Gimpy Gash Grumps

My struggle through ACL recovery. 

[cutietwopooks]

Off the crutches baby!

8 days post op

ROM: 0-90

New leg brace and no more crutches! So excited for my newfound freedom, I'll be able to hobble around so much quicker now 😊

EMS was super fun today, really easy to see the activation of my quad (check out the area right above my knee)

Other than suction marks from the EMS machine, left quad doesn't seem to have shrunk too much. Pretty close in size to my right quad😁 Calf seems to have shrunk a little bit 😣

Fancy new knee brace. So much more comfortable than the full leg brace 😍😍😍

PT exercises

Toe points

Back and forth heel slides

Side to side heel slides

Quad activation (sitting)

Mini squats

Quad lifts

Quad activation (standing)

Walking without brace

[cutietwopooks]

7 days post-op

Basically a week after my surgery to take out my screw and suture a miniscus tear.

Sutures seem to be healing up well (don't mind the dried blood 😅). Not too much swelling in my knee either. Today I spent a lot of time without crutches hobbling around.

[cutietwopooks]

Surgery 1 of 2, Post-op Day 1

Had my follow up today to take out the drains... Man was that painful and disturbing, definitely the worst part so far. The nurse was very nice and even gave me two packs of gauze to squeeze as she pulled the drains out. Both. At the same time, and I could feel them snaking out of my knee. Ugh.

Otherwise, it feels GREAT to have the drains out and to be able to lay in bed with out the brace strapped on. Had a quick discussion with the surgeon about recovery and we already scheduled my ACL reconstruction for Mar 18.

Looks like everything is so we'll healed from my first ACL surgery that we can treat this one like a primary surgery. Harvest from my calf tendon, and a disolvable scre. No metal screw this time to give me constant pain and discomfort!

1 more week in the stiff brace with crutches, then I'll get the more lightweight articulated brace to wear until my ACL reconstruction.

Miniscus physical therapy starts later today ^_^

[cutietwopooks]

Surgery the day after my birthday! ACL Reconstruction Take 2, Surgery 1 of 2

Yesterday I had a "small" procedure to take out the metal screw from my first ACL surgery and added a suture for a small miniscus tear on the inner side of the knee that they discovered during the procedure. The joint looks great and I for sure, without a doubt, don't have an ACL ^_^

Staff was really nice during the surgery, happy to speak English with me and they all wished me a very happy birthday right before they put me under. Also, post-op snacks here are way better. Biscoff cookies and Apfelschorle. Delicious. Bonus points for giving me a cute heart to mark which leg to do the operation on. ❤️

Other than a dull ache where they took out the screw, not too much pain, I even started my pain meds a little late. Weirdest/scariest part is that I have to give myself an injection everyday to keep the swelling down... I absolutely hate needles so that took a lot of mental prep. But, easier than expected and definitely a little fascinating to feel the pressure difference when the needle gets past your skin layers. Weird.

I was given a straight leg brace for after the surgery, and it's the first time I've ever had to wear a knee brace. It took a lot of getting used to and made it very difficult to sleep. But that's what I get for having a big butt which makes it hard to sleep on my back.

1 week in crutches, 6 weeks in a knee brace, then time for the big show and my second ACL reconstruction. Then 6-12 months of recovery then back to sports!! 🏐🏸🎿⛷️💃🏊🏋️🤸🚴

[cutietwopooks]

ACL Reconstruction Revised- in Deutschland

So... I'm back. Had another ultimate injury about 2 years ago. A young inexperienced player made a late bid on a disc, and so his shoulder ended up colliding with the outside of my left knee and then kept going. Pop, pain swelling.

I decided to take a break from competitive sports and see if I could be happy just biking and working out on my own without an ACL (unconfirmed at that point) for awhile. Because I was silly and getting surgery in a country where you don't know the language very well was terrifying.

Welp, after about 1.5 years without competitive sports I got the itch again. I tried to get back into Volleyball and a friend asked me to try out for her club team. After two straight practices in a row where something would happen with my knee... I decided to finally get it checked out.

3 doctor appts and an MRI later, it was confirmed. No ACL, only hope of getting back to sports is another ACL reconstruction on my left knee. Yay.

For the New Year I'll have 2 surgeries to look forward to. The first to take out my metal screw and brackets, clean out the tunnel, clear out any irregularities, and just look at the whole joint. Then the actual ACL reconstruction/revision 3-4 weeks later.

Dr. Scheffler is pretty confident he'll want to use my Achilles for the graft. Cool

Excited for the new scars and ready to put in the new work. Also, looking forward to using my super cool purple arm crutches.

[cutietwopooks]

Here we go again, aus Deutschland

ACL surgery v 2.0. Just had my second appointment with my new surgeon here in Berlin to double check my MRI and XRays before scheduling my two procedures.

[cutietwopooks]

Berlin Bound

I have my therabands in tow and I'm ready to brave the absurdly high prices for out of town gym memberships in Berlin. Can't wait to see how much I can improve on my own over the next month. Last measurements in the US: Swelling 0.5 cm, ROM 0 to 132

[cutietwopooks]

Forward Progress!

Wednesday will be EIGHT FREAKING WEEKS since my surgery on my left ACL and it feels pretty darn good. I walked a total of 5 miles over the weekend on uneven trails in the Metroparks and just felt a little fatigue at the end of each ~2.5 mile hike. I also caught myself running down a few stairs when I was in a hurry to get to work this morning, which was pretty darn cool. 

Had a really good PT session today as well. Graduated to 90lbs with the leg press and 40 pounds with the single leg press. (I think I’ll do 100/50 when I work out next at the gym, shhh, don’t tell). Did some dinosaur walks with a band around my ankles and had to resist the urge to roar. 

PT exercises are so awkward, I never know what to do with my hands. 

and next week I get to try...

THE ELLIPTICAL. 

Booyah bitches...

[cutietwopooks]

Boom beetches! ROM 0 to 125!

[cutietwopooks]

Week 4- post opt appt

TIL that the pain at the bottom of my incision is from the tunnel that they drilled through my bone. Also, the NP referred to me as a "slim woman" and my "incisions look great" not sure which made me feel more fllattered.

[cutietwopooks]

Woohoo

Now cleared to do leg press, single leg press, balancing stuff and side step ups. Great day at PT today, definitely saw progress, especially with cycling. Can't wait until I can start biking to work again

[cutietwopooks]

ROM 0- 116. So pumped

[madmen-amc]

Don’t count Mad Men out. The Final Episodes premiere this Sunday at 10|9c.

[cutietwopooks]

Can't wait to watch while I ice.

[cutietwopooks]

PT yesterday was decent at best. ROM 5-105. Knee super stiff.

[cutietwopooks]

For the record, having a bad cold while also hobbling around on one good knee is the stone cold worst. 

[cutietwopooks]

T=17 Oh quad sets. Why you so hard?!

[cutietwopooks]

T=16 Rehab at the hotel for the win.