week 8-9, feelin divine!

haha, who still uses the word "divine"?  come to think of it, wasn't that the name of Hugh Grant's mistress back in the 90s?

I remember the most random things...

I completed week 8 which consisted of 2 PT sessions and my 8 week follow up appointment.  At my first session of the week, Kim asked about my plans to move to California.  I got thrown off when she asked that because it made me wonder if I was well enough to do things on my own.  I was guesstimating July.  She talked about how 3-5 months post op is when the graft is most vulnerable.  When you first get it, it's the strongest.  But it's a double edge sword because during the 3-5 months, there are more challenging exercises added into the mix, along with running.  But you have to be careful when doing the exercises because the graft is prone to reinjury.  Continuing the exercises is key because it will strengthen the ligament.  After that 5month mark, the graft will only get stronger.  When I thought about the 3-5 months, that would would be May to July.

I thought about this all while ellipticalling for 10min.  Just made that word up.  The elliptical faces Michigan Ave, so I see lots of buses pass by with a lot of uncomfortable stares from the stranger peeps facing east on the vehicle.  I wonder if they can actually see me see them.  Although things seem to feel more normal structurally, every once in a while I'll feel a pinching on the outside of my leg, along the IT band.  Definitely felt it after the elliptical.  Kim had me foam roll the outside of my leg from mid thigh down to mid calf back up again.  I feel like this will be a lingering pain for the next couple of months to a year, which gets me nervous about long distance running.

Here are my new exercises which I hope you can visualize through my description

• deep side lunge into opposite step side kick, much like kickboxing but in slow motion, close to pause mode.
• step up to the bosu ball with one leg while raising arms above head holding 7lb medicine ball (very similar to the liberty in cheerleading)
• side lunges with 7lb medicine ball brought to the side of the outside knee that's doing the lunge
• v-ups on the exercise ball, resting position is a push up position with legs resting on the ball
• asterisk heels taps where the leg standing in center is on a foam pad while free heel taps all 5 points of asterisk
• one leg on 4in platform while back leg taps side to side, all weight on the heel of the foot on the platform
• standing on foam pad with one leg while throwing 4lb ball against sideways trampoline with opposite hand (left handed!)
• running up and down the platform alternating legs for a minute straight (the most exciting one!)
• side stepping with navy blue theraband (2nd to highest resistance, black is highest)

All these are done on both legs, btw.  Mixed in with the exercises, Kim and I shared stories about post surgery.  We talked about post-op fashion- Kim had a custom made brace to wear but she never wore it during tumbling.  Her parents were made because the brace was paid out of pocket and custom fit for her leg!  For me it's still uncomfy to wear fitting pants because the material rubs over the scars, the skin is so sensitive in those parts!  Here's this week's icing view:

I usually schedule my session 2-3 weeks in advance.  At the end of April, I won't be able to make it to PT because of work and being out of town.  Kim was okay with me missing 2 weeks, as long as i incorporate the following 5 in my individual workouts:
-core

-balance

-strength

-balance and strength

-isolated exercises

...er something like that, i didn't want her to repeat them, was just gonna ask again at my last session before my Cali trip in 2 weeks.  So I wanted to share something that I've never seen before of all my years of exercising with the bosu ball.  Also, my biggest fear when standing on one or doing push-ups:

Last Thursday was my 8 week follow up with Dr. Edwards.  It was at 10:15am, I was already at work and of course, I had a baby patient who was due to eat at 10am.  I feel like that lil friend knew I had an appointment because he woke up way early, so I fed him, cuddled and was able to head to the appointment with 5 minutes to spare!  I had a list of questions prepared dealing with activity, PT, limitations, the story of each scar, and IT band issues.  I feel like she already knew what I had in my mind because everything she discussed answered most of my questions.  Then it was like an open forum.  But basically I could start biking to work at 3 months, no running until about month 4.  I can continue elliptical and stairs.  PT still goes on for a while, she even said she could set me up with people in california after I had mentioned my plans to head over there!  Turns out she lived there for 4 years!  She took a peek at my scars and said they look like they should, and just to protect them from the sun.  I was so curious about what went into what, so she explained where they drilled, pinned, threaded, and inserted the ligament.  pretty cool!  The very last thing I mentioned was about the strain I feel in my IT band when I do side stepping or step overs.  The reason that's felt is because when they inserted the ligament, they had to go through the band, not around.  Made sense.  Will take a while for that to get less sensitive.  It's just a whole game of patience, I'm only 2 months in and I feel like I can do things, but I know I have to keep myself from doing them which is really tough.  Check out this cute red potato I ran into:

a red potato expressing its love....i felt bad eating it, kinda like a double yolk egg, or twin banana

Here's my post op week 8 pic...again, not much change, only scar color

Here's a new perspective, aerial view!  This shows more scars: the scar on the left of the patella is where they threaded the ligament in through the IT band and through the femur.  The 2 scars on my kneecap are where the scopes were inserted, and the long incision on the bottom is where they drilled through my tibia so my ligament could attach through it.  Pretty neat, huh?

Lastly, my apologies for not blogging as often.  I've been getting frustrated because my internet has been cutting in and out in the past couple of weeks.  I called comcast and never got to a real person, but heard some tips from the recording.  I think I solved the problem this morning when I changed outlets for both my modem and router.  Just FYI if you ever experience problems.  Just keep your fingers and toes crossed that my problems are no more!  Have a great week!

post op week 7 wrap up

I just completed my 7th week with the new ligament.  Now that I'm able to do more things, I've cut down on the blogging, hoping to do it at least once a week now.  Things have started to plateau, exercises have been about the same, just with more resistance/challenge added to them.  This week I started lunges and heel taps, all tracing each end of this asterisk:

The new exercise of the week is the elliptical!  Now instead of warming up on the bike, I can warm up 10minutes on the elliptical.  It's pretty much the same, if not, less movement with the knee, only there's more balancing act to it.  The total gym single leg squats have continued on level 10 (highest level).  I've noticed there are more squats incorporated in my session.  Not just on the total gym, but on a foam pad, on the balance board, and on the squishy side of the bosu ball.  Btw, here's what Kim was talkin about with the Bosu disclaimer not living up to its namesake ("BOth Sides Up")

"standing on platform not recommended"  heh?

Kim had me show her my ability to go up 2 flights of stairs located in the front of the facility (that rhymed!)  I got scared because there's an abandoned big room on the 2nd floor so I kinda scurried back down the stairs, Kim was impressed.  Not a fan of abandoned cold areas, too Blair Witch for me.  Once I got back to the bottom of the stairs, my heart rate was up.  I went onto the mat to do some side planks with leg lifts, and diagonal planks on the exercise ball.  Those things made me sweat!  Really works the lower abs.  Sometimes I wonder why I'm doing them as my forearms are shaking like crazy.  But Kim stresses the importance of core strength which the hip muscles contribute to.  This past week was another 6th visit check up for strength when both my legs are tested.  Interestingly, my left leg felt stronger than my right when doing the resistance tests!  The exciting news is that I'm able to touch my heel to my butt on the first try!  Besides the elliptical, the other new exercise had to do with this push and pull apparatus

I have to push this thing forward and backward, 5 laps, each lap at a faster speed.  Reminded me of when I'd mow the lawn at my parents house.  I'd imagine this is what waxing a floor would be like.  Or two handed vacuuming?  Or just pushing a real heavy cart, like at costco.  There's 20lbs total on it.  I'm thinking the weight will increase next week.  I've upgraded the treadmill walking to side stepping.  It's harder to side step facing the left side because I'm pushing off with the left leg, kinda takes some thinking to do it with good rhythm.  These side steps go along with the step overs on the bosu ball.  Right now my main worry is the little pull I feel along the outside of my left leg when I step over the bosu.  It's the IT band acting up, which may be troublesome when I start distance running again.  Finally, I end my sessions with forward lunges with 4lb medicine ball in hand going side to side with each step.

another fun pic that I get to look at when laying on my tummy on the table

chillin'....literally!  this is my fav part, the icing!

In the work world, this was the 1st week that I worked 3 full shifts.  Get this- 2 of my coworkers will be seeing Dr. Edwards!  I didn't realize there were so many ortho issues amongst the NICU!  Could our lil babes really be workin us that hard?  Anyhoo, this is what my ride home looks like on the bus afterwards, always lookin for a spot to elevate.  God bless Beth, my fellow south looper.  She let me elevate my leg on her legs.

ahhhh, relief.

On the homefront, i've been baking more.  the weather is such a debbie downer so i bake to make the atmosphere a lil more uplifting.  It distracts me from looking at the gloomy weather.  Here are my latest concoctions:

banana cranberry walnut bread

neiman marcus cookies

it's fun playing martha stewart, plus it makes my place smell super yummy.  That's all for the 7th week summary, all that's left is...you guessed it, the post op week 7 pic! 

dimple patella still there, scars still the same color... i think from now everything will look the same, only the muscles will start to come back