Well, I guess I made it to the 14th week. Honestly losing track of time even more now. This was a very long and also exhausting week, full of mood swings as well. Very happy that the wonderful folks *behind the curtain* here at BS have been able to get things back up and running. Was feeling disconnected and as if I was going through withdrawal, especially during times when I felt an urgent need to post. I guess this has become a bit more of a lifeline than I expected. I wanted to give a recap of the week, but suffering from brain fog, so not sure how well this will go.
I was able to kneel on Bionic Spence this week, and had to do so a few times, today included. I did use extra padding, and tried not to put all of my weight, well half of it I guess, on Spence. No pain, just felt weird. About mid week I had a noticeable decrease in overall pain, so much so that I did not take any Tylenol today, and only took a dose in the morning and evening yesterday. I still have some mild discomfort/pain, but it is tolerable. Really would like for the swelling to go down more than it is, especially in a couple of specific areas. I do have concerns that one og the areas, on the lateral side, will remain forever swollen. I have still not been doing any additional exercises. I probably should be doing more stretching though. So far Spence has been able to make the walks from parking to buildings carrying a fair amount of weight, so should be able to apply for a position as a pack mule any day now. I regularly contemplate getting some type of wheeled cart to put everything on/in, but clearly I am too stubborn and want Spence to be able to pull his own weight (pun intended). I am still using the stairs, not just frequently at home, but also when I can at work. Some days there is a little stiffness, but I am maintaining foot over foot both up and down stairs. Sleep, well, what can I say, no matter how much I sleep it will always be an issue with me and fatigue, regardless of whether or not Spence wants to get up during the night. Generally speaking, He is sleeping through the night most nights.
I have also noticed some changes with regards to the scar. It is still red, and sensitive to the touch (even my pant legs rubbing on it can be irritating), but I can see improvements. The top half of the scar is wider than the rest, and hypertropic as well, which I am guessing may be in part due to the fact that the incision was opened the most in that area, and that the restapling did not close the incision as well as the initial stapling. In any case, it is starting to flatten and match the rest of the scar in that regards.
While this may sound strange, Spence's leg looks almost crooked next to the other leg, like the angle is off. This just may be due to the fact that I have not regained the muscle mass to match the other yet, so it could be a bit of an optical illusion??? I am going to try not to think about it, or look at it for awhile and see what happens. My next OS appt is in May of next year, but I can always email PA or OS with concerns, and they are great about returning Spence's emails, and do address him by name! Lol!
I am very happy to have the entire weekend off this week, but I am feeling the urge to do something more active in the hopes that it will lift my spirits and improve my overall mood. I am contemplating joining a group for a hike on Sunday. It is 3 miles, but I believe that it is on a trail, and not a trek through lots of wooded areas. I think that I can handle it given the fact that i have been doing okay with walking in general, and even when carrying 40+ pounds. It is at 10am, and while that is not super early, I still may decide that I want the extra sleep more than the hike. I guess if nothing else I should probably at least do some walking this weekend.
The sales rep contacted me this week regarding the T-25 knee sleeve that the OS spoke with me about that is worn above the knee and is supposed to help retrain the quads and hamstrings to fire correctly, communicate with brain more effectively, etc. I am expecting it to arrive sometime tomorrow, and I am looking forward to giving it a shot in the hopes that it does help.
I guess that about covers everything for now. Will just continue to take each day as it comes, and hope that each day is better than the one before it!
I can't even believe that it is only Tuesday! Not have both days off this past weekend is making a huge difference. I could definitely feel an increase in swelling as the day wore on, as it had that squishy feeling I am all too familiar with. I did try to go easy in demonstrating the physical skills this afternoon, and did far fewer repetitions than I normally would, and instead used people in the class to help out more with that. I probably should have done even less, but I am stubborn!
So now it's ice and I am actually laying with legs against the wall for maximum elevation. They aren't straight, as I am not trying to stretch at all, just trying to use gravity in my favor.
I know that things will get better at some point,.... maybe,.....I think so,...... at least I hope so!
My thoughts are still stuck in *the more I do it the easier it will get* area of my brain! I have however given up all exercises per @Josephine's recommendations from a little over a week ago, and am not rushing to add anything extra to my day right now to try to *help* Spence get better faster. I will wait a few months on that. Besides, I am too exhausted to do exercises!
I'm only 10 days behind you in post-op world and really can't even imagine doing that. Right now, it's not even a goal for me, lol, but that's ok, I have other goals. Every knee and recovery is different and I'd say yours is spectacular; huzzah!
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