I had my surgery follow-up doctor's appointment this morning. I got a whole lot of questions answered, learned more about the inside of my knee and, most importantly, got the okay to bend my knee and exchnanged the big, bulky brace for a much more comfortable, flexible brace. I'm cleared to walk around on my own (no crutches) as much as I'm able, go back to work, do upper body and abs work at the gym, drive and resume pretty much my normal life as soon as I'm comfortable doing that. So that's all great news. I still have to wear the brace while I'm up and about, but I don't have to sleep with it. And I'm pretty sure it will fit under most of my pants. And I do still have some swelling in my knee. That's normal and apparently is the last thing to go back to normal. So I'm guessing I'll be doing a lot of elevating and icing of my knee for a while. But, overall, I'm exceedingly happy with the answers that I got and the results so far. Okay, just being able to bend my knee makes me overjoyed. It's the small things. :)
Apparently the surgery that I had was the 85% solution. For 85% of the population, this surgery, the physical therapy that follows and maintaining a good, balanced exercise program completely fixes the issue. For the remaining 15%, there's another surgery (which sounded like a whole lot of not fun) that fixes most of them. While I've never been anyone's definition of normal, I'm really hoping that I'm at least normal enough to be in 85%.
Starting hopefully sometime late this week, I'll be doing physical therapy. I don't know if that will be the "come in three times a week" type or the "do these exercises on your own and come back in a week" type. I'm hoping it's the later. I'm doing the therapy at the same place as last time, so the people know me and know that I will do what they tell me to. But, we'll see. PT will last 3-4 weeks and then I go back to the doc and we evalute where I'm at.
In the meantime, I'm hoping to return to work starting tomorrow. I don't have the stamina for full days yet, but short days are better than nothing and talking with my immediate supervisor it sounds like it would be helpful for me to have easy, face-to-face, interaction with my coworkers while I'm doing this stuff. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'll be less distracted and more productive (and have fewer computer issues) if I'm at work rather than at home. I have to go back in through the medical department, get their approval to return and get a medical parking spot (read: assigned and much closer to the door). So that will be the first hurdle. Hopefully it will go smoothly and I'll be able to get at least a few hours or real work done tomorrow.
Many, many thanks to everyone who's helped me out, stayed with me, brought me food, visited, drove me places, prayed with and for me, let me vent to them, offered to help, encouraged me, made me laugh, and everything else. It's been a tough time, especially last week and I know it's not over, but you guys have helped me through it all and I know you'll continue to help me out as I need it. I don't have the words to say other than "Thank you so very much". I couldn't have made it without you.
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