Vacation

I'm back and loved every minute of vacation! We had a wonderful time and this may have been one of the most relaxing vacations I've had...enough time to really forget about work, spend a lot of time outdoors and just spend good, quality time with the kiddos.

I went into this vacation wanting to workout everyday, but over the 13 days I felt like I wasn't really doing anything. In hind sight I was...I just wasn't doing my conventional PT exercises, push-ups and sit-ups. I swam laps in my in-laws pool, we went on several hikes in the mountains (very carefully) and I rode my mother-in-law's bike 4 miles one morning. They weren't my usual workouts and it wasn't as much as I might normally do, but maybe that was good for me. A nice break from the PT routine.

Swimming laps was a great workout and something I want to do more of. I felt tired while doing it and upper body soreness the next morning. Call me crazy, but I miss that!

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my new surgeon. I'm pretty sure that I'll have my first strength test. I didn't realize it until today, but I'm already at the 16 week mark post-surgery. I'm not sure how the strength test will go...I know that I haven't done my body weight with the one leg press even once, let alone the required 20 times. And my understanding is that between the 16-18 week mark and upon passing the strength test most people are cleared to begin running. I want to give them my pre-injury weight for the leg press (no TKD and my summer Dairy Queen addiction= a few added lbs), but rumor has it they actually weigh you in so you can't fudge it! I'm going to give it my all and see what happens. Maybe I'll surprise myself. It's only 40 more lbs than what I'm able to do now. Hoping for the best....

(On a side note reference my last post about my mysterious illness: I ended up going to the ER the following morning because it was getting so bad. Doctor said I had Fifths Disease. My son had had it a few weeks earlier and had the typical body rash. The doctor said it can present very differently in adults and some adults feel like they've been hit by a truck. That about summed it up. All the the symptoms were gone within a week.)

Something's Wrong

Something is wrong and it's not my knee. I woke up two days ago feeling as if I had slept on my left wrist funny. It was very achy and hurt to bend it. I figured it was something that would wear off as the day went on. That didn't happen. By the time the night was over the pain had spread up into my shoulder, collar bone and was starting to creep up the left side of my neck.

I went to bed that day and focused on laying flat while I slept, with my hands at my side. For the most part I was successful. When I woke up the pain was no longer in my left wrist, but had completely consumed my right wrist. My left shoulder and side of my neck still hurt a little, but it wasn't as bad.

Onto day 3...I woke up and the pain was in both wrists and something fierce. For the first hour after waking up it hurt to bend either wrist even a little. Driving to PT was real trip. It hurt to turn the steering wheel.

Now as I type this both wrists hurt (probably shouldn't be typing, but I'm bored) and I can't raise either arm over my shoulders without pain in the shoulder area. Ugggh. My hubby thinks something's pinched or out of wack and I agree. We leave for vacation on Thursday and we're gone for 2 weeks. I'm going to let this ride and see what happens the next few weeks. If there's no improvement when we return I'll go get it checked out.

Bike Ride, Leg Press and Encyclopedia

It's been a good week! I went for my first outdoor bike ride since last summer and certainly since my injury. I probably rode about 3 miles and loved every minute. It felt so great to be out in the sunshine, exercising and working up a sweat! And most importantly my knee felt good. Plenty more rides to come!

I'm continuing to build strength in my leg and really noticed a big improvement this past week. With the leg press I'm now able to do one leg @ 130 lbs (10 reps- twice), negatives @ 180 lbs (10 reps- twice) and two leg press @ 240 lbs (10 reps- twice). For the first time I've realized that pressing my body weight with just my surgery leg is possible. I'm not there yet, but getting close. By the end of August I know I'll be able to do it. Just a week ago that seemed like a stretch.

Starting Monday I'll be in the transition program at PT. I won't meet with a physical therapist, but will have a workout schedule planned for me and will be on my own to get it done. I'm excited about it. It'll give me the freedom to go in when I want (anytime between 7am-7pm) and not have to worry about scheduling appointments.

My only bummer this week (and in the scheme of things it's not a big deal) was an extra trip to the see the family doctor. About a month ago I started noticing some localized pain on the bottom of my left foot (surgery leg). The pain was just below my little toe toward the outside edge of my foot. At first I thought I may be walking differently to compensate for my knee and that in turn was aggravating muscles on the bottom of my foot. But I realized that wasn't the case. Walking barefoot on our hardwood floors became more painful and I noticed a small bump developing. I started to get worried and finally scheduled an appointment. My family doctor believes it's a ganglion cyst.

• A ganglion cyst, also known as a bible cyst, is a swelling that often appears on or around joints and tendons in the hand or foot. The size of the cyst can vary over time. It is most frequently located around the dorsum of wrist and on the fingers. The term "Bible bump" comes from a common urban legend that treatment in the past consisted of hitting the cyst with a Bible or another large book.[1] Wikipedia

• Ganglion cysts are idiopathic, but presumably reflect a variation in normal joint or tendon sheath function. Cysts near joints are connected to the joint and the leading theory is that a type of check valve forms that allows fluid out of the joint, but not back in. The cyst contains clear fluid similar to, but thicker than, normal synovial fluid. They are most often found around the wrist joint, especially at the scapho-lunate joint, which accounts for 80% of all ganglion cysts. Wikipedia

He hopes it will "pop" on its own. Gross. If it continues to get worse or isn't any better in a few weeks he gave me the phone number for a foot doctor. He said the foot doc may have a few recommendations including some assistance in popping it. Or maybe I could just use an encyclopedia or a dictionary!

Just Do It

As frustrating as the injury and recovery have been at times I seriously don't know where the time has gone. It's been almost 6 months since my injury and 10 weeks since surgery. January 2011 is my target for being back to full duty at work and back on the floor at taekwondo. It seems so far away right now, but if the first half of the year was any indication it'll be here before I know it!

PT is coming along and I'm continuing to build strength in my leg. I've mostly been focusing on getting the muscles back and working on full range of motion. I'm almost walking normal again. My knee just doesn't want to fully extend as I follow through with stepping. It'll get there. I just have to keep working at it. I'm excited about my progress with the leg press... 1 leg @ 120 lbs, negatives @ 150 lbs and two legs at 210 lbs. I can't remember what I was at prior to surgery, but to think that I'm already pressing 120 lbs with my surgery leg amazes me.

Last week my physical therapist was laying out the game plan for one session and finished by saying "if you still some left you can do the stairmaster for 10 minutes". I responded by telling her not to give me an option...just make me do it. If she thinks I can and it's not detrimental to my knee I'll get it done. I've always responded well to structure and I don't want to have an easy out. Just tell me it has to be done.

She listened. Today she threw in an extra level of blocks with my step-ups and for good measure handed me the 11 lb medicine ball (for straight arm raises over my head when doing the step ups and one knee raise). After the first set of 20 I asked her if she was trying to kill me. It was a good workout. Her response was "you want to get back to that thing you do right?". Taekwondo and yes I do in the worst way. Yes I do. So here's a shout out to my physical therapist. Thanks for pushing me! It was a good PT day.

Not the Brightest Idea

It'll be 8 weeks post-op this week and I golfed yesterday. Yep, not the brightest idea I've ever had, but it was a blast and I was very careful. It was a fundraiser scramble for my son's hockey team. The expectation was laid down for my team that they shouldn't expect much out of me. I ended up doing a-okay all things considered. When swinging I made sure to keep light weight on my front leg (my surgery leg) and if I felt like I was planting too much I would lift it up. I made sure to not pivot or rotate. Still, I know that I could have tweaked it and could have really messed myself up. So, that's not going to happen again. It swelled up a little and was stiff by the end of the day. It was just from walking a lot and it was really hot out there. It's feeling a lot better now. Living on the edge once was enough and I'm happy to have made it through. Back to heal slides and squats.

On Friday I had my second post-op appointment with the surgeon. He was "very pleased" with the progress of my knee, the reduction in swelling, muscle tone and extension. Next appointment is the first week of August and that's possibly when I'll have my first strength test...although I'm not positive about that.

My current surgeon accepted another job in PA and is leaving in August. Next appointment I'll start with a different doc...someone I already know...a fellow hockey parent from one of my son's old hockey teams. He also happens to be the head surgeon for the U of M football and hockey teams. I know all of the docs are amazing, but I'm just glad I was able to hop on his schedule. It'll be nice already knowing him and being comfortable talking to him.

I've been extended on the midnight shift at work for at least another week or two. I'm still continuing to ice off and on all night and it's helping big time! At PT I'm up to 132 degree bend. Still have about 15 more degrees to go to match the other leg.

I'm missing Taekwondo big time and really wanted to be down in Little Rock this past week for our Worlds tournament. I lived the experience vicariously through my friends and instructor over text messages and facebook. At times it was extremely hard, but then again it also fueled a very frustrated determination inside me. Mid-week I found myself saying "it is what it is...so where do you go from here?". I knew the answer, but two good friends reminded me and reinforced the concept of "forward". You go forward..and when I'm able to it's going to be with a rejuvenated appreciation of inner strength, focus and determination. My hubby has been my rock and has been huge with trying to keep me on track. He knows how to fire me up and likes to tease that I'll only get back to "98%". He does it because he knows what my reaction will be. Every time I whine about something or point out something wrong with my knee he'll say "there's your 98%". I repeat it to myself often and I know that's why he does it. It won't be 98%...it'll be 100%. Now I just have to stay off the golf course.

Party Animal

Last week I finally started to get control of the swelling. Working at night has allowed me to ice 4-5 times over the 8 hours, elevate and do my heel slides/ extention exercises. It's been an awesome break from the chaos of working during the day. After my second shift on midnights I was finally able to see some definition on the top part of my knee cap! That was progress. And then came the weekend...

Every year we throw a big BBQ for friends and family. There's a lot of set-up involved. A lot of walking... a lot of carrying... not a lot of sitting down... not a lot of icing... not a lot of elevating. I could continue the list, but I'm sure those reading this will get the idea. My in-laws are staying with us so we even had four extra adults in the house to help. They were a tremendous help and I couldn't imagine how rough it would have been without them. Regardless I have been on my feet for the last 3 days without icing. The progress I made last week is gone. My knee is swollen and stiff.

Short term goal is to get back to where I was last week. Last week I finally measured to 130 degrees. It may only bend to 100 tonight. BBQ was an absolute blast and definitely worth the effort. But now I'm back at work hooked up to my ice machine. Cheers!

Ice, Ice Baby

Trucking along, but not much change at 5 1/2 weeks post surgery from my last entry. I'm trying to not walk like an ogre. It's a constant effort and on my mind with every step I take. Bend, bend, bend! I measured to 122 degrees last week and I'm still golden on the flexion. After warming up it's usually in the -2 degree range.

My ACL wonder twin and her husband set me up at home with a bike trainer. I bought a new bike a few weeks ago and they are graciously allowing me to borrow one of their old trainers. It's been awesome. While I'm not able to ride it everyday it's nice to have there when I am able to. A 20 minute ride here or there and working up a little sweat does the body good! I can't wait until I get cleared to take rides around my neighborhood, but I'm not sure that'll happen for awhile.

Work hasn't been helping with my progress. I'm up and down all day and usually not able to ice a lot. Sometimes it's slow enough for me to prop my leg up, but some days it doesn't happen at all. 8 hrs of work= cranky, swollen knee and swollen ankle. So, two days ago I was asked if I wanted to go to midnights (desk assignment) for three weeks. Another co-worker on light duty is recovering from back surgery and she had the assignment on nights. I had mixed feelings about it, but said yes. Ultimately it came down to giving myself and my a knee a three week break from the busy day shift schedule. Working nights on the desk to so mellow compared to days. I am going to use these three weeks to ice (every hour), elevate and exercise my knee all night long! My goal is to have the swelling under control by the time I go back to day shift. I'm looking for some decent improvement the next few weeks!!