Saccharine Thoughts

Where has this year gone? It's now been 8 whole months since my last surgery. I have what could be my final follow-up appointment with my orthopedist scheduled on December 7. Holeee Crap. Dr. Brotzman keeps telling me that I HAVE to regain the musculature in my right leg in order for it to support the ligaments the way that it should, which I've written off as damn near impossible since it is the result of 8 years of overcompensation for 2 botched ACL repairs. However, since this 4th surgery has left me stronger and in less pain than I've seen since my freshman year of high school, I have to wonder how close I can get. As of now, the stats are as follow: Left calf: 14.5" Right calf: 14.25" Left upper quad: 21" Right upper quad: 20" Left lower quad: 18" Right lower quad: 16.5" So, I essentially have 35 days to whip my butt into gear and close those gaps, so that I can without hesitation ask for a rock gym membership for Christmas :D Let the work...

Today marks 6 months since my third ACL reconstruction . So close to recovery, I can almost breathe in the barefoot-and-chalk smell of the climbing gym. Gross, but awesome. While I admittedly haven't worked it as hard as I should, my knee is way stronger than it was even before this last blowout. The size difference between my right and left legs is laughable. There's at least an inch difference in the circumference of my thighs, but that's the result of 8 years of overcompensation for a faulty ligament and something that time and weights will eventually remedy. I've noticed better control, more power and way less pain in going up and down the stairs to my 3rd-floor apartment. I don't remember having used stairs without struggling since I was 16, so this little daily luxury is actually pretty monumental. I guess the surgeon can make all the difference in the world, and Dr. Brotzman apparently did a killer job in there as well as in keeping me on a steady track to r...

Today marks 2 months since my ACL reconstructive surgery, and I'm really feeling pretty good. I checked in with my physical therapist yesterday after he let me loose in the gym for the past two weeks. My balance is still lacking pretty badly, but my strength is getting better and things are looking good overall. The knee is sore, but it's a totally different sore than after the other surgeries; more of a been-working-out-making-progress-building-muscles sore than a oh-god-something-is-way-out-of-whack sore. I also wore heels yesterday for the first time in over 2 months, and it's SO good to feel sexy again. I didn't hit my weight loss goal of 126 lbs, I am still fluctuating between 129 and 131. Geez, it sucks to admit failure and it's no one's fault but my own - I'm only making it to the gym 3 times a week max, and my eating habits haven't been the best... I've given in to sweets here and there and have been drinking too much beer to expect to lose m...

Today marks 1 month since my surgery. I am released from wearing my brace. Wait, let's hear that again... I am released from wearing my brace! Yeah. Kickass. I'm back to spending a couple of hours in the gym every other day and instead of lifting like crazy, I have found serious success in working out like a girl. Imagine that. Light weight, lots of reps, lots of isolation and ergometric exercises and biking like crazy. My hips and love handles have noticeably shrunk, my tummy is flattening out and I have officially lost 7 pounds since the day of my surgery, bringing me to 5'2", 131lbs. I am on a roll... and if I can keep it rolling, I want to be down to 126 by May 1. I feel like that is a completely realistic goal, not something that will require major changes or overexertion on my part. I know if I continue to take care of myself, keep focusing on the rehabilitation of my knee and all involved, my body will continue to respond the way it has been so far. It i...

I spent the weekend doing things I thought would be healing. Lots of time in the gym, a bubble bath, much-needed manicure and pedicure. Made a dent in reading Nightwatch which is getting better as I go, as any good novel should. I even got myself out of the apartment for most of Sunday to take Carmen to the dog park and have a very nice afternoon lunch with Asaf, and dinner with the ladies tonight rounded things out on a positive note. I think things are looking better, I surely want them to. The gym is definitely doing me some good, and it's slowly becoming a routine. Therapy went well today; my balance is better, I have noticeably more control over my quad muscles and complete full range of motion. I am so close to being out of this brace, it's all I can do not to get my hopes up for this week. My straight-leg extensions only lag 4 °, so my brain says sure, surely you can pull those last 4 ° this week and get out of this cage you've been dragging around. My quad says eh....

Had my stitches taken out on Monday, and the doctor was extremely pleased with my progress thus far - full extension and flexion at 132 ° and walking pretty well without crutches. I still can't quite master my quad, and until I can pull off a straight leg lift without my foot lagging at all, I will be trapped in my scrap metal brace. Despite all the positive reinforcement and the reassurance that I am so far ahead of schedule from my PT, my confidence is starting to wane. Dragging this leg around is sucking that along with my energy more and more, and I am far more sore today than I have been for the past week. I am extremely sleepy, and am finding that I am having to really talk myself into doing anything more than sitting on my bed, especially at the end of the work day. I have made a commitment to go to the DataPop party tonight with a new friend (+1 right?) so even though it is the last thing I really feel up for doing, I am going. I'm just holding out hope that the party...

Progress indeed. I have reached my full extension goal already - James doesn't want me to push it any further than 0° even though my left leg hyperextends almost 15°, it will probably come naturally after a few months. I reached 128 ° flexion today, now focusing on quad control and balance. I am walking pretty well with just my brace now, only using my crutches for stairs which are a daily challenge with my third-floor apartment. I am still setting aside an hour each morning and some time at night to do all my exercises, and crunches too - I am up to 300 each morning and it's starting to show, I think... hooray for resolutions kept! I am also very grateful for neat friends - I have had a different ride to and from work and therapy every day, and had an absolutely wonderful Wednesday consisting of a red couch, a ridiculous movie and leftovers; really, what more could a girl ask for? So it seems that I am moving right along ahead of schedule, just keeping my fingers crossed that...

Such a lucky girl, I feel an awful lot like this today.

Surgery went well yesterday; long (over two hours!) but good. Luckily, I was able to exchange gross amounts of narcotics for an ephemeral nerve block, meaning I was alert enough after recovery yesterday to navigate my mother around Austin and make it up the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment. All hail the anesthesiologist at NASC. If you're interested in the details, this site gives a decent description of the procedure. My ACL was in two pieces, lateral meniscus severed again and one of my old screws had to be drilled out of my tibia to make room for a new one. Seeing as how I didn't have any tendons left to harvest to replace my own and mine are pretty useless anyway (they're akin to those rubberbands that have been stretched and stretched until they're white in some places, and you're just waiting for to snap) so an allograph was used. I had my first session of physical therapy this morning at 9AM, which I think went well. I feel vindicated; it looks li...

At least let's hope so. I began today with a 3-hour visit to an orthopedist and came out with a band-aid on my knee. Oh, the irony. I've actually torn my ACL, again, along with the lateral meniscus, again. Just when I was getting my balance back, climbing strong, making real improvements and feeling great about myself, I'm careless and take a fall that could have been prevented, or at least minimized. A rewind button would be really, really handy right about now, as I look gloomily at 2 months in an immobilizing brace, 4 months of physical therapy and 6-9 months off of climbing. Lame doesn't even begin to describe this impending year. Now I am seeking out the silver lining of the big dark cloud that just unleashed a downpour on my parade. Surely there is something rosy here, right? I'll have an allograph, meaning this time they won't be removing a tendon from somewhere else in my body to replace this one. Big plus. Hopefully it will speed recovery time, and lea...