Reclaiming Independence- 3 Weeks Post-Op

   The knee and new ACL are doing good! So now that the stitches are out and the incisions are healing, there's not as much going on. The pain is minimal, if there is any. Most of the pain is incurred at Physical Therapy. As the title hints, I'm slowly starting to be able to do things on my own again. I decided to write this blog when trying to find information about ACL recovery was so scarce; I could find plenty of doctor protocols but I wanted true life testimonials. Of course the doctors hope you have the simplest of recoveries, but that isn't always the case. Not to mention WebMD is vague. I had no idea what to expect, and what I did expect, was way off the mark.
   Now that I'm 3 weeks post-op, I'm more optimistic but I still have a very long road to recovery! I've been in PT for 2 weeks now, and it's helped tremendously. The first few sessions were just very minor range of motion movements, ice, and stem to start activating my quad muscle. Now that all my steristrips are off and my incisions are healed, scar tissue massage started and the ROM exercises got a bit more involved.
   Scar tissue massage may be one of the worst pains I've ever felt. I got home from PT, curled up on my couch, and cried like a baby for a solid five minutes. Unfortunately, crying didn't help my knee feel better but some pain meds did. It's similar to what I would think a small dull saw would feel like. Keep in mind, I had the patellar tendon graft, so the front of my knee is extremely sensitive without being touched and rubbed. It's a necessary evil; you don't want scar tissue to build up or they have to go back in surgically to remove it. Rub away, I'll just be gritting my teeth and trying to pass out from refusing to breathe. Luckily, the first time was the worst. The second time seemed much more manageable. 

As you can kind of see, my incision was a bit bruised and swollen. It's also oily from [gently!] rubbing Bio Oil on it. I'm hoping the scars will heal as close to invisible as possible, and I fully intend to help them do so. Every day I use shea butter moisturizer and bio oil on them, twice a day. I started doing this AFTER my week of neosporin was up and Lindsay (my PT) gave me the go ahead and said they were healed up. It's only been a few days, but I figure it can't hurt. If I start noticing real results, I'll of course blog it :)
   Another milestone I finally reached was being able to do leg raises! I've had no success at this until yesterday, when Lindsay decided to try the stem treatment first and then do leg raises. The woman is a miracle worker. Stem treatment sends small electric impulses to the muscle, to wake it up. Meanwhile, you contract your muscle too. It helps recreate the neural pathways. I'm proof this works.

   I can also now walk with one crutch! And I can take 1-3 baby steps without but I don't unless I'm near something sturdy to grab. I'm still using 2 crutches at school, but Towson is huge and why not have as much help as a girl can get?! At least at home though I don't need to depend on my mom to do everything, I now have 1 free hand! This makes a world of difference. So, things are definitely looking up!

And here is a little video of my leg raise glory!