Homeward Bound

It's hard to believe that just 24 hours ago, I was out like a light, with the orthopaedic surgeon mucking about insude my knee.

It's funny....for any apprehension that I had before the procedure, the worst part of the surgical experience was getting something to eat afterwards. Not having eaten since the previous night, I was ravenous....and all the hospital would give me was a couple of plain cold sandwiches. They took an order for soup, but didn't get around to bringing it for ages.....and when they did, it was cauliflower, which I couldn't eat anyways. Good thing the wife and kids came to visit with snacks, or I may have had to order out for pizza!

In any case, I managed to get a full night's sleep without too much trouble, no doubt aided by the painkillers I was on. I did get sucked into watching Total Recall, but as soon as it was over dropped off.

The knee was too painful at all, no doubt thanks to the pills and, to a leser degree, the Cryo-cuff that I wore over the bandage. Perhaps the most irrtiating sensation of the night was the thrombosis-prevention macchine, which would apply pressure to my feet in a seemingly random sequence.

This morning, the day after the surgery, they fed me well and kept me plied with a teady diet of coffee. The physio came in and replaced the bandage with a Tubigrip, which I'll now wear until I see the ortho in a couple of weeks.

She also walked me through the initial course of exercises, which generally involve flexing the quad and hamstring muscles, rotating the ankle, and attempting to bend and straighten the knee.

It was good to see that they have me walking and applying weight to the surgically-repaired straight away-as much as it can bear. What was surprising was that at this juncture, the hamstring feels a lot more tender than the knee. Actually, maybe it's not that surrprising- after all, the surgeon did steal a bit of the hammy to make a new knee ligament.

I made it home without incident and spent the afternoon in the sun, watching the boys play football in the fron garden. Sigh. Can't wait to get back out there with them.

Anyhow, I am under orders not to push it too hard in the early going. At this point that won't be too difficult, but I can see the inaction starting to chafe in a few days or so. Still, until the swelling goes down and I am off all painkillers, it would be silly to do anything but the very basic stuff I've been advised to. I'm seeing my regular physio in 5 days; hopefully then we can map out a fuller plan of attack.

WHAT I CAN DO: Walk with crutches. Stand with most of the weight borne by the bad leg, aided by minimal support from crtuches.

PHYSICAL THERAPY: Basic muscle flexing and range of motion exercises. Following the RICE (rest, icing, compression, and elevation) treatment plan.