I saw a couple of doctors for second opinions about two weeks ago. Both said I didn’t need to wear the brace, but I continued to wear it anyways. About that same time PT had me starting to do exercises without the brace. As I’ve been getting stronger and more stable, I’ve been spending more time without the brace. This week I decided I’d try going to work without the brace, and so far so good. So, yeah. Now I’m not t wearing the brace at all.

My physical therapist and I decided that it’d be best to save my covered visits until after the surgery since those will be very important. So they set me up with an exercise plan to continue to work on until I have the surgery. So instead of going into the PT office twice a week during office hours, I go to the gym 5 days a week after work (about 2hrs 3 times a week and about 1hr 2 times a week). The workout is completely legs: quads, hamstrings, butt, calves, balance, and ~15 of ice time.

The surgery date is set for the beginning of next month, and I decided to go with the patella tendon.

life w/o an acl

marvin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 18:31:03 +0000

I’ve been doing pretty well lately, especially today… I was checking out a doctor last week, and he told me that my MCL is down to a level 1 sprain, and that I don’t need to continue wearing the brace. I’m still wearing it most of the time because that’s what the first doctor told me to do. Plus, I figured it can’t really hurt.

But I’ve been feeling really good lately, and I feel like if I could deal with not playing any of the sports or activities that I really enjoy, I’d be done now. Yesterday I hopped on the stationary bike without the brace to try things out. The brace really hinders some of my movement, and the bike is supposed to be pretty safe, so I figured I’d try that out. It went really well.

When I’m walking around in situations where there isn’t a risk of me needing to maneuver quickly or someone running into me, I go without the brace. While I still have a slight limp, I think it’s partly because I’m in the brace so much that I’m getting used to moving with it on. So I’m trying to not wear it so much and walk around the house more without it

it’s like magic

marvin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:09:07 +0000

So yesterday afternoon my knee was feeling pretty good… That’s not unusual though because at the end of the day, my knee has pretty good range of motion. What was awesome was waking up today and having pretty good range of motion because when i wake up, my knee is usually pretty stiff. Lately, it’s been taking less and less time for my knee to “warm up” and not be as stiff, but this morning I could immediately move my knee from straight to about 100 degrees. It would get stiff around 100deg, where it used to get stiff before it got to 90. Sweet!

surgery: yes, doctor: undecided

marvin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:15:19 +0000

the knee is still stiff in the morning, but it loosens up much quicker. Within an hour I have most of my range of motion.

PT is continuing twice a week. They’ve got me doing more strenuous exercises to work my upper and lower leg muscles, and that’s followed by ice. They also still have me doing daily exercises that involve more repetitions but with only my body or leg weight.

I can feel my leg getting stronger because I’m walking around almost normally now. I only have a slight limp, and I think it’s because the brace hinders my range of motion. The brace also keeps me from moving around too quickly, which is probably good so I don’t twist my knee and end up causing more damage.

I’ve decided I’m getting the surgery. Now I just have to pick a doctor. I went in to see a second doctor who got a lot of great reviews, and thought he was okay. There’s another one I want to check out, but I still need to make an appointment.

no new news

marvin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 02:24:19 +0000

So it’s been a while, and that’s mainly because nothing new has happened. The knee is still stiff in the morning (5-80deg). The pain is pretty much gone (1/10), and it’s not really sore in the afternoon anymore either.

PT twice a week consists of ultrasound to heat the tissues, followed with evaluation. Then I do some exercises to build strength in my hamstrings and quads. Then ice and electrodes. And, I’m doing exercises at home every night to build strength as well as getting on the stationary bike to get range of motion.