"Stretching"

It's funny how my exercises are labeled as stretching. I mean... really... when was the last time you had to stretch in order to bend your knee?

Anyways... I've been making continued progress (praise God!) and they took away my CPM machine because it only helps to about 120 degrees.

On Thursday I was at (drumroll please)

125 degrees!

Three days before that I was at 117.

In the past the progress was at about 1 degree a day. This is 2 or 3 per day!

Also, last week I finally was able to peddle all the way around on the bike. Up until then I would just go about half way creating sort of a half-circle because I couldn't bend my knee enough to make it the whole way up and around.

Oh, and I'm crutchless!

So, I try to bike every day at home now. That seems to really help loosen things up.

Then I sit on the floor and pull on my ankle to stretch as far as I can go.

Here is what I did tonight.

I have a very curious helper.

I haven't bent this far since December 16th!

Hopefully I will be saying the same thing every day from here on out.

Right now I'm trying hard to work on the bending and not worrying a whole lot about strength. The bending is what will prevent the scar tissue from forming again. I've already had a sick feeling that it may be forming. The one P.T. assistant even said that he felt the same way.

My itchy leg finally resolved itself, but now I have an iritation on the knee. It is small and doesn't bother me at all, but it looks like blisters. Actually, it looks exactly like poison.

The therapist recommended that I try not to wear jeans... ok???

Tomorrow I see the doc again.

I have a feeling that he will be very happy with the bending progress, but maybe not so much with the strength. Oh well. I'm happy with things and I'm finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Roller Coaster

It's been 2 weeks now since the surgery to remove scar tissue.

Things were great for a couple days after the surgery and then all of a sudden the muscles tightened.

I went from bending it 130 degrees down to 80.

My physical therapist said the muscles were spasming. He seemed frustrated about it and that didn't help me any because I was already getting frustrated. It was all very discouraging.

Then about a week after surgery I saw my doc for a post-op appointment and he prescribed a muscle relaxer which I took 3 times a day.

It didn't seem to help.

Back to sleepless nights only this time I could actually roll over. But that was also the problem. Every time I roll over I engage the quad muscle which causes a pain flare that doesn't want to calm down.

Finally on Monday I noticed that I was able to bend it a little easier. My therapist noticed that too. It wasn't that I could bend it any farther, but just easier and with less resistance. I also saw my doctor again on Monday and he was pretty frustrated that the muscle relaxers didn't fix the problem, so he suggested that I taper off of them to see if they are really helping at all. So I started taking just one before bed.

The past two days I've noticed continued progress and I'm now up to 110 degrees on the CPM.

Oh, and here is a picture of the CPM.

I'm attributing the progress to a new stretch that I started doing on Sunday where I sit on the edge of the bed and let my leg dangle.  I try to get it to relax down to 90 degrees. Then I lay back on the bed which stretches the quads farther (without bending the knee farther) because of the way they attach to the hip. I usually lay there for a good 15 minutes. I like to do this at least 3 times a day.

Also, my leg has been really itchy. From the mid-thigh to mid-calf.

It is so annoying!

I had a dream last night that I was scratching my leg and then I woke up and sure enough!

I was scratching my leg!

I wrapped it with an ace bandage and that helped the itch for the rest of the night.

I remember an itchy rash after the first surgery, but that only lasted 3 or 4 days.

This isn't even a rash.

It's nothing!

Just an itch.

And it's been there for at least 10 days now.

Grrrrr. . .

The ups and downs have made the last 2 weeks seem like 2 months!

But at least I'm making some progress now.

Success!

Summary: The surgery yesterday went great!

It was at the surgical center at my doctor's office and not the hospital, so it was smaller and more relaxed. I loved the nurse that did all my prep work.

He started my IV and was looking all over for a good vein. I warned him that he wouldn't have a lot of luck. That led into a conversation about "the bigger the man, the bigger the baby."

The anesthesiologist came to talk with me and I made sure that I wasn't getting a block.

I told him all about my issue with the last block and he was quite interested, saying that it's very rare for that to happen. He seemed to think that it was caused from the tourniquet (yes, I had to look up how to spell that) that they put around my thigh during surgery. That maybe a vein stayed pinched. Sounds logical to me.

I was able to see my doctor before the surgery this time.

Actually I did the last time too except I didn't remember any of it because it was after the anesthesiologist did his work on me.

He was running a little late, so he actually came in to see me with his jacket still on, looking like any Joe Shmoe off the street.

He reviewed with Micah and I everything that he planned on doing and signed my leg.
Did I ever mention he's the best?

I then went to the operating room and all the nurses introduced themselves and they moved me to the table. Then my anesthesiologist rushed in saying "I wanted to give her something before she had to go through all this." I guess he thought I'd be nervous wreck being in there.

I told him, "It's ok. I'm cool."

And that's the last thing I remember.

I woke up feeling sooooo tired and nauseous. Why can't they let me sleep?!

I had some pretzels and ginger ale and within 20 minutes I was up on crutches.

A therapist came and spent about 5 minutes with me, bending my knee to around 130 degrees!

I was about 95 before the surgery.

Quad strength diminishes very quickly with a surgery, but I was able to hold my leg up.

Micah said that after the surgery my doctor came out to talk with him. The doc told him that during surgery the first thing he did was bend my knee and he hit that "wall" that I was always hitting at around 95 degrees.

I had been concerned that he was going to bend it all the way to my butt with no problem and that he would determine that it was all a psychological issue.

Thankfully that was not the case.

With a lot of pressure he said it popped and cracked and crunched.

Scar tissue.

He broke it up by pushing it through that "wall."

Next he went in with the scope into the same two small incisions from before.

He cleaned out all the scar tissue and then checked the ligament that he added in the last surgery to make sure that it wasn't too tight and adding to the problem.

He said that the ligament looked great. (YAY!)

After stitching me up he bent the leg again, going all the way to my butt without any problems.

When we left the surgical center I got into Micah's truck and noticed that it was actually easier to get into then it was before the surgery. Because the leg was bending so easily.

A couple hours after we got home the "Roger's Cocktail" that he injected into my knee for numbing (in replace of the full leg block) started to wear off.

I was feeling a little pain just in time for the CPM machine to arrive. I'll talk about that and put up some pictures in the next post.

Later in the afternoon the nausea got the best of me.

But as usual, I felt a lot better afterwards.

Poor Micah was in the bathroom waiting to get into the shower when it all went down.

That evening I noticed that there was really no pain in the knee.

It was all in the quads. I guess since it hasn't bent that far since December.

They are on fire! I have no idea how I'm going to make it through physical therapy today. Maybe I'll take some oxycodone before I go. Oh yeah, he prescribed me oxy. I only took it twice so far and made it through the night without it. :)

All is vanity says the preacher

It is nearly 4 months post-op.

And tomorrow morning I go back. I'm really hoping that it is filled with scar tissue.

Because if it isn't... then I don't know what.

Tonight Micah and I went out for awhile, stopping at Walmart and Lowes and then dinner and a movie. It was difficult to just walk around the big stores. The knee would really start to bother me and I would be SO ready to leave the store... and then we still had to all the way to the truck.

I found myself getting really excited for the surgery.

Thinking "wow, after tomorrow things won't be like this anymore."

And that's when I catch myself.

Putting faith in a surgery.

Since all this started I've learned a lot.

I've learned...

It's ok if I don't get to 3 different grocery stores to find the best deals.

Dinner can wait a few minutes while I read a book to Elliot.

A phone call can mean SO much! (Thanks Kendra!)

But more than that I've learned that this too shall pass.

What is this little speck on the timeline of eternity?

It shall come and go and soon I'll be telling grand kids about it.

I'll be telling them that God speaks to us in mysterious ways.

That sometimes we must be brought low in order to look up.

I'll tell them that praising Him in the bad times brings him more glory then praising him in the good times.

I've also learned that I'm vain. So much is vain.

I put so much thought and time into such petty and temporary things.

And what do they amount to?

NOTHING!

What are they on the eternity timeline?

NOTHING!

And yet the temptation is there.

Every day.

Do I look nice enough?

Are my clothes fashionable?

Does the house look outdated?

Do we need more flowers in the landscaping?

Does so-and-so think I'm a dork?

What do others think of my mothering skills?

Goodness sakes alive! How do we not all go insane?

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil.

14 Weeks - More Surgery

Today I went back to see my doctor basically to see if the brace thinga-ma-jig is working. Which we kinda decided that it isn't.

He told me a story about another patient who had the same surgery and the same mobility problems. Ended up she had tons-o scar tissue.

So he thinks that that may be my problem also.

After checking my range of motion and watching my leg shake like CRAZY as I tried to bend it down from an outstretched position we decided that we are going to do surgery.

So, yes, most likely it is scar tissue, but it could also be that the MPFL tendon that he added is too tight.

He told me that I would have a femoral block again, but I asked that we not do that. My toes are still tingly from the last one. It was sooooo frustrating to not be able to cover up that foot at night or put a sock on it or even let anything touch it AT ALL!

He will first "manipulate" my leg... I take this to mean that he will test the range of motion and see how far it go while I'm out. He expects that it will bend farther, but with clicks and such as it passes through the scar tissue. Then he will open up the two small incisions from before and insert the scope to see whats going on in there. Hopefully he finds scar tissue and is able to remove it all. Then he will look over at the tendon to see if it is too tight. If so, he will cut it to release tension and he may have to open up the side incision to do that. Then I get stiched back up.

It's that simple.

The procedure will be done at his office and not at a hopsital. Immediately after the procedure a physical therapist will work with me and Lord willing I will be able to bend my leg much farther than I can now. I will come home that same day and continue with therapy appointments every day for a week.

He also ordered a CPM machine for me. Which is another thinga-ma-jig.

Basically it is the same as the thingy that I have now only it is motorized. I will only get this if insurance covers it because it is "ridiculously expensive" according to my doctor's assistant.

We didn't talk about pain meds except that I'm not having the block... I'm not really sure what I want. The oxycodone was wonderful at helping me deal with pain, but I love food.

And the oxy completely destroyed my appetite. Except for water. I didn't even want chocolate!

Pain or food. Pain or food. Pain or food.

Tis a difficult decision.

13 Weeks - Brace Thinga-ma-jig

Well, my brace thingy came on Wednesday.

A representative came to the house and taught me how to use it. He put it on my leg and tightened it until I felt a slight stretch.

Then we waited.

He said that after 5 minutes the stretch would release and then I could tighten it a little more until I felt a stretch again.

It never released.

He left the house and now I use this thing for about 15 minutes at a time, twice a day.

I called my physical therapist and asked him about it. (I haven't been to P.T. for a couple weeks now.) He said that basically we are retraining the muscle to know that it is "OK" to be in this position. I told him that after 15 minutes it feels worse then when I started, so he said to take it off for a few minutes and then put it back on for another 15.

Beautiful!

I haven't notice progress yet. My doctor wants me to give it 5 days. The rep. said to give it a month or so. The therapist said a couple weeks.

I go back to the doc on Thursday which will be about a week after I started using this torture machine.

If he doesn't see progress he most likely will want to schedule surgery.

We shall see.

11 Weeks

Physical therapy sessions have dwindled down to just once a week because my insurance only covers 15 sessions. I have two left before we start paying for them.

At the beginning of last week he order the brace machine thingy to help me bend. It still hasn't arrived.

On Friday at P.T. he started a massage technique to relax the quads. It actually really helped. I was able to bend a couple degrees more and it didn't feel like such a terrible stretch. He said that I can continue doing a deep tissue massage before stretching every day, so that's what I did over the weekend.

Then I noticed that I wasn't feeling a stretch, but more like a wall.

Usually I bend and start to feel a stretch in the front of the knee as I near 85 degrees. But since hitting 90 degrees I don't feel a stretch anymore.

I feel a wall.

It just won't go any further.

Today I had an appointment with my doctor and I knew going in that we were going to talk about surgery - just to see why it won't bend. He had me bend it and noted the lack of progression. Then he asked me to relax the knee, so that he could do the bending for me. He agreed that it felt like I was "hitting a wall" at 90 degrees.

He is definitely ready to do surgery very soon... he actually made it sound like he doesn't expect the brace thingy to work and seemed like he would prefer to just schedule the surgery today, but I requested that we wait and see how the brace thingy works first.

I go back to see him in two weeks and he expects to schedule the surgery that day... I'm praying that something will loosen up in there and we won't have to do that, but if I don't make progress I'm more than ready to go back under the knife to see what's going on.