April 2012
13 posts
Trending in the NBA: ACL Tears
When this past weekend began, I was excited for all of the possibilities the NBA playoffs would bring. Great plays, competitive basketball, pure entertainment. Instead, the first two games I watched just made me cringe as I witnessed a couple of major knee injuries to key players. A couple of torn ACLs.
First, I saw Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls go down in a heap when he landed awkwardly...
Are We There Yet?
So I’ve officially reached the 1 week mark post-surgery.
To say it’s been a breeze would be a lie, as this past week has been all about overcoming struggles, dealing with pain and accepting that recovering from knee surgery is going to take a very long time. I keep telling myself, “It hasn’t even been a week yet,” whenever the pain becomes too much or when I think...
A Rush of Blood to the Feet
The worst part about getting up after having been sitting or lying down for some time is the phenomenon that occurs the moment your foot points to the ground.
Like a waterfall, a rush of blood goes straight down to my knees and I can feel my leg swelling inside my knee brace to support this massive influx of blood. But what makes this event unique is that it’s visible in my toes because they...
Day 3 - Highlight of the Night
The one thing that people may not realize when recovering from knee surgery is that you’re pretty much confined to your home until you’ve healed enough to be able to walk and do things unassisted. As such, there’s not very much in terms of scenery.
Sure, there are movies, video games, books and sleep to keep you occupied during those “x” amount of days, but...
“Make sure you see lots. As lots as you can for me!”
– Me to @janeccman, in reference to her trip to Asia during my recovery. /dies
Fragile Bird
Sleep. It helps you feel more refreshed. It aids your body in healing itself. It’s just something that’s overall good for you.
Then why am I avoiding it?
There is a part of me that dreads going to sleep these days because it often leads to involuntary twitching of my entire left leg. Which in my case, is not a very pleasant thing because of the fragile nature it is currently in....
Day 2 - Physiotherapy Begins
Today I took the first step in regaining full use of my left knee and attended my first physiotherapy session. As this is such a crucial step in the recovery process after surgery, I wanted to make sure I found a place that not only had the know-how and expertise to help me achieve my goals, but also the ability to make me feel as comfortable as possible while fighting through the pain of the...
Peeing Made Easy
Due to the incredibly long time it takes for me to get out of bed, gather myself with crutches and head to the washroom, I’ve decided that it’s easier to just stay in bed and pee there. What I mean is, I’ll be making use of a urinal that will make my life infinitely easier.
Just roll over, pee, rinse and repeat.
AMAZING!
Don't be brave. Use drugs.
Tylenol-3 and Oxycodone. What would I do without these painkillers? When I first got back from the hospital, I was still on some of the anaesthetic that was given to me during my surgery. Pain was minimal and I was happy because my left knee didn’t hurt as much as I expected. Several hours later… …and it was a completely different story. Every twitch, every vibration, every...
Day 1 - Get the expletive up!
The reconstructive knee surgery I had was only a day surgery, so I was able to go home on the same day. My left knee was heavily wrapped in not only a protective dressing, but also a pretty heavy duty brace to keep everything in place. It felt like it was 100 pounds so it was quite difficult to move. Luckily, I had a pair of crutches to help me get around.
However, once I returned home, the...
Reconstruction Complete
On Tuesday, April 17th, I had knee surgery to reconstruct the ACL that I had torn several years ago while kicking someone that owed me money. Actually, not really. The real cause of this injury was a little more mundane. It occurred during a high school badminton tournament and has re-occurred again and again over the years. I never really had it properly assessed professionally until recently, so...
