Hello world

Day 16 post op.

Today I decided to try walking without brace and without crutches.  Outside.  Scary!  But if my PT says I can do it then who am I to argue?  I walked to the shops and back.  I suppose it’s about a half mile round trip although I’m not sure as I’m not great with distance.  I thought 13.1 miles wasn’t all that far til I ran a half marathon last year...

I took my crutches with me just in case but I didn’t use them.  Of course I was walking very slowly and deliberately which is the antithesis of my usual hurried style.  I was very aware of people around me and worried about catching my toe on any jutting paving slabs.  I caught my toe twice shortly after the accident and my knee was bent back.  I can’t describe how much that hurt so I really don’t want anything like that to happen as it would put too much strain on the new graft.

I’m finding it a struggle to get downstairs with one foot on each stair.  I just don’t have the confidence to do that quite yet as it involves so much bending.  But going up wasn’t too bad as long as I was holding onto the handrail.

I’m now taking over the counter pain and inflammation relief so I hope that’s it now for the prescription drugs.

People keep asking me if I’m going to go skiing again.  It’s really difficult to answer because right now I can’t even think about it.  I have brand new shiny ski boots which I’ve hardly worn so it would be a real shame not to give them another outing but I definitely won’t be going any time soon.  Certainly not as soon as next season.  I may consider having a lesson at an indoor snow centre to get some confidence back but even that’s not on the cards in the near future.  I definitely intend to dance and run again though as long as everything heals up like it should.

So I’m working on the new exercises.  This exercise, bending and straightening of the knee with resistance, is my favourite because it feels like it’s strengthening the knee without any discomfort.