Post-Surgery Update And A Photo of Beans

I do not have children... yet. It's just my cat in the background that sounds like a crying baby.

This is what I have to tell people when they are on the phone with me.

This is my first update since my most recent surgery. I admit, I've been a bit lazy, a bit busy, but mostly just exhausted. This whole process to get my knee back healthy has been a little more than I was originally prepared for. However, this most recent bump in the road may have been just what I needed.

It all started last week the Monday (March 29) before my surgery. I found out that I needed authorization for the surgery. This wouldn't have been a big deal if I had found a little sooner. The insurance company originally told us we didn't need it. Then, two days before surgery, they told us that I did AND that it usually takes 72 hours to RUSH an authorization through. I was in tears and beyond stressed. To top it all off, the insurance company told us that I wasn't even authorized for my first surgery even though they had paid for it in full. Talk about lack of communication. Eventually everything got straightened out, my authorization done in under 72 hours. The day before surgery I found out everything was okay.

After that, surgery was nothing. This was done by the same doctor, but in a different hospital site. This site had a TV so Aaron didn't have to entertain me the whole time. This time I was also allowed clear liquids and black coffee up to 6 hours before surgery. I really think that helped to make a difference because I didn't feel so bad coming out of surgery. I went in at 3pm (I even remember them putting the oxygen mask over my face) and woke up a little after 4pm feeling great. In fact, I felt amazing. I had no pain. For the first time since my injury, my knee felt right. While I was waiting for the doctor I started bending it up and straightening it back out, just to see how far it would go. It turns out that I had a very large cyclops lesion (I was right!!!). The doctor manipulated the knee (bending and and straightening it and cutting out scar tissue) and took out the screw. The screw was working it's way out on it's own and I was forming bone around it. The incisions were placed in the same place as the last time so I won't have any new scars. I couldn't have hoped for an easier time.

The next two days I headed to physical therapy. Dale went really easy on me the first day. Lots of gentle movement, some straight leg raises and then hooking my quad up to electric stim. The day after that, I did a little more. Some squats on the shuttle press, calf raises and more stretching.

This week is when things started to get tougher. I got to do some serious strength training. Most of the swelling has gone down and it actually makes walking harder because my quad is so weak and my balance is really bad. I am actually more afraid of falling now than I was last week. I did leg press, dead lifts, tons of squats and cycling. I was so sore and tired midweek that I could hardly get myself off the floor. It isn't even the muscles that I am trying to train. My right leg is actually more sore than the left. It takes all the work than the left can't do.

My leg press weight is really bad. I think that I topped out at 55 pounds this week. I need 125 ideally to start running again. My doctor told me that at the earliest I could start back running 4 weeks after surgery. I'm hoping than since I have been doing so much strength training these past few months that my muscles will bounce back faster. I'm scheduled for PT two times a week for the next month and I plan on doing a third day of lifting on my own. Last time 3 days of lifting per week got my strength back in about 6-8 weeks.