March 18, 2008

Three Months and Counting

Yesterday marked three months since my ACL reconstruction. I am officially at the half way point now and it feels good to be able to start counting days on the other end of the spectrum until I can go back to karate. Most of my swelling is gone, although a small bit still remains. One of the scars is barely visible; the others will make my summer wardrobe take on a warrior look.

After being so sick last week, I lost seven pounds. I feel like those seven pounds came directly off my recovering leg. PT was challenging last week as I got back into the swing of things. This week, my PT is going to start me on some crazy weighted exercises where he puts a harness around my waist and I get to run away from the machine, pivot and then stand there while the weight tries to pull me back. It’s better than being harnessed to a person on a stool with wheels, which I hear is a common practice for ACL recoverees.

Currently my extension (how flat and straight I can get my leg) is pretty good. But I do have to work at it a bit to get it all the way down. My flexion (how far I can bend my leg) is getting there although these last degrees have been hard to come by. I’m currently fluctuating between 145-148 degrees of flexion, not normal for most people, but not good enough for a gumby-like character like me. My other foot will flop back and easily touch my butt and that’s the goal for my recovering leg as well. 155 is the number that I need to get to in order for that to happen. It still hurts like hell when I’m pushing it to get another degree. I can’t imagine that changing anytime soon, but will look forward to the day it does.

I’m still going down the stairs like Lil C. Bad leg, good leg, one step at a time. It makes for very slow progress, progress that is sometimes too slow for even Lil C. Right now, it’s still putting too much pressure on the front of my knee. I sometimes can’t imagine what it will be like to be able to just run up or down the stairs. I’ve seen many men come back faster in this area and I think it’s directly related to their amount of muscle versus mine (think stick legs).

With spring and summer right around the corner, I’ve become much more concerned about the disparity between my two legs. One goes to -20 extension; the other hits 0 and that’s it. One has a muscular thigh; the other is still lagging considerably behind. I imagine I’ll have a lot of explaining to do as the pants get shorter and swimsuit season arrives.

The biggest challenge of this entire process has been staying on top of my exercises. It’s so easy to just watch "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" or another repeat on HGTV instead of riding the bike. The PT gets very monotonous, time-consuming and frustrating. I think that as the weather warms, I’ll be more inspired to stay on the exercise train. It’s been far to easy to fall off after being sick and nursing the girls back to health as well as keeping our house spotless all the time for potential showings.

I am hoping that in another three months I can report that I’ve survived my first night back in the dojo. Summer is always such a great time for karate. Being able to get outside and work with the bo, and breaking a good sweat at class is always enjoyable. I’m looking forward to being able to do that soon. The countdown starts now.

Three months to go. . .