First No Crutch Lap

And on the 87th day of using crutches, I was able to do a full lap around the parking lot at work (a half mile).  It's not exactly pretty but I made it.  I've been getting a little more comfortable walking on this leg the past few days or so.

I can't exactly say that I left the crutch at home or in the car. I used it to get to my desk this morning, but that's as far as it's gone.  Tomorrow I will plan to leave it in the car.

As this month has gone by I've had it in mind and have been hoping to be able to walk on Halloween for trick or treating. Assuming the rest of the week progresses like this, I should be in good shape and even more ready for that.

Hopefully as a few more weeks go by walking will feel normal again cause right now it certainly doesn't. Feels like about a 75/25 split between the knee and leg needing to be stronger and sturdier and my mental psyche of whether or not to trust it.  Time time time, every day is better!

Almost There

Not quite off the crutches. I'm trying. I've been using 1 crutch since Thursday 10/15 and I'm mostly okay on just 1. Definitely still feels weird and I'm concentrating on every step. Doing my best to step consistently. To not shift my balance too much as I go. To land my foot exactly the same. To bend my leg exactly the same. I've never been good at consistency.  I can get around the house a bit without the crutches but it's not exactly pretty.  I'm sure my PT guy will prefer to see me walk in with no crutches tomorrow and I'm trying but I'm just not quite there yet!  Sometimes it just feels like it bends weirdly. Some of it is mental, I understand that. I certainly don't want to re-injure it before it's healed. I'm willing to accept some degree of elongating the recovery if the result is less setbacks. That being said, I'm 80+ days into this now and I'm of course looking forward to giving up the crutches completely. Obviously I want to! Ultimately my goal is to be able to walk on Halloween. It's crazy, I was just thinking how this whole ordeal really put a damper on my summer, and it did, but it's crazy to think that it's almost November already. I can't exactly say the past three months have flown by, but they have gone by, and that's saying something!

It's Nice To Almost Walk Again

I am slowly easing into full weight bearing on this right leg. I'm still using both crutches. I have been able to use only one in times of need, like carrying a plate of food. I can do some walking without but not enough to quite ditch the crutches at home. It's only been a couple days. Though I'm not quite yet there it's nice to be able to at least crutch walk and not be wary of any weight. It's coming. Slowly but surely. One day at a time. One step at a time.

I should also note that yesterday I was able to get my first lap in around work since the surgery.  It was great to finally get outside and get some fresh air!

Doctor Follow Up

Had my four week post-op follow up yesterday.  The one I had been waiting for.  Doctor opened with "Are you ready to ditch the crutches?" -- UHH YEAH that's what I've been waiting for!  Got the green light to ditch them.  It should take about a week to transition off of them.  I began walking on my leg as soon as I left that room.  I'm still putting a good amount of the weight on the crutches, but it's so nice to be able to start the transition. I don't remember exactly how long it took for me to go from 2 crutches to 1 pre-surgery but that's what I'll be working on the next few weeks.

The only other take away other than everything looking good and him saying to not overdo the flexion quite yet (I'm at 82 degrees ROM as of the last PT appt Weds) was that it will take a while to get back to jogging.  With a normal ACL repair it's about 10 weeks. With an ACL repair with Meniscus it's closer to 4-6 months. (That's me)  Which I expected to hear.  Good news is that 1 of those months is already over. So projecting out 3-5 months from now puts me into the January-March range before I can get back into running.  That's fine.  I'm content to just be able to get back to walking at this point, and that should be soon.   I'm not expecting to be ready for kickball by Spring season, but possibly, hopefully Summer. And at the end of the day, if it takes me longer to return to be able to play longer into the future, I'm fine with that. IIWII right.

October!

I made it to October!  Two months have gone by since my initial injury and I'm happy to see days fall off the calendar.  This is a process.  This takes time.  Every day is a bit better.  The path is long. Won't lie.  I've been getting a little sick of this. But it's okay. It's going to get better. It gets better each day.  Can't wait til I can put some weight on this leg to kick start the next step of this recovery process. I've been having dreams about walking lately. Then I wake up and tighten my quads and do some leg raises and fall back asleep. It's a pattern. But not forever.