You can run, but you can’t run fast…
As I mentioned in the last post, there is a tendency to think you can do more than you really can at this point.
Hanging from the eaves of one of our out buildings is a hornet’s nest. Unfortunately this is also the building that we keep our trash cans next to. I was taking out the trash one afternoon when one of the hornets flew way too close to me. Swatting at a hornet only makes him madder, it also makes him send of a special signal that alerts other hornets of danger. Lots of hornets started coming out of the hive, by this time the first hornet had already stung me and I was doing my best to run away. Running at this point is not really possible for me, so it was more of a quick hobble. Fortunately despite my pathetic attempt at fleeing, no other bugs stung me.
The exterminator is coming this week.
Filed under: ACL Recovery
Thanks for the day to day report on your ACL operation & recovery. My 21 year old daughter is scheduled for the operation next Thursday, up at a hospital by her college in NY. I will be bringing her back home afterwards to recover and now I know what to expect.
Hope you’re feeling better each day.
Linda
I was looking for ACL stories, and found yours. I tore my ACL last Wednesday, and I’ve been trying to read up about the whole process of waiting, surgery, recovery, etc. I was SO glad to find this because I also have started a chronicle so that my friends and family can stay updated, and so others later will be able to read what I went through.
I’m really nervous about the therapy after, and about the graft choice. Everywhere I read, there are chances of the patellar graft making people unable to kneel even after full recovery; the allograft being rejected by the body; the hamstring graft making the weak leg already weaker; the contralateral graft creating two weak legs with two types of therapy. I’m especially worried about that choice. I guess that’s why the doctor chooses?
Thank you again for having this. Do you know of other sites, or even one where I can post my own website for others to find? (google didn’t show it too quickly).
Thanks!
Lisa,
I’m so sorry to hear about your accident. Considering your description of what happened I’d say you’re pretty lucky that it was just your ACL and not your neck.
As for the graft choice, that is something that YOU should really choose, not your doctor. I had the patellar graft which is considered the standard choice these days. I also heard about the kneeling problem and at first when I was a ways through therapy and I actually could kneel, it felt really weird. This is mainly because of the lack of feeling in a small round spot just below the knee from where they cut out the craft and some nerves get severed. However the pain from kneeling does go away after awhile (at least for me it did.) In fact, just two days ago I was up in my attic crawling around on the ceiling joists to install a new light fixture, no problem.
The therapy afterwards was really awesome. Find a good physical therapist that you like and you’ll enjoy it. It isn’t necessarily easy, but it feels great as time goes on. I really looked forward to going.
I’m not sure what your physical condition is now, but I would do anything you can to strengthen your quads prior to surgery, because after a couple of weeks of not moving them, they will atrophy relatively quickly. (Don’t worry they will come back during therapy, but it will be a much shorter road for you if they are stronger from the start.)
This Friday is actually my one year anniversary of knee surgery and my leg feels as good as new (better actually since it had been so long between when I tore my ACL and when I finally got the surgery).
Good luck with everything and let me know if you have any other questions!
Hah, I just realized your last post was almost a year ago
Yeah, I definitely want to be as strong as possible. And I may end up having surgery by the end of next week if possible to get it as early as I can.
I was reading that the patellar is the most popular. Maybe that’s because it’s the most successful? I glad to hear that you can kneel just fine though, that really worried me because I enjoy yoga and using your knees is a big thing there.
Wow… one year. Happy early anniversary! I can’t wait until I get to that point. And thank you for the words of comfort!
Lisa,
I just had surgery on June2, 2008. I’m walking without my crutches now, but it’s more of a hobble. I have a flex ratio of about 2 - 45. I’m 2 degrees short of perfectly straight and can only bend about 45 degrees. I tore my ACL completely in karate. I begin therapy on June 17th and can’t wait to get my range of motion back! The only really difficult part so far for me has been the pain. It was so intense and wicked for about 5 days after surgery. I did keep up with the pain meds, but sometimes your body can only handle so much pain. I do little exercises each day to try and recover quickly and I’ll give you an update after my first therapy session if you’d like. It’s frightening not being able to do the things you’ve done for so long without even thinking. Just walking up a flight of stairs is an accomplishment. Try to turn your fear and concern into energy for therapy. It can only get better. Best wishes next week. Let me know how it goes.
Hi Lisa,
This website helped me so much when I had my surgery, one year ago this July 10th. He was just ahead of me, so I knew what to expect, and felt my recovery was “normal.” It will seem slow, and sometimes very slow, but your attitude toward therapy and your goal to get back to normal will get you there.
It also helped me, as no one really could understand what I was going though. He is right about YOUR decision for YOUR choice in your surgery. Do your own research and YOU decide. I had a cadaver transplant, which weirds me out sometimes, but it has been very good to me.
Best of luck to you, Lisa! ….. and know you will be better than ever soon!
SOG knives…
Interesting ideas… I wonder how the Hollywood media would portray this?…
I tore my ACL and MCL on January 5, 2008. I have been trying to rehab the leg ever since with Physical Therapy and my own regimen lately. My surgeon said he would not do the ACL reconstruction until my affected leg muscles are close to normal (they atrophied from being in a brace for 2 weeks to heal the MCL).
He scared me when he said some people won’t ever walk normally after ACL surgery if their muscles aren’t strong going into the operation. I am afraid of having the surgery at all now. My leg feels almost normal but I can’t run. I have no cartilage damage (by some miracle) and I wanted the surgery to prevent any damage from an unstable knee. I also want to get back to normal sporting activity.
I’ve just started a new job and need to plan on when to have the surgery done, if at all. How long does it take before you can return to work? Thanks for your thoughts.
Karen,
Sorry to hear about your injury. Returning to work really depends upon what your job involves.
It took me about three weeks after surgery before I was comfortable doing day to day activities on crutches, and another month before I could walk without crutches. Every recovery is different though and a lot will depend on the strength of your legs before surgery. I would definitely take the time to strengthen your legs as much as you can before getting the operation.
Good luck!
Interesting reading the posts about the patellar verses hamstring. My doc, who does most of the ACL repairs for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team didn’t give me a choice, he just told me I was having a hamstring graft. We’ll see how that goes. Still, if that’s what he was most comfortable doing, and in our little ski town, he is known to never have done a bad knee, then that’s fine with me.
He also told me to take a month of work. Wouldn’t that be nice! I was back at my desk job at 7 days post surgery (last Monday) with no problems.
Another interesting thing about reading this blog is the verity of experience people have had. Like you, I had no meniscus damage, but did have a completely blown ACL with a 2nd degree MCL tear. Within two months post injury, I could do hour long runs on the beach. Within 4 days post surgery, I could walk around my house, stairs and all, without crutches, and by day 6 without a canes. There’s been no pain and no painkillers since post op day 4. I found this PDF to be useful for what to expect (http://www.drmillett.com/pdf/acl.pdf). Except I haven’t used a post op brace.
Got my stitches out today, sort of. My range of motion, about 110 degrees, has strained the incisions so they haven’t healed as fast as the doc would like.
Since you have the time before the op, train hard. My Doc gave me the option of not have the surgery because my knee had tightened up well, even without the ACL. He then looked at the activities I did (skiing, mountain biking, alpine trekking) and their intensity (I’m a ski instructor / race coach in the winter) and recommended the surgery to prevent further injury.
Good luck with he prehab/rehab, if nothing else you will be in killer shape. Even though it sounds as if you already are.