6 Weeks Already

Okay, so I'm a little late writing this one again!  Life keeps getting in the way!  6 weeks post- op and feeling great.  I went to the orthopedic on 11/4 and they gave me the elliptical.  No arc trainer, but who's complaining?  Beggars can't be choosers.  They updated my orders for PT and sent me on my way.  1st stop, the gym for my 1st 5K on the elliptical since pre-surgery!  Woo-hoo!  The pictures below are from 11/10 exactly 6 weeks post-op.

                                   
                              Look at that, I can finally engage my inner quad muscle!

Physical therapy is going great now that I have the "great" PT's "I" selected and am doing more strengthening exercises.  They did inform me that the the orthopedic wrote NO RUNNING for 3 MONTHS on the new PT order.  Probably because they could tell I am getting antsy and wanted to reinforce that running is still a no-no!  I was actually talking to my PT about this.  My knee does feel great, but it doesn't feel perfect.  I know that there is no way that I am ready to run yet.  I am really paying attention to my limitations.  After trick or treating and a few trips to the mall, I now know I have about 60-90 minutes of walking in me before I need to stop.  Not because I can't walk any longer, but because I can hear my knee saying "Enough is enough."  I know that I can handle 60 minutes of cardio broken up between the elliptical and the bike.  I know that I can now put minimal pressure on my knee on a mat, but not on the carpet.  I know that even though I am feeling great, I need to proceed with caution because 6 weeks post-op is when most people re-injure themselves because their knee feels "great".  My PT said to me it is our job to pull people back when they get too ambitious....myself included of course.   Surgery was the easy part, (pain med complications put aside).....patience with the whole recovery is the hard part!

Weeks 4 & 5 Post-op

4 weeks post op was on Thursday the 27th....with the power outages I am just now getting around to updating.  This will probably be a long post because today is November 3rd and it's officially 5 weeks post op.

Let's start with 4 weeks post-op....everything is going great.  PT is helping, but is boring as hell! I've been on the bike at least 4X a week since I received the okay.  I am so happy with the progress I have made.  My physical therapist informed me that I'm at 140 degrees for ROM and my good leg is at 150 degrees.  So basically I have 10 degrees to go.....  Woo Hoo!  Here's a few pictures of week 4 before I took my massive wipeout....  What wipe-out you ask?  The one I took on some black ice, the day of the freak 1 inch snow fall, outside of Slade's school, right in front of a couple of his friends!   It was pretty bad.  I fell right on my bad knee and twisted as I went down. Worst part, I heard it pop!  Literally hobbled into the truck and called Keith crying.  I was convinced I had re-torn it!  Off to the orthopedic again to find out whether it would be a glass of wine or a bottle of wine kind of night.  Luckily, everything seemed to be intact, I just had a lot of swelling.  Thoughts being that the pop I heard was probably just some scar tissue!  Crisis averted and I did enjoy a nice glass of wine that night!

Week 5 post-op.  Not much has changed.  All my bruising is finally gone, my ROM is still at 140, the swelling is going back down and I'm still on the bike 4X a week.  I am going back to the orthopedic tomorrow.  My hopes are that I will be allowed some variety when it comes to cardio. I'm so over the bike.  I go from the upright bike, to the spinning bike to the recumbent bike.  That's about all I get for variety these days.  I am also hoping that I'll be able to start some light strength training on my own....God how I would love to be done with PT.  I know how important it is, but honestly I feel like it's an insult to me with some of the wimpy exercises I have to do!  Maybe I was just a bit annoyed with my therapist today because she was whining about how sore she was from running!  Witch!  Yes, jealousy may have got the better of me!  But really, not the place to be talking about running!  :) Or maybe it's because she treats me as if I'm just a number on the conveyor belt!  No variety for her, just cookie cutter PT!    There are 2 other therapists that I really like and truly seem interested in my recovery.  If I must go back, I am so going to hand pick my physical therapists.  Knowledge is power!  And I plan on using mine! Here are some pictures from today!

    I am finally able to start contracting my quad muscle.  Not completely, but it's getting there!

              Incisions are looking good.  A bit redder than before, but I did just fall on them!

No more bruising! Took exactly 5 weeks for it to disappear.

3 weeks Post-op

Can't even believe it's been 3 weeks already.  My knee is feeling good.  I even wore heels last night to Wine Class.  They were low heels, but a step up from my daily sneakers and UGGS!  I'm still learning what normal is when it comes to my right knee.  I get paranoid when it feels different, but it should feel different, because it is different....I have been continuing my time at the gym on the bike and PT is going well.  PT is boring, but the electrical stimuli is really helping me get back my quad muscle contraction abilities.... Here are some pictures from today.

                                    Still a bit swollen, but it's improving.  You can see
                                       where my quad is still looking a bit deformed.

                 Bruising is subsiding, but according to Shealyn it's turning into a rainbow!

                           
          I'm amazed at how minimal the scarring is.   I'm still using Vitamin E to help though!


While at PT today, I overheard some of the girls chit chatting and I was amazed at how negative this one girl is.  I could tell on my 1st visit that she was uber negative, but her conversations today were unbelievable.  A good friend of mine once told me "you'll receive more with honey than vinegar."  Clearly this girl was pouring on the vinegar and it's no wonder people are not treating her the way she wants to be treated.  Ever since I was given the diagnosis of Thyroid Cancer this time last year, my priorities and life have changed significantly.  I remind myself to be thankful on a daily basis as well as letting the little stuff go.  Easier said than done, but overall I am happy with how far I've come.  As far as I'm concerned misery loves company and I will not allow myself to be dragged into it anymore.  I have way too much to be thankful for......

2 Weeks Post-Op

I should have posted this on Thursday the 13th, but I have had a crazy busy week and did not even have a minute to get to it.  Let's start with some pictures though.  These were taken on Thursday, exactly 2 weeks post-op.

                                                        
                                   The incisions are looking great and healing nicely.

         The swelling has gone down significantly and my knee is starting to look normal again.

                         I still have some nasty bruising on the back, which I was told is the
                                         residual blood from the drilling they had to do.


As for my recovery....it's going great.  Much better than expected.  I can walk upstairs no problem and downstairs slowly.  I have been going to the gym and gradually working up my time on the bike which I can now make complete revolutions on.  Still icing every time I have the chance.  I also started PT this week.  They were surprised at how well I'm doing.  Before PT on Thursday I went to the gym and hit the bike for 40 minutes....apparently that is a lot for  2 weeks post surgery.   I'm not pushing it, just listening to what my knee is saying.  I was taking Advil during the day and a Naprosyn at night, but I'm even done with that.  I woke up this morning thinking, I forgot to take both my Advil and Naprosyn yesterday....oh well, just thinking of it as another milestone on my road to recovery.  I'm not being naive, I know I still have a long road ahead of me, that may have a bump or 2, or 3, but for now I'm taking it day by day.  I'm happy with where I'm at and looking forward to my active future.

Post-Op News

I had my post-op appointment yesterday morning and it went terrific!  Lost the crutches, lost the brace and most importantly lost those annoying compression hose.  Dr. S. says everything looks fantastic and I'm a bit ahead on recovery!  Yeah me, Rockstar patient!  Overall, pain is minimal, swelling is down, and incisions look great. I will be starting physical therapy Tuesday.  Yes, I did ask about the gym.  I got the okay for the bike only,  as tolerated because my range of motion still isn't anywhere near where it will be.  He said I should see some more improvements over the next couple of days.  I was thrilled, so I left his office and headed straight to the gym.    Headed to the bikes and was a bit disappointed when  I could only make it around less than 2/3 of a rotation.  I couldn't even make the machine turn on because I was so slow.  I didn't let that stop me though, I did what felt comfortable and only lasted about 7 minutes!  Better than nothing though right?!  I then hit the weight room and did a quick upper body workout and abs, then called it a day.   Here are a couple pictures of my knee and my battle wounds!

By the end of the day my knee was a bit swollen and sore.  I did ice on and off throughout the day though and I think that is going to be a part of my regular routine for the near future.  Feeling great again today, but plan on trying my spinning bike and getting on the CPM machine for a few hours. Might as well use it until they pick it up!  Off to enjoy this gorgeous weather!

Me & My New ACL

Well, I am finally back.  My ACL reconstruction and meniscus repair took place on 9/29/11.....surgery went well according to the nurses and surgeon.  I was a bit incoherent, so I'm not too sure of the specifics, but I will be sure to get them at my 1st post-op appointment.  One thing I learned last year from my thyroidectomy, was that I do NOT do well with anesthesia.  This held true yet again! Let's put it this way, I was the 1st of the morning surgeries and the last to be discharged.  I won't go into details, I'll just say it wasn't pretty!  Here are a few pictures of my knee from surgery day.  And yes, I did get a pedicure for the occasion!

The weekend was tough.   My knee was feeling good, pain was manageable thanks to my fantastic husband, who made sure I had constant ice and that my pain meds were given to me with saltines at exactly 4 hour intervals as prescribed.

Apparently, I am no better with pain meds than anesthesia because by Saturday I was so violently sick and dehydrated that I should have gone to the hospital for some IV fluids.  Luckily, with the help of some Herb Ox Chicken broth we managed to get me back from the edge.   Coming back from what feels like death is a slow process.  Keith was sent out for more chicken broth, white pasta, white rice and saltines.  I fought the nausea all day Sunday, even after cutting my pain meds dosage in half the night before.   The mandatory bland diet was wreaking havoc on my body as well.  White carbs and sodium are things  I rarely consume and my body must have been thinking "What the heck is she doing to me!"   I took my last narcotic pain med Sunday morning and refused to take anymore.  I would rather be in pain than deal with the nausea.  I swapped to Naprosyn that afternoon and it was the best decision I could have made.

By Tuesday, Cabin Fever was in full swing and I went for my 1st supervised drive with my Dad to pick up the kids at school.  Wednesday was my 1st day driving on my own and God it was wonderful, pouring rain and all!  Today is officially 1 week post-op and my knee is feeling great....my knee is up to 90 degrees on the CPM machine,  I can weight bear with the crutches and I am only taking Advil during the day and Naprosyn at night.  My follow-up appointment is tomorrow morning and I'm very excited.  If all goes as expected I will be able to lose the crutches and brace. I'm also hoping that I'll get the okay to hit the ARC trainer on 0 incline and low resistance.  If not, I'll resign myself to the Upper Body Bike and a good upper body workout, although my arms and shoulders should be looking good after all the stairs I've been doing with these crutches!

Finally Ready!

Well, tomorrow is the big day.  Surgery at 7:30am and I am ready!  I have been so busy the past few days getting ready that I haven't had much time to worry.  My OCD projects are complete, the house has been cleaned, beds have been stripped, my nails and toes are done, my hair is blown out straight (for easier management post-op) and I bought a cute post surgery outfit for myself. Just because I may be feeling like crap doesn't mean I have to look like it!  :)  Last night I had a much needed dinner out at Burton's with a couple of great friends.  No better combo than good friends, laughs, bitching, a bottle of wine, a few martini's and a Smore's dessert.   Tonight I'm going to bed once the tooth fairy comes.  Shealyn lost a tooth yesterday, and that damn fairy forgot to come!  She must of been preoccupied or something.

My workouts have been more consistent than ever and I am honestly feeling great.  Today's workout was bittersweet and I was left with mixed emotions.  I hate the unknown and this whole recovery thing is truly throwing a wrench in my plans.  I hate not knowing.  It would be so much easier if they told me today you can do this, tomorrow you can do that and next week we'll work on this.  Yes, they have given me the general parameters, but it's not enough for someone like me.  I am just going to have to roll with the punches and hope for the best and not worry about when I'll be able to get back in the gym even part-time.....I keep repeating my new mantra over and over in my head..."Be a Rockstar patient, Be a Rockstar patient....."

My final pre-op workout looked like this:

50 minutes/ 2.25 miles on the ARC trainer
7 (25) abs
3 (12) side bends each side
3 (12) modified squats
3 (12) step ups each side
3 (12) Leg presses
3 (12) Calf raises
3 (12) Leg Curls
3 (12) Leg Extensions
3 (12) Inner Thigh Machine
3 (12) Outer Thigh Machine

I have worked hard and have managed to get all my weights up to where they were pre-torn ACL/Meniscus.   I am hoping all this strength training is truly beneficial to my recovery.  I've really had a lot of time to think while working out and I'm only now seeing how this journey is relative. When looking at the big picture of life, this journey will be only a blip on the radar.  Living healthy and working out are a part of who I am....it's going to take more than a torn ACL & meniscus to keep me down.....I enter surgery knowing that I am truly blessed with an amazing husband, 4 beautiful kids, a great family and some pretty terrific friends.....Life is Good!

Missing my Advil......

I pop Advil like M & M's,  even before I injured my knee.  So when the nurse called about my pre-op instructions, I was a bit taken back when she said NO ADVIL for 7 days before surgery.....Excuse me?!  This is not going to be pretty.  Looks like ice and wine are going to have to be substituted for my daily advil.

Went to the gym and had a great workout.  A new playlist usually guarantees me a good one, but today I felt amazing!  If I wasn't time crunched with the closing of the gym, I would have gone on for 6 miles on the elliptical.  Maybe Wednesday which will be my last official workout before surgery.  My workout looked like this today.

     5.1 miles on the Elliptical
     (3) 12 Step ups each leg
     (3) 12 Modified Squats
     (3) 12 Leg presses
     (3) 12 Leg Curls
     (3) 12 Leg Extensions
     (3) 12 Inner Thigh Machine
     (3) 12 Outer Thigh Machine
     (6) 25 Crunches
     (3) 12 Side Bends each side

I am officially wiped out....had a great time with the kids and extended family at the PMA Fall Festival yesterday. Changing the kids school was probably one of the most stressful things I have ever done.  The rewards are worth it though.  They're happy, I'm happy....makes life so much easier.  Today was a productive day...lots of errands, the gym and home projects.  Didn't you know that it is mandatory for all small home projects to be done before surgery?!  The pending surgery has really kicked my OCD into overdrive.  I am loving the results though, so no complaints here.  3 full days before my surgery and still a lot left to do....not too busy to squeeze in a last minute dinner out with some great friends though!  I'm off to crack open that bottle of wine and ice my knee like the rockstar patient I am trying to be would!  Advil?  What Advil?!

Focusing on the Positive

To say it has been a crazy week would be an understatement!  I was back to the orthopedics office twice....once for me, once for Slade.  Poor kid fractured his wrist playing football, but that is a whole other story.  I met with the Kristen, my orthopedic NP this week.  Went great, my knee is ready for surgery.  I then went for my EKG and pre-op blood work....surgery is one week from today and I'm feeling great!  Hit the gym this morning after 2 days off due to my crazy week and I had another great workout!

     5K on the Elliptical (Shaved over a minute off my PR since injury)
     (3) 12 step ups each leg
     (3) 12 modified squats
     (3) 12 leg presses (increased weight)
     (3) 12 leg curls
     (3) 12 leg extensions (increased weight)
     (3) 12 inner thigh machine (increased weight)
     (3) 12 outer thigh machine
     (6) 25 abs
     (3) 12 side bends each side

On two occasions this week I have been reminded how nice people can truly be... First was a secretary who went above and beyond to help me out when I went through Mom panic when Slade fractured his wrist.  I left her a message thanking her the next day and she called me back to thank me for the nice message.  The second was the girl at the valet where I had my blood work done.  She stopped me and asked how my knee was doing.  She remembered me from when I first injured my knee and was going in for my brace.  That was a month ago....not only did she remember me, she remembered my injury and how I hurt myself.   I still can't wrap my brain around it.... How refreshing it was to cross paths with 2 such special people.  Life is too short to tolerate the negativity that surrounds all of us. I have a long recovery ahead of me where I am bound to run into a few bumps.  Today I am choosing to focus on the positive!  I have been given a fabulous life and family which I am choosing to celebrate.   If that life involves running after surgery, a bottle of wine, Burtons and Social Networking, so be it.  To all the haters, bring your misery elsewhere!

Getting Stronger

Today I had a hard time getting myself to the gym.  Probably because I usually work out in the morning and today I had to wait for Keith to get home at 3pm.  It took everything I had to muster the energy to get out the door.  I finally arrived at the gym around 4pm and decided to punish myself for my lack of motivation.  I put myself on the dreaded Arc Trainer thinking payback! Much to my surprise, it wasn't as hard as it normally is.  I even bumped up the resistance and incline a bit.  Gone are the days of relying on my HRM and my Garmin.  Since I tore my ACL and meniscus I have been relying completely on how my body is feeling as to how hard and how far I push myself.   I did 30 minutes on the Arc Trainer and then headed over to the Upper Body Bike. I did 10 minutes and had to bump up the resistance there too.  I then headed to the weight room. Today my strength routine looked like this...

     (3) 12 step ups each leg
     (3) 12 leg presses
     (3) 12 leg curls
     (3) 12 leg extensions
     (3) 12 inner thigh machine
     (3) 12 outer thigh machine
     (3) 12 lower back machine
     (6) 25 abs

This workout was turning out much better than I could have imagined.  In all my years of working out, I've always been a cardio queen.  I've always tried to incorporate strength training because I know how important it is and how great the benefits are, but for some reason I've never been able to stick with it for more than a few months.  When times get busy, strength training is always the first thing I abandon.  Today I increased my weights again and my workout was over before I could get annoyed with it.  I actually really enjoyed it.   I loved knowing that my legs were getting stronger and that will in turn help my recovery....I discovered today that my playlist really helped keep me going.  I always have my ipod on for cardio, but usually dump it for weight training....Why?  I have no idea, but I must of forgot today and the result was a great workout. The music really kept me in the zone.

I'm not saying that my knee injury is a blessing, but I will say it is teaching me valuable lessons about myself that I may not have ever learned......giving me more things to ponder the next time I'm on the Arc Trainer.......

Is it Friday yet?

My day got off to a rough start.....I woke up to an email from itunes stating that I had purchased almost $200 worth of apps!  Not me, my little angels.  The Ipad is now gone for at least a week with app blocks set and Apple was kind enough to refund me this one time.  Crisis averted....next a message left on our machine from the Discover Fraud department, apparently they had thought all the itunes charges were fishy, so I had to contact them and explain the situation.  They had already blocked another charge for more than $100 for more apps!!!  Again, crisis averted.  Off to drop Colin off at school.  The teacher hands me a notice and informs me that there is a case of head lice in the class!  Seriously?!  Colin was signed in at 8am and signed out at 8:04am.  Not chancing it, see you on Monday!  My gym visit was abandoned so that I could spend the morning straightening out the above mess.  Hoping to get there tonight, but with the day I have had I'm not counting on it.

My knee was sore yesterday, but I still went to the gym.  I took it easy and hit the elliptical for a 5k and did abs then called it a day.  I was looking through some pictures on my phone and found a few I had taken of my knee that I thought I'd post for reference.

This is my knee on Monday, 8/22.  Looks like a huge cantaloupe!  This is the day after my trampoline mishap.

And this is a shot from 9/6.  Looks so much better, still slightly swollen and looking a bit deformed if you ask me.  It's progress though.  I am able to bend and straighten my knee about 95% now.  I am hoping that will be enough to prevent a 2nd surgery.  I have my follow-up appointment on Monday, I guess I'll find out then!  Today is officially 2 weeks from surgery and I'm still working hard on getting my legs strengthened up.

Despite the morning I had, the day has gone pretty well...homework is done, supper is ready to serve and  I've already started tubby time, so I am on the right path for a good night.  Keith is even getting home at 5pm tonight and that is an added bonus.  Who knows, maybe I will manage to squeeze a workout in!

Manic Monday

I thought I was doing myself a favor by scheduling the house cleaners for 1st thing Monday morning.....hindsight, not my best decision.  After a very busy weekend, the kids were off to a slow start and I spent most of the early morning following behind them, nagging them to get going. Half way through drop offs I realize I didn't leave the door unlocked for the cleaners and now my truck is on the brink of overheating!  Really?!  My father-in-law was kind enough to come over and let the cleaners in.  This allowed me the time to pull over and let my truck cool down every so often so that I could get the rest of the kids to school.  Best part of the morning was when Shealyn jumped out of the truck with a huge smile on her little face.  Not one tear today!  My heart swelled and I realized my morning issues were not as dire as I initially thought.  Keith walked me through checking and filling my antifreeze, which should hold me over for the rest of the day until he gets home tonight to fix it.  Must say I looked cute working on my truck using Shealyn's little princess stool!

I refused to blow off my workout due to a little truck trouble.  Especially since I didn't go this weekend.  Off to the gym I went for my workout.  (Thankful that this mornings antics kept my mind busy and I didn't dwell on the fact that it was yet another perfect day for running.)  I had a great workout and even increased some of my weights already.  Nothing crazy, I just knew I was ready to push it a little bit.  My workout looked like this today:

     3.1 miles on the Elliptical
     1 mile on the Upper Body Bike
    (3) 12 Leg Presses
    (3) 12 Leg Extensions
    (3) 12 Leg Curls
    (3) 12 Inner Thigh Machine
    (3) 12 Outer Thigh Machine
    (4) 25 Crunches
    (3) 12 Side Bends Each Side

After the gym I stopped at the farm stand for some fresh veggies, picked up Colin at school and just made us a couple fantastic salads.  My day may have started out a little rocky, but once I took control back and focused on what was important,  it improved.  I'm off to head outside with Colin so he can ride his bike and I can enjoy this gorgeous day!  17 days until surgery.....

Happy Monday!

TGIF

Well, the kids made it through the first week of full days at school.   A beautiful sunny day, no tears at school drop off, (my little princess has been missing me) and my Autumn Leaves air freshener in my truck were all great ways to start my day.  My mood changed and envy moved in quickly as I drove past many runners on my usual route.  Yes, today was a great day, but it is what I'd call my perfect running day....Cool morning, sun shining, light breeze, and a touch of fall in the air......

Knowing that this is the 1st of many days, weeks & months that I will not be able to be out pounding the pavement, I knew I needed to do something to change my attitude quickly.  I was heading to the gym anyways, but knew I needed to mix it up today to get out of this funk.....so what do I do...I jump on the ARC trainer.  I hate this machine!  It always feels like I'm working hard and going nowhere!  I like  to see my miles adding up!  Never the case with this machine. Apparently this is another mind game I'm playing with myself these days in addition to hiding my HRM and Garmin so that I'm not tempted to see my distance traveled or calories burned.  My workouts now need to focus on strengthening my quads and hamstrings to prepare me for surgery, not the distance I've run, the calories burned or the pace I'm keeping.  This machine always leaves my legs burning, so I do what I have to do!  After 30 minutes, I've had enough and peek at my distance....1.4 miles!  WTF!  Seriously, I could have walked double that faster with my sneakers tied together!  Again, refocusing myself, I knew my legs were burning so I was on the right track.  Next I headed over to the Upper Body Bike.  Might as well get acquainted with this machine as my arms will be my only source of cardio for at least awhile after surgery.  HOLY MOLY!  I lasted 5 minutes and my arms were on fire!  I stopped there because I had an upper body strength routine planned and I wanted to be able to complete it.  Today in the weight room I did the below workout.

     (3) 12 Bicep Curls
     (3) 12 Tricep Dips
     (3) 12 Shoulder Presses
     (3) 12 Reverse Flys
     (3) 12 Inclined Bench Press
     (3) 12 Lower Back Machine
     (4) 25 Crunches

I am thankful that no one else was in the training room today. Trying to get on the floor mat for abs without being able to bend down or put pressure on your knee can be a bit cumbersome. Honestly, I was even laughing at myself!  Overall I had a good workout and my head is in a better place than before.  My mantra for this journey will be.... "Be a Rockstar Patient."  Apparently, "Go Big or Go Home" got me into this mess!

Happy Friday!

Another rainy day?

Well you'd think with all this rain I'd be in a crappy mood.  However, today has been a good day. It is officially 3 weeks until surgery and 11 days until my follow-up appointment.  Today was the 1st day all 4 kids were in school, so I took advantage of my free time and hit the gym.  One good thing about all this rain is that I don't yearn to run in the rain, so the gym would have been my choice for today anyways.

I'm actually a picky runner.  I hate the treadmill.  Again, like I said, I get bored easily.  I will use it when I am desperate for a run or to do some interval training, but that's it!  You will never catch me running outside in the heat and humidity or the freezing cold and snow.  I'm more of a 3 season runner....with the occasional bonus run on the not too hot, the not too cold and the not too rainy days of my off season.  I did enjoy my Thanksgiving and New Years Day 5K races this year and was looking forward to making them annual traditions with my family......next year!

As for my workout today I did:
     3.1 miles on the elliptcal
     (3) 12 leg press
     (3) 12 leg curl
     (3) 12 leg extension
     (3) 12 inner leg
     (3) 12 outer leg
     (3) 12 each leg of step-ups
     (4) 25 crunches
     (3) 12 each side of side bends

My run on the elliptical felt great and I was motivated by the elders on each side of me.  I hope that when I am in my 70's and 80's I will still be as active.  What an inspiration!  I was feeling good after my workout and was glad to see the sun when I left the gym.  Symbolic of my workout perhaps?  Home to some stretching for my knee, a hot shower and 20 minutes of icing.

Now the craziness of school pick-ups and homework begins....until next time!

And the journey begins.....

Well...since I am going to have more downtime than I am used to in the upcoming weeks, and months I've decided to blog about my journey.  What journey you ask?  The journey of my completely torn ACL and meniscus.....but let me start off with a little bit of backround.

I am a wife to a pretty great husband and a SAHM of 4 wonderful kids.....to say I'm busy is an understatement.   Health & fitness are my passions.  I've worked out pretty consistently over the past 4 years.  I go to the gym and have probably tried every workout there is on the market.  I love keeping it new and I get bored easily.  Working out and living a healthy lifestyle are important to me.  Not only does it help me be a better mom by de-stressing me, it is giving my children a look at what a healthy life is and setting an example for them.  Over the past 1.5 years I've taken up running.  Not aggressively, but definitely something that I love and something that has become my new "me" time. Even now, I  feel as if running is still new to me.  It is something that I cannot completely conquer.  Running is something I truly have to work at and I love the challenge.  There is nothing better than the feeling after a great or even a not so great run.  So, I guess this injury is just another part of my journey here on earth.  To remind me of how very lucky I am and to not take things for granted!  Crap, who would've thought I'd be brought to tears by the thought of not being able to run for a long while!

Now onto my injury!  I love to be active and being able to keep up with my kids.....I never really thought much about it.  I just enjoyed my time goofing off and playing with the kids.  All that changed one recent Sunday evening.  Jumping and flipping on the trampoline is something I do often.  I mean really, we have 2 trampolines in our backyard!   My latest jaunt on our trampoline began uneventful like any other day. However this time, while doing a back flip that I have done a thousand times, something went wrong.  I landed the damn thing as my knee twisted, went pop and down I went.  Immediate swelling and the inability to straighten or bend it completely.  I knew it was bad!  Off to the orthopedics office I went the next morning!

Fast forward a week or so after my initial meeting with my orthopedic surgeon.  It was a Tuesday and I was heading in to see Dr. S for my MRI results....initial thoughts before my MRI, were that it was a torn meniscus and that is what was causing my knee to be locked.  I was in complete denial, I had looked at my MRI photo's and compared them to youtube and any other website I could find and my meniscus looked intact and healthy to me.  Even if it was torn, it's a quick surgery and recovery is relatively quick for a knee injury.  Then he spoke those words, Kelly, you've completely torn your ACL, and have a torn meniscus.  We may need to operate twice, no running, no skiing, 6 month recovery, autograft/allocraft ACL.  Oh, and since we'll be using a cadaver ACL there is also the risk for contracting life threatening infections....Uhm, Dr. S, we both better knock on wood because clearly you can see the luck I have.  Once my head stopped spinning, I spoke with Dr. S at length. He was optimistic that if I worked on stretching my knee and getting it straight, he would only have to operate once.  We set up a follow-up appt to check on my progress for 3 weeks out and my surgery was set for 9/29.  I am allowed the bike, the elliptical and weight bearing exercises for my quads and hamstrings in preparation for surgery. Oh and lots of ice and ibuprofen!

It has been one week since that day!  I am feeling good, my knee is sore, but the pain isn't too bad unless I twist it or try to bend down!  I have been stretching, icing, and working out as instructed.  I have 13 days until my follow-up appointment.  Here I sit, putting it all out there, hoping that when I hit the pavement again I can see how far I've come and appreciate the simpleness of how great the ability of putting one foot in front of the other truly is.....