Hello Renrenspeakers! I hope all is well! Time is truly just a concept because what do you mean it has been one month since I went under the knife and got this knee of mine fixed! I have been reflecting on my progress thus far, and I am very happy to say that recovery has still been very smooth for the most part! My main job has been to mobilize my knee as much as I can tolerate (of course, some discomfort is okay but I try not to push through sharp pain). My quad activation is all here and my strength is slowly starting to build back up. How do I know that? Well, when I contract my quad muscle, I can now see definition not only on the lateral portion of my thigh but also on the medial side of my thigh. I think each part of my quad is remembering it is a part of my body!

An important milestone I am excited to share with yall is that I am now walking again without crutches, whohoo! To be clear, I am only walking around the house without crutches consistently and with my brace unlocked to begin to renormalize my gait pattern. When I walk, I no longer feel like my leg is going to buckle, which is a good sign of good quad activation. I believe I have made more of a conscious effort to distribute weight among both my legs (though I am sure I am still heavily favoring my left, uninjured side). Of course, I am still walking with one crutch to ambulate community distances just for safety and stability. One thing I really am looking forward to is that in two weeks, I will be brace free!

Full flexion is definitely a slower process to regain. At week 3 post op, I was measured to have 88 degrees of flexion, so almost at the 90 degree mark! I hope in a few days after remeasure that number will increase even more. Activities that have been helping me to regain my flexion have been the famous heel slides, passive knee flexion seated in a chair, and my little mobile under the desk bike. It is amazing to see my body slowly return back to its previous state, given time of course.

My next immediate goals are to return back to driving, which will be nice to finally regain my independence again for engaging in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Side note – if you are an OT, you know exactly what I mean by IADLs, lol. I would also like to be able to start going to the gym to supplement the exercises that I have been working on in PT. Slowly but surely!

ACL recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. This lesson continues to reign true each passing day and week. Though I am regaining mobility again, I am not quite at the stage where I can walk fast nor walk for long distances without major fatigue or swelling. Each day I thank God I feel a bit stronger. My initial most pertinent challenge of not being able to voluntarily lift my leg up is now almost second nature at this point. Looking back on how getting out of bed, going to the bathroom, and sitting in the passenger seat in my car among many other tasks were so difficult before and now is pretty much second nature is incredibly rewarding to reflect on. I am going to continue to trust the process and let my body do exactly what it is designed to do — to heal and restore.

Cheers to my one month surgiversary!

Peace and love,

Irene