I played soccer tonight...finally!

So...23 months after injury, 21 months after surgery, 15 months after pregnancy and 6 months after baby, I FINALLY played soccer again!!! My original recovery was delayed a bit when I got pregnant and I resumed PT post-pregnancy. It felt good tonight...although I need many thousands of touches on the ball. But, hopefully, this long knee journey is entering a new stage for a long time!!

Sunflower in August

Sunflowers in August, originally uploaded by MWOOD19.

6 Months Post Surgery and Counting

I've made it 6 months now and my life is becoming less about the knee and more about everything else. I'm going to "transitional" PT still which means it's me on my own at the same facility as normal PT two to three days a week. The routine:

• Elliptical
• Stretching
• Exercises working on balancing and putting stress on the bad leg
• Beginning agility - jogging, skipping, jump rope, running in rings of rope ladder
• Weights - still about 10% away from body weight (blah!)

On off days I'm trying to go walk/jog at my regular gym a couple days a week on the treadmill.

I think about my knee a lot but not nearly as much as a few months ago. It still feels different but not nearly as bad. And, I can see a light at the end of the tunnel although who knows how I'll be when not doing rote exercises. All is good in general, though. Will post again as progress is made in a month or so.

Elliptical Bliss

I made it through a warm-up on the elliptical machine yesterday. Some of you other ACL rehabbers may be thinking "so what?" But, I have always had elliptical issues much preferring jogging on treadmills or outside. It felt so good to be moving my whole body not just sitting on an exercise bike. And, obviously I've let go of some of the inhibitions of my awkwardness on the machine since this whole past six months has been physically awkward to be kind.

Speaking of six months, Thursday marks six months post accident and four months post surgery. Things are going well and I often forget about the knee. Pain and just feeling the knee ebb and flow as I walk. But, I feel that I'm turning a corner. I'll be celebrating the "anniversary" at a conference in Chicago...hopefully lots of city walking without pain will be the reward.

New Torture

Today I got to try a new torture machine. It's called the Extensionater and is a replacement for the torture chair. My impression was that it was less painful - good. Maybe not quite as straight - not so good. It felt like having a blood pressure band around your leg, because it essentially blows up a balloon that holds your leg down. Variety is good - I think I will switch off between the torture chair and the extensionater as I go along.

3 Months, 2 Weeks, 2 Days: MILESTONE!

Okay, if you haven't been around me in the last six months or suffered a severe knee injury you may not understand how excited I am. BUT, I'll tell you anyway. Last night I tried walking down the stairs in my house like a normal person. Not one step at a time, but one leg in front of the other. I did it! I do have to hold onto the wall for balance, and definitely need to work on control, but it worked, and it worked again this morning.


I've added a picture of the day before the injury, Christmas day last year. It's funny to think back to my mindset then. I can't even imagine attempting to go down a snow-covered ungroomed staircase like that. Hopefully I will be up to such an attempt next winter.

I've hated stairs for many reasons during this journey. More recently, the thing about them is that they're a constant reminder of my injury. When I'm around people I don't know, I feel I need to explain myself and my injury so they know why I'm so slow. Hopefully now I'm one step closer to a less visible impairment!

San Francisco

Twin Peaks, originally uploaded by MWOOD19.

I just got back from a business trip and weekend in San Francisco. It was a great trip...no major incidents. I got a lot of practice walking. I could definitely feel my knee and especially my hamstring and calf muscles since I was moving aroudn so much. The thing I kept thinking about was how lucky I've been that I lived in a city where you don't have to walk to get everywhere. Not in general, but when it comes to someone requiring knee surgery, the ability to drive park close, etc., is critical!