Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Day 41: Progress and Normalcy

Monday at therapy I made some progress. I'm always surprised  at what I'm able to do once he asks me to do it. He added an exercise: Step ups. Basically like stepping up onto a stair that's only 3 inches high and then back down again. For just a second or two with each step 100% of my weight is on the bad leg. And more then that it is bent! It felt really good to be able to do that. Then at the end, when he tortures me by helping to bend my leg farther then I'm able to bend it on my own, we were able to bend it to 65 degrees.
I finally got fed up with the insomnia and took 2 benadryl and 2 tylenol... it worked! 6 Hours of sleep! I did that two nights in a row and then last night took a break from it (I don't want to be dependent on drugs to sleep) and only got about 3 hours. I usually sleep for the first 2 hours and then wake up and roll over constantly for several hours and then fall asleep for another hour before waking up around 6am. The trick is to find a position that doesn't make my knee feel like it is swelling.
I've been doing a lot more around the house. The other day I made homemade pretzels!
(LOVE Pinterest)
It was a recipe that utilized the bread machine for the dough cycle. So no kneading!

I can vacuum small areas at a time, clean up Elliot's toys, do the dishes... I even did a load of laundry! Though it was kind of tricky getting the basket down the stairs with crutches.
I feel so much better being able to do "my job" around the house.
Doing nothing, sleeping never, sitting always... it's just a bad concoction. Being able to accomplish a task here and there gives me just the little bit of confidence I need to keep pushing. Keep stretching. Because the knee is completely stable for the first time in... well... ever. I'm pretty sure that I'm physically able to do much more then I'm mentally allowing myself to do. It's going to take some time to learn how to trust it again.

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