It keeps on getting better, but the light at the end of the tunnel is a long way off.

I had the monthly doctor's appointment yesterday at the hospital. They ordered X-rays to see how the screws in my knee are holding up, and I was given the okay to do even more at PT. My doctor also made me bend my knee more than I normally do, which resulted in surprise (woo I can bend!) and pain (ow, too much scar tissue and swelling). It's nice to know my body is healing well.

I was able to go to PT by myself yesterday - took the bus and walked the 10 minutes on my own.

At PT, we upped the exercises a bit and the session was somewhat more intense:

Knee heating with stim: 15 min
Massage: 5 min
Stationary bike: 10 min
Side-lying hi abduction: 3 x 15 x 3lb
Side-lying hip adduction: 3 x 15 x 3lb
Leg lifts: 3 x 10 x 1lb (I still have quad lag here)
Wall squats with exercise ball: 3 x 15
Heel raises: 3 x 15
One-legged balancing on an aerobic step: 3 x 15
Icing with weight on knee and stim: 15 min

I was pretty sore after this session, especially after having to walk. But overall I'm feeling more confident about walking (with less of a limp) and regaining strength in my leg.

I know it takes time, too, and it's been frustrating listening to my friends talk about all the great thing they've been doing with their summers while I've been immobile. I also know that I can do it all next year (provided I don't get hurt again, knock on wood), but it still seems like I missed out on a lot of fun. What bothers me most is that this was the summer that I could actually do stuff - meaning that I didn't have an internship to work, and I had just graduated from undergrad. Instead, I stayed inside much of the time and hoped my knee was getting better.

Sigh. I don't want to sound depressed but sometimes I feel like no matter how far I've come, there's so much more work to do.