This is my 90th post! Which is cool because it's my favorite number times 30, which has my favorite number in it ten times. All cool math numbers. Anyway!
Just going to talk about my knee surgery and recovery. I'm three weeks out today! Which means in three weeks I can ditch my crutches!!! I'm a little frustrated with how slow the recovery is going though. Because I had meniscus repair, my doc and Larry (my physical therapist) are making me go really slow in the pt.
So I had surgery the first time in 2008. Doc thinks my ACL had been deteriorating for awhile or I hurt it when I was really little. I didn't notice it until May 2007 I was playing football with my brothers and some friends and a girl tripped me, twisting my leg and subsequently tearing my medial meniscus - Ouch! But I ignored the knee for the summer and finally got it checked out that fall. My doctor suggested surgery and I met Dr. Brad J. Larson in Logan, Utah. In June 2008 I had ACL reconstruction using my hamstring and some part of a dead person and meniscus repair, lateral and medial. My recovery from that surgery was really hard on me. After the surgery, coming out of the anesthesia, I just cried. It was hard being on all the medication, something I've never liked. I hated just lying in bed. It was lonely and hard. Two months after my surgery, post-op, my sister got married in Idaho. My family met for it in Twin Falls where we stayed at a hotel with a pool. We were playing on the pool deck and I jumped in and hit my left knee on the bottom, subsequently re-injuring my knee.
I went to Dr. Larson who told me there was no way for him to know if I had re-injured it enough to need surgery again unless he went back in. There was no way I was doing that. It was practically Fall semester. So I declined and went off to school. It wasn't until that November that it really troubled me because I was preparing my papers to serve a mission for the Church. In order to go, you have to be checked out by a medical doctor. Worry arose from my doctor and my bishop and so I called and spoke to Dr. Larson to get his opinion. It was not what I would have liked. My mission was postponed and I scheduled a second surgery to be done the following year.
So three weeks ago today, Dr. Larson went back in and put a new dead person's part in my leg, shaved some of my meniscus, stitched some of it up, fixed some of my cartilage and sewed me back up.
That stupid meniscus. I am only allowed to bend my knee to 90 degrees as a precaution. So physical therapy is slow going and Larry is being really careful. They took my stitches out last week. Here's one picture of my knee before they took the stitches out. The rest were deleted... *grumble grumble* Viewer discretion advised:
And here is my knee today!
So, physical therapy is lame because of said restrictions. Yesterday was painful because I stopped taking my drugs and went on two aspirins. It was livable but Larry suggested new med schedule: 600-800 mg Ibuprofen 3Xdaily, 1 Tylenol 2X daily and 1 aspirin in the morning (to prevent blood clots). So I'll try that for awhile but I don't think I should have to take all that for too much longer. In any case, it's better than the narcotics I was on before.
Larry finally put me on the bike! But he won't let me go all the way around yet, I just rock my leg back and forth and I have lifts I do and the same exercises I do at home. I'm optimistic sometimes and sometimes I'm heart broken. I can get up and move around okay. I did the dishes yesterday with Hannah's help. I went to sacrament meeting on Sunday, which was a huge step but I was really light headed half way through and I had to take a pain pill before going.
I hate just lying in bed. I feel so lazy and it feels like people think I am too. There isn't much I can do. Standing hurts after awhile. Sitting up in a chair is tolerable for about twenty minutes. It will get better though. I can't do much, exercise wise which is frustrating. Rachel has an 8 lb hand weight which I've been using to work on my arms. Yesterday was funny because I had to go to Physical therapy and my arms were so sore! But it felt great, I just laughed and smiled the whole time.
In an episode of a tv show I watch, there are these two burn victims who are trying to always be optimistic. Well one of them has to lose some of her fingers and she gets mad at her friend and asks if for a moment they could be real to each other. Something has happened and it's horrible. They both will be scarred for life. The other one breaks down and admits she can no longer watch romantic comedies. She says, "I just get so mad at those women! You can't find someone to love you? That's the worst thing in your life right now? Try having half your face burned off!" A few weeks ago I came across the story of Stephanie Nielson on Youtube.com Mormon Messages. Her video is entitled My New Life. Near the beginning, she says, "My name is Stephanie Nielson, and I am not my body."
These two stories have really made me think. It's knee surgery. In a month I'll walk. My pants will cover the six scars I have. Those scars will eventually fade to light lines. Nothing else is wrong with me. Nothing shows on my face or arms. I don't need to worry about people staring at me. I am blessed. I am grateful for this surgery. I have days when I am so depressed and lonely. But I had this surgery so I can walk without pain. I had this surgery so that I can serve, should He call me to go on a mission. I am blessed to get this surgery, that it's easy to cover, that it is a positive learning experience. I will walk still. "I am still me. And those clothes will still fit."
Just going to talk about my knee surgery and recovery. I'm three weeks out today! Which means in three weeks I can ditch my crutches!!! I'm a little frustrated with how slow the recovery is going though. Because I had meniscus repair, my doc and Larry (my physical therapist) are making me go really slow in the pt.
So I had surgery the first time in 2008. Doc thinks my ACL had been deteriorating for awhile or I hurt it when I was really little. I didn't notice it until May 2007 I was playing football with my brothers and some friends and a girl tripped me, twisting my leg and subsequently tearing my medial meniscus - Ouch! But I ignored the knee for the summer and finally got it checked out that fall. My doctor suggested surgery and I met Dr. Brad J. Larson in Logan, Utah. In June 2008 I had ACL reconstruction using my hamstring and some part of a dead person and meniscus repair, lateral and medial. My recovery from that surgery was really hard on me. After the surgery, coming out of the anesthesia, I just cried. It was hard being on all the medication, something I've never liked. I hated just lying in bed. It was lonely and hard. Two months after my surgery, post-op, my sister got married in Idaho. My family met for it in Twin Falls where we stayed at a hotel with a pool. We were playing on the pool deck and I jumped in and hit my left knee on the bottom, subsequently re-injuring my knee.
I went to Dr. Larson who told me there was no way for him to know if I had re-injured it enough to need surgery again unless he went back in. There was no way I was doing that. It was practically Fall semester. So I declined and went off to school. It wasn't until that November that it really troubled me because I was preparing my papers to serve a mission for the Church. In order to go, you have to be checked out by a medical doctor. Worry arose from my doctor and my bishop and so I called and spoke to Dr. Larson to get his opinion. It was not what I would have liked. My mission was postponed and I scheduled a second surgery to be done the following year.
So three weeks ago today, Dr. Larson went back in and put a new dead person's part in my leg, shaved some of my meniscus, stitched some of it up, fixed some of my cartilage and sewed me back up.
That stupid meniscus. I am only allowed to bend my knee to 90 degrees as a precaution. So physical therapy is slow going and Larry is being really careful. They took my stitches out last week. Here's one picture of my knee before they took the stitches out. The rest were deleted... *grumble grumble* Viewer discretion advised:
And here is my knee today!
So, physical therapy is lame because of said restrictions. Yesterday was painful because I stopped taking my drugs and went on two aspirins. It was livable but Larry suggested new med schedule: 600-800 mg Ibuprofen 3Xdaily, 1 Tylenol 2X daily and 1 aspirin in the morning (to prevent blood clots). So I'll try that for awhile but I don't think I should have to take all that for too much longer. In any case, it's better than the narcotics I was on before.
Larry finally put me on the bike! But he won't let me go all the way around yet, I just rock my leg back and forth and I have lifts I do and the same exercises I do at home. I'm optimistic sometimes and sometimes I'm heart broken. I can get up and move around okay. I did the dishes yesterday with Hannah's help. I went to sacrament meeting on Sunday, which was a huge step but I was really light headed half way through and I had to take a pain pill before going.
I hate just lying in bed. I feel so lazy and it feels like people think I am too. There isn't much I can do. Standing hurts after awhile. Sitting up in a chair is tolerable for about twenty minutes. It will get better though. I can't do much, exercise wise which is frustrating. Rachel has an 8 lb hand weight which I've been using to work on my arms. Yesterday was funny because I had to go to Physical therapy and my arms were so sore! But it felt great, I just laughed and smiled the whole time.
In an episode of a tv show I watch, there are these two burn victims who are trying to always be optimistic. Well one of them has to lose some of her fingers and she gets mad at her friend and asks if for a moment they could be real to each other. Something has happened and it's horrible. They both will be scarred for life. The other one breaks down and admits she can no longer watch romantic comedies. She says, "I just get so mad at those women! You can't find someone to love you? That's the worst thing in your life right now? Try having half your face burned off!" A few weeks ago I came across the story of Stephanie Nielson on Youtube.com Mormon Messages. Her video is entitled My New Life. Near the beginning, she says, "My name is Stephanie Nielson, and I am not my body."
These two stories have really made me think. It's knee surgery. In a month I'll walk. My pants will cover the six scars I have. Those scars will eventually fade to light lines. Nothing else is wrong with me. Nothing shows on my face or arms. I don't need to worry about people staring at me. I am blessed. I am grateful for this surgery. I have days when I am so depressed and lonely. But I had this surgery so I can walk without pain. I had this surgery so that I can serve, should He call me to go on a mission. I am blessed to get this surgery, that it's easy to cover, that it is a positive learning experience. I will walk still. "I am still me. And those clothes will still fit."
Comments
So I was reading your post and I though to myself, "sad, I was there on both occasions when she injured her knee." I am glad that you can look at the slow recovery with optimism---we've been praying for you. I also liked the comment about how you laughed through PT when your arms were sore---I totally know the feeling! Anyway, I am hoping all goes well for you!