Week Eight Update

(I won't name names, but a friend said he's getting sick of the knee puns, and frankly, I can't come up with a good one for this short update)

Went to see the doc today for my progress check and he gave me A+s for my knee stability, swelling, and flexion (up to 132 degrees!). I just have to work on extension. My damn knee just won't straighten. I asked him about re-starting Pilates and he said: "I don't know much about Pilates, but it doesn't sound like something good." Maybe he read the same newspaper article about how the Pilates backlash has started in Ireland. In any case, I'm just gonna ignore his M.D. and re-start Pilates, albeit slowly.

What I can do:

1. Spinning
2. Run up and down stairs (very helpful to catch the subway)
3. leave my knee brace at home
4. wear heels!
   
5. Pilates (but don't tell my doc)
   

What I can't do:

1. cutting sports
2. run
3. dance
4. ninja kicks

Also, the incision scars are slowly fading! Not that I really mind - I consider these shoulder and knee scars as little reminders to treat my body better. All in all, I'm quite happy with my progress, but I do need to keep up with PT 2x a week to continue regaining full mobility and strength.

Guin-knees and Blar-knee in Ireland

I tried to be very diligent with Physical Therapy from weeks 2-5 because I wanted to be extremely mobile for our trip to Ireland. I took my knee brace, exercise sheet, and resistance band so I can do some exercises while on vacation. Well, I wasn't as meticulous as I'd hoped with the exercises and didn't really ice much, but I tried to do as much as I could when I had access to a gym. Otherwise, the knee was fantastic, I hardly used the knee brace!

If I was still on crutches our activities would have been limited, but I'm happy to report that I was able to climb the steep steps of the Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone...












...the picturesque hills around the seaside town of Dingle...














...and the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher, all without much difficulty! It was reassuring to know that we didn't have to limit the amount of walking or our overall activities on the trip just because of the knee. We also did plenty of other fun activities such as exploring the caves in the Dingle Bay via kayak, hanging out on a beach in Achill Island, boating around the Clew Bay, and plenty of Guinness and Murphys in pubs. It was a perfect vacation and I was happy to enjoy it with freedom of movement.

Day Twentknee Eight Milestone: 115 Degrees!

Just a quick update on my Physical Therapy progress after exactly 4 weeks post-surgery. Here's what I can finally do:
1. Walk up stairs
2. Use an elliptical machine with zero difficulty
3. Use a stationary bike with some difficulty
4. Bend my knees to 115 degrees
5. Smile and allow myself to recognize that I've made significant progress

Here's what I still can't do:
1. Walk down stairs (I'm like a bear, or worse, a panda)
2. Go outside without my ugly black leg brace
3. Pilates :(
4. Play football or other cutting sports
5. Ninja kicks


Just a sideline comment: I absolutely can't stand Boston area sports, but I've hated on Wes Welker the least. So I have an extra special soft spot for him now that he's off the PUP list after tearing his ACL & MCL last January (with a torn rotator cuff!) and undergoing surgery in February. Obviously he's a world class athlete, but someone I can aspire to if he has rehabbed his knee and shoulder enough to be able to practice in 6 months and play in the season opener in 7 months.

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