Day 24: Kneed for Speed

I'm entering my 4th week (24 days) post-surgery. Here's my breakdown of the last 3 weeks:

Week 1: Very frustrating because of the pain and learning to walk on crutches. I mostly stayed in my apartment for the first 5 days, save for a family BBQ on July 3rd, and a happy hour outing on July 5th - both were a chore because I was still adjusting to the crutches and the pain that came along with walking more than 1 block. Day 6, however, was a revelation, as I finally adjusted to crutches and was able to enjoy a rock concert (see Mi-knees the Bear post)

Week 2: Got the pain under control and was very mobile - went out of town Day 7-9 (with the cryo ice machine and all) to a wedding in Virginia, and even enjoyed some dancing and revelry. Got the bandages off and stopped using crutches on day 11. I didn't even have to transition from 2 crutches to 1! I'm hoping that's from all the leg and core prep work that I did pre-surgery :)

Week 3: Started Physical Therapy at Professional Orthopedic and Sports Therapy. Got to 90 degrees bending on Day 17, and 100 degrees on Day 19. As much of a pain in the a** having to trek to Tribeca 3x a week to be tortured, it's actually great to see some progress with the knee, as small as it may be. Sample exercises that I'm doing:

• Straight leg raises with 1.5 lb weight on all 4 directions
• Stationary bike for 10 mins
• Leg press at a 90 degree angle
• Wall sitsGoing to PT has other fun little benefits, like being outfitted for a compression sock, which is supposed to increase venous circulation, reduce leg pain, and swelling. I'm supposed to wear it most of the day while mobile, but I'm not too fond of the "nude" color, so I'm not wearing it ALL the time. I have a white arm sleeve that looks much tougher, so maybe I'll just buy my own compression leg sock to match the white arm sleeve to look tougher x2?-Kitty
  

It's a Knee-w Day!

11 days after my surgery, and I finally had my follow-up with the doc. The assistant removed my dressings and bandages to reveal my new knee! We took some X-rays that revealed 2 staples and 2 screws (one that will dissolve, the other isn't supposed to bother me so it stays forever). It was bizarre to finally see the new knee that has been giving me pain the last several days, but it's nice to know that everything looks good, not too much swelling or bruising.

I'm outfitted with a knee brace that will allow me to bend and provide greater range of motion. Not to mention that it's much lighter than the contraption I've been dragging around. I also bought the Empi Action Patch, which is aan electronic patch that delivers a drug to a localized area (i.e. my left knee) to lessen pain and swelling. After 4 patches administered every other day, the drug is supposed to stay in my knee for 1 month. It's supposed to speed up recovery time and help with pain during PT.

Next up..Physical Therapy! I've selected Professional Orthopedic and Sports PT on Murray St in Tribeca. Wish me luck!
-Kitty

Mi-knees the Bear

Adam and I went to see one of our favorite bands, Minus the Bear, rock out Webster Hall last Thursday. At that point, I've been pretty much confined to my apartment because I couldn't put too much weight on the left leg, and feeling apprehensive about venturing out. I was even considering not going because I know what rock shows are like - there's no guarantee I could rest myself and the leg on a chair and could easily be jostled by the crowd, plus I was still unsure of stairs. Adam knew how much I wanted to see the band (and needed to get out of the apartment), so he called ahead to secure a couple of chairs for me.

So I gulped down a Vicodin, put on a rock show worthy ensemble and ventured out. We got chairs but also found a this stationary block at the very back of the space so I could actually lay out my leg and be able to see above everyone and had a perfect view of the stage. I had a great time, but the best part was that I actually tested out walking on crutches for a longer period of time and got used to walking up and down stairs. My advice to those going into knee surgery: get used to moving on crutches beforehand including stairs and building up endurance. I think practicing immobilizing my left leg with a 2-3 lb weight and just standing with crutches for 5 mins or so would have helped a lot to get used to the feeling of relying on on leg.
-Kitty

P.S. Check out Minus the Bear's new album, OMNI, espcially my favorite song on the CD, Summer Angel. MTB is an indie rock group from Seattle and their music has a lot of intricate guitar work and synths. They're just a super groovy band. You can steam OMNI from here:
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/news.php?newsid=13724

Cryoge-knee-c Cuff

Ok, that title is a stretch, but that cooler apparently is the best way to provide compression and ice therapy for my knee to reduce swelling, promote healing, and reduce pain. Extra plus: personal cooling device to beat the summer heat! Basically there's a cuff that is wrapped around my knee and the cooler holds the ice/cold water that circulates in the cuff. I've had the machine going for 24 hours from Friday-Tuesday, and now I'm supposed to lessen the amount of time. I had a shoulder cuff last year but only used it for 3 or 4 days until the bandages were removed. I rented the machine for 2 weeks but after that the cryo-cuff was really hard to keep on the shoulder without bandages, so I just used ice packs. This time, I have the bandages until July 13th, so this machine will be my BFF until then. Definitely beats frozen peas. Robo Kitty!

Easy as One, Two, Knee!

Had a successful (or so Dr. Feldman says) operation last Friday July 2nd. Adam and I were at the NYU Langone Outpatient Surgery Center around 6:15 AM, was prepped for surgery, went into surgery before 8AM, was out by 9, stayed in Post-Op for an hour, and went home around 10 in timr for the Netherlands-Brazil soccer game. Can't really complain!
(**On a side note, Langone was a really nice hospital. I had my shoulder surgery at St. Vincent's last year, and compared to Langone, that place was a dump. Nurses Kathy and Catherine-weird, I know-informed me that Langone is about a year old. The color scheme was cheery, the furniture nice and no uncomfortable stainless steel chairs in sight. My Pre-Op room had a flat screen TV and was a real room, not curtain-divided from the other rooms. The nurses were all very sweet and cheery.)

Back to the surgery. I had my mind set on having a hamstring graft and even worked out almost every day to strengthen my legs to withstand the extra trauma. I voiced my preference to Dr. Mike (the Chief Orthopedic Resident) and Dr. Feldman and explained why I preferred hamstring over donor graft. However, they both addressed my concerns and convinced me that allograft, or donor tissue, was the way to go because the donor will be less than 25 years old, of top quality (apparently Feldman is the busiest doctor in NYU and gets his choice of grafts), less surgery time, and less post-op pain because he won't need to make other incisions. So allograft we go.

Obviously I don't remember much from the time I was given general anesthesia (on my hand, still bruised). Last vision I had was the anesthesiologist swabbing my left thigh for the femural block. I woke up around 9 AM in the Post-Op room and the nurse immediately called Adam in for me. Last year I inhaled a liter of coconut water and a whole shawarma sandwich from Chickpea right after surgery. And then threw up everything. So this year I was determined to look presentable and opted for some apple juice and a graham cracker. Good choice, Kitty, keep it classy!

Things that I take for granted and now has a degree of difficulty x100:
1. ShoweringAdam devised a waterproof "skirt" for my leg with a garbage bag, some packing tape and a towel under the skirt (but over the leg) to absorb any moisture that might have dripped into the skirt. Showering is definitely not a solo job, but I have the best and most patient nurse
2. Dressing
Getting something over your foot/leg when it is immobile and weighed down by 10 lbs makes dressing yourself difficult. I've stayed away from pants and shorts and have opted for dresses that go over my head.
3. Going to the bathroom
You try elevating your leg and going to the bathroom at the same time.
4. Getting something to eat/drink from the refrigerator
Your hands are occupied with the crutches. How are you going to transport the food? You get creative.

As you can imagine, everything is pretty much difficult and takes 10x longer, even with my super ergonomic, shock-absorbing crutches.. Even just adjusting myself on the couch or the bed. I'm really lucky to have the bestest boyfriend in the world who is so patient, caring, and takes care of everything (I'll stop there-there just aren't enough superlatives).

I can't be too active until I have the dressings and stitches out (July 13), but I am back to work..from home.
Kitty