My ACL Surgery! Video - Page 7

Check some of finndog's posts when he was on drugs......Just saying

Post-op day 4:

 

 

There's the brace, Finndog. Happy?

Yes. Can do leg raises. That's not hard. Can do quad fires. Also not hard. Ankle flexion/extension = easy. Bending my knee to 40° . . . now that's hard. I need to work on that more.

 

I see the doc on Wednesday. Should know if I'm cleared for PT after that.

Yeah. That's not a problem. I've had more trouble bending than straightening and locking it out. Weird how different recoveries work.

Maybe we should have an ACL Challenge this winter.  Ski off between Dsloan and Finndog, hosted in Tahoe.  The challenge will include groomers, trees, powder, moguls, small drops, with an emphasis on powder.  

 

 

 

Are you up for the challenge? 

Alternative comp.-Apre ski drinking @ said bar.

Challenge particulars will be negotiated. 

 

Maybe I'm not at 0, but I am able to "lock out" and lift leg. We'll see when I go to the doc tomorrow.

 

 

Small drops? Negative. Moguls? Probably not (this is not due to the shape of my knee so much as the shape of my skiing). Excited about the rest.

 

 

Definitely able to do this!!!

I am available for coaching/support.

I like how this is developing. 

Well, sheesh, maybe the challenge should take place at the bar and in the hot tub.  

 

Maybe a summer challenge at Squaw's High Camp is in order. 

Notice I didn't put Park and Pipe in the challenge? 

 

For entertainment while you're healing, watch this. 

1975 footage of first Quadruple Backflip on record

 I just thought of something that may aid this. I'm hypermobile, so that may help my knee get to 0 a bit faster. You've emphasized the importance of straightening my leg early on. I've been able to straighten it into the bed from pretty early on. I wonder if the hypermobility makes it easier . . .?

Not feeling in such good shape right now . . .

^^^ this is where I think its hard to find the balance between staying fit while waiting for surgery and pushing it too far. 

I know Dsloan was still playing volleyball and  doing other things that some may not have felt comfortable with.  The questions is, do you do more damage, or does it help in general fitness  for the recovery period? 

The answer to that is yes. The activities kept me in better shape, but I didn't have a major tear in my meniscus at first either. I did that with two falls after the initial injury -- one of which was while playing volleyball (albeit with a brace). Both falls were due to and aggravated my knee. :-/

Hmmm. I tried to post this a minute ago and it didn't work. Let's try again (and hope there isn't a double post).

 

Anyway, here are some pics from the doctor's office today:

 

Up close, there is a lot of bruising (is this better, Finn?). However, this is somewhat misleading because I think some of the "bruising" below is actually Betadine. Oh, and it appears I did have stitches.

 

 

Looks better cleaned off and from farther away (still some bruising, though).

 

 

Pretty representative of what it really looks like.

Here are some pics of the menisci repairs and the allograft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the x-rays:

 

 

Stitches!! I had a couple dozen staples on the side where the plate and screws went into my tibia plateau. They even used two or three on the tiny incision on the other side of the knee where they put in a big clamp to hold the bones in place while drilling and screwing. Every one of those staples came out with more discomfort than any stitches I've had removed.

So are staples a West thing, Finn? Maybe Midwest too because I had a bunch of staples in the back of my leg when I blew out my Achilles in Michigan in 1996.

You've got LOTS of hardware, though, Kneale. The staples were necessary to keep the nuts and bolts from popping out!