Week 11

Last Tuesday was the 11th week of post-op, and my leg is getting so much better.

When I wake up in the mornings, the knee is not as stiff. The swelling has gone WAY down and my range of movement is closer to normal. I only have soreness after walking for long periods of time, and leaving it in a bent position for too long and getting up immediately afterward leaves some soreness as well.

My PT session this past Thursday was the toughest yet. I woke up Friday morning feeling sore from muscle usage (which was nice since I hadn't really felt that in a long time).

The session:

- heat: 10 min
- massage: 5 min
- elliptical with resistance: 10 min
- squats: 3 x 15
- step ups at 8" with balancing disk: 3 x 15
- lateral step downs at 8": 3 x 15
- frontal step downs at 8": 3 x 15
- leg extensions: 3 x 15 x 1st weight plate
- leg press: 3 x 15 x 9th weight plate
- single-legged leg press: 3 x 15 x 5th weight plate
- single-legged squats on balancing disk: 3 x 8
- mini lunges: 3 x 15
- straight leg raise: 3 x 15 x 6lb
- hamstring curl: 3 x 15 x 2 lb
- IT band roll-out: 3 x 30 sec
- stretching
- Game Ready icing: 10 min

I felt the burn by the leg presses - those were the toughest. My muscles are definitely getting stronger; I can feel it when I walk now and I'm almost at the point where I can run. I am going to start doing calisthenics at home to keep myself in shape, since I rarely have time to make the hours at the gym. Working in the mornings before/after class and working nights is taking a toll on me now, and school is only getting tougher. So, it's back to the grind and the challenges that lay ahead.

Wish me luck!

Week 10

The limp's been gone for weeks. I barely struggle with going up and down stairs. I can carry a 25-lb book bag. I can drive my standard shift car with very little soreness. I can sit Indian-style. I can bring my knee up to my chin when I'm sitting. The swelling is almost gone and I have about 130 degrees of flexion.

This is progress. This makes me happy that I've come so far, and it hasn't even been three months yet.

I'll be going back to UPS on Monday night. I don't look forward to it, but I need to keep my health insurance somehow. I have to speak to my shop steward about the union terms of my insurance. I owe $200 in union dues for June through September, and god only knows how much I owe for insurance. I think I've accepted this insurance fate - expect the worst and be pleasantly surprised when something really good happens!

My routine at physical therapy has generally been the same these past two weeks:

- heat: 10 min
- massage: 5 min
- elliptical: 10 min
- squats: 3 x 15
- step ups: 3 x 15
- lateral step downs: 3 x 15
- frontal step downs: 3 x 15
- leg extensions: 3 x 15 x 1st weight plate
- leg press: 3 x 15 x 8th weight plate + 1/2 weight
- single-leg leg press: 3 x 15 x 4th weight plate + 1/2 weight
- mini-lunges: 3 x 15
- straight leg lifts: 3 x 15 x 5lb
- balancing on disk w/ playing catch: 3 x 30 second intervals
- stretching (hamstring, quad)
- ice w/ stim: 15 min

The weights in my exercises are going up, which is nice. It gives me a challenge and I am feeling the burn now the next day. I'm walking a hell of a lot more, too - at least 2 or 3 miles a day to and from school. My leg doesn't consume my thoughts anymore - I only think about it about 50% of the time now instead of 90%. Now I can't wait to start jumping and doing other sports. I don't feel as frustrated doing my exercises either, since I know I can start pushing myself more.

I know I should probably go to the gym more, given my love for working out/sports and using sports as a stress reliever, but school exhausts me. I just gotta keep pushing myself.

I started doing forms again a few days ago as well, and found that I can't do some of my lower level forms due to my lack of practice. I gotta get back into that, too, so I can get working on my second degree again. I can only push myself so far . . .

Week 8

Thanks to everyone who's been reading and keeping up with my recovery. It's so great to have such support. :)

Today is 8 weeks post-operation. I think that roughly equals two months, give or take a few days. The best thing about today is that I'm thinking less about the knee and more about other things. Don't get me wrong - my knee still occupies my mind at times, but lately, it just hasn't been as prominent as say, working on a case study for school.

Tangent 1: School's been in session for three weeks now and I'm finding myself intellectually challenged by the material, which is nice. Some courses are more challenging than others - that's a fact of life, but I know that I'll have to give my all if I want to do well in what I'm taking (Marketing Management, Financial Reporting, and Quantitative Analysis). I'm thankful that I got out of Economic Analysis for Managers, and I took Leading Individuals and Groups last year as an undergraduate. And I finished Communications Strategies before everything else started, which was my first graduate course (as an MBA student) out of the way. :)

Tangent 2: Work hasn't been so busy, now that the first few weeks are over. I'm dealing with an average of five to ten students per shift now, instead of 20-25. It'll be nice to work on other projects besides registration, too. Today, I found two student workers doing their homework in the back room, and being a peer of them myself, I couldn't just tell them to put their homework away (otherwise, they'd look at me like a boss, rather than a peer). I had to grab a full-timer to control the situation (homework is a no-no at work, at least in my office) . . . that was a tough decision to make. At least I'm learning what not to do in my communication skills . . .

Tangent 3: I'm no longer taking long naps after I get home from work/school now. It's been nice to have more energy lately, although physical therapy still exhausts me.

I went to my physical therapy session this evening and discovered that my routine changed a bit. Now that I am at the 8-week mark, I have to start working harder to get back to normal:

Knee warmup with stim: 10 min
Stationary bike: 10 min on strengthening
Squats: 3 x 15
Step ups (front): 3 x 15
Step ups (side): 3 x 15
Leg extensions: 3 x 15 x 1st weight plate
Leg lifts: 3 x 15 x 3lb
Short arcs: 3 x 15 x 2lb
Stretching
Game Ready icing with stim: 15 min

I graduated from the wall squats with the exercise ball, and my therapist got rid of my hip strengthening exercises all together. She was really surprised to see that I could do leg extensions so well, despite it being the first time I had done them in so long. The leg extension exercise was the most difficult; my form was off and I had very little strength in my left leg; my right leg carried on the work. The strength will come with time, but I'm happy that all the walking I've been doing has been helping my knee. Go recovery!

Funny note: everyone who knows me who saw Tom Brady's injury instantly thought, "Wei had the same injury!" Boy, do we ACL veterans know how he feels.

I <3 physical therapy.

This is what my knee looks like three weeks later. The swelling has gone down significantly and I can somewhat see my kneecap again!

Seriously, I'm so glad I ended up going to Sports and Physical Therapy Associates instead of the hospital's physical therapy clinic. My therapist is so knowledgeable, understanding, and just plain amazing. And the people who work there are incredibly nice, not rushed and unhappy sounding, like at the other clinic I was going to go to originally.

My therapist decided to push me a bit today, since she felt that I was ready to get a move on my strengthening and range of motion. This is what we ended up doing:

Knee warm-up (heating and electro-stimulation): 10 min
Massage: 5 min
Quad sets with stim: 10 min
Leg lifts with 2 lb weights and stim: 10 min
Rotation movement on stationary bike (as much as I could do - I ended up doing about 15 rotations backwards since forwards isn't possible yet): 10 min
Side-lying hip abduction with 2 lb weights: 3 x 15
Side-lying hip adduction with 2 lb weights: 3 x 15
Knee arcs with stim: 10 min
Hamstring stretch
Icing with Game Ready and stim: 10 min

Today was a really good session and my therapist was pleased with my progress. I was quite pleased to see that my knee was responding so positively.

After PT, I went to visit my office and show everyone the scars and whatnot. It seemed pretty quiet for the most part, and everyone was happy to see me. I do want to go back, but not just yet. The front desk chairs aren't fit for my leg, and there isn't any other place I can sit just yet. So we'll see when I will actually go back.

A week till my first "class." I can't believe how fast this summer has flown by.

A month and soon to be under the knife.

It is a month today that I first tore my ACL (and didn't realize it, thinking it was only a knee sprain - the pop in my knee should have warned me).

In hindsight, this injury has given me a lot to think about, from facing an opponent in sparring to managing life. Had I gotten this injury while I was still in undergrad, I would have been quite screwed, with my hectic schedule and all. I can't remember a time that I'd slowed down during all four years. During the school year, I'd be involved in ASA, taking between four to five courses, and working two to three jobs. In the summer, I would be working at an internship or at the R.O. and at UPS at night.

I went back to the R.O. this past Tuesday since I felt good enough to get there and back (and be comfortable throughout the day). I haven't been able to go to UPS because of the lifting involved, and my inability to actually put strength behind my core without my knee. It's been nice to work only one job, but I know that after I recover from surgery, I'll be going nuts again with my crazy schedule.

This injury was life telling me to slow down for once, think about everything that's going on in life, and take everything one step at a time. I was so busy thinking about how to get ahead that I didn't give enough regard to the things that were happening to me NOW. My attention was always divided; I couldn't truly give my 100% in whatever I did, whether it was taking class at TKD or organizing an event. Being forced to stay still and ponder has opened my eyes a bit.

After I got hurt, I also made a promise to myself to put my all into my training at TKD for my second dan. I can't go into a test with sloppy form, nor should I be going to class and only performing 60%. If I don't give my all, then what's the point? I need to take care of my body in the process as well (better than I have been doing).

My surgery has been scheduled for the 22nd, and I have to call the hospital to confirm. I can't believe it's coming so soon - in just three weeks I will be on an operating table with my knee open and a new ACL screwed on (from my hamstring). I can't even fathom that at this point.

I just have to take it a day at a time.

Happy Independence Day!