Well – I’m past that 1 year mark and now just gauging my knee strength to determine when I might try running again. I do not feel like I should try just yet – I certainly do not want to mess up my knee after all of this. I did however have a minor break thru yesterday, in that I was able to stand up to pedel while out on a quick 7 mile bike ride last night. I was actually forced to stand up due to a foot cramp, and then just kept peddling. This is something that I absoultely could not do previously, as the knee did not feel strong enough. Sounds like a minor deal, but if you remember being a kid on a bike and trying to get up a hill –standing up on your bike is pretty useful. Stairs continue to improve but are not quite there yet. I stopped doing stair climbing exercises because my surgeon said to stop. I did notice an improvement on how my knee felt after stopping these exercises. Apparently something about the placement of the graft that puts a lot of pressure on that exact spot when using stairs. I wish I had a PT person who I could consult with about such things. But – once that prescription runs out your on your own…. Did some traveling over spring break – walked several miles a day – no real problems other than some slight soreness on the final day. So – for now things are looking up. Doctor says that graft failures after the one year mark are very rare (he has only seen one and he has done 100’s of these procedures). Keep smiling!
I’m a nut job
4 MarIt’s official- I’m an idiot. So I spent five days in full freak put mode- only to find out that my graft looks near perfect!!!! I am not released to run just yet- he wants me to be symptom free first. He will see me in six months. Apparently difficulty with stairs is perfectly normal. Symptoms of small amount of swelling and numbness normal. I made him point out everything on the MRI. Turns out that law school s not a substitute for medical school 🙂 I’m so relieved I could cry!
1 YEAR FOLLOW UP TODAY
4 MarWell, to say it’s been a really bad few days would be an understatement. I had my MRI (which is really a MR Cartigram) on last wednesday. They gave me the films to bring to my doctor. BAD IDEA. I have spent the last five days staring at the pictures and researching stuff on the internet. I can’t sleep and I can’t concentrate – because to me it does not look good. Keep in mind I do not have any medical training whatsoever. However, ironically, the knee has felt kind of bad over the last week, like it did before surgery. I think the best outcome I can expect, based upon my completely uneducated review of the films is that I will need revision surgery for overgrowth. The worst possible result will be a graft failure – which I am terrified of and have managed to convince myself is the case by gazing non stop at the 50 or so pics of my knee that I have in my possession. I will know the answer to this in about 4 hours. I am completely beside myself and am hoping I will look back on this and laugh at my ridiculousness. Keep good thoughts coming my way!The thought of all I have been thru for it to fail, is unimaginable. Living life with constant knee pain does not sound good either. UGGHHHHHHHHH
desperate2run 