eric's acl

so i was cleared to fly from nyc to houston (a 3.5 hour flight) by my doctor three weeks after surgery. i’m sure when you’re cleared to fly depends on your doctor, the amount of swelling, how far along you are in recovery, and how long the flight is. though it wasn’t the most pleasant thing, it really wasn’t too bad.

couple of tips that would have helped me:

• make sure the brace goes on and off easily. you have to take it off for security, and will want it off during the flight as well.
• look pathetic and ask for extra leg room. also ask for an aisle seat. though if its between leg room and aisle, go with aisle.
• make sure to walk around once every hour. so necessary to keep that knee extending and bending.
• there will be a bunch of swelling. be ready for it.
• get one of these reusable ice bags, and try to get it completely filled at a bar in the terminal before you board. some flight attendants dont like using their limited stock of ice on you, and will only give you a little.
• before you do anything when you land, give yourself 30 min or so at the hotel to get your swelling down.

im back to physical therapy, which is a great step. the therapist was so impressed with my surgery that he called all the other therapists over to look at how small the incisions were, and how far my range of motion is (essentially zero degrees extension and 135 degrees flexion).

we essentially skipped the first month of exercises (i’m one month ahead of schedule after only 3 weeks post-surgery). doing leg press, squats, hip exercises, and other torturous exercises. but it feels good to work some of those muscles that have been shrinking due to atrophy.

its truly amazing how far ahead i am, but i know if i want to keep up this pace of recovery, i have to continue to work hard. it only took me 3 weeks to be 4 weeks ahead of schedule, but it’ll only take a few weeks of being lazy to fall 4 weeks behind.

finals are finally done and my first semester of bschool is over. i would highly recommend not having to deal with a knee surgery when you are just starting school, but sometimes life happens.

when my doctor said i was doing well, but i should do PT exercises, rest the knee and ice it when possible, i dont think he meant: hop a car to AC immediately after finals, stand at a craps table for a few hours, then go to a club. the good news is the knee held up, without crutches only in a brace. bad news is the knee was quite swollen the next day. oh well, totally worth it.

weighed myself for the first time since surgery and ive lost 8 pounds. i have been burning more calories using crutches, and i have been trying to avoid junk food since ive been stuck at home. on the other hand, it could be just be due to muscle atrophy in the right leg.

regardless, if atrophy was inevitable, then i guess its better to have lost weight than gained weight from eating junk and sitting on my couch.

i can now walk up and down stairs! stairs have by far been the most annoying part of being on crutches. with my brace on, i can carry my crutches in one hand, hold the rail in the other, and walk up and down relatively normally, such a relief.

also, those muscles in the right leg all of a sudden have work to do. every time i take a step i think “oh, that’s what it feels like to use the calf muscle.”

saw the doc yesterday and took off the waterproof wrap and gauze covering my incisions, most of the scars should nearly completely disappear. have to admit, a bit disappointed, i kind of wanted some serious acl scars, but its probably for the best.

i’m also cleared for physical therapy, which is probably good since the leg extensions and straight leg raises have gotten really boring, even with ankle weights on.

he also unlocked my leg brace. feels amazing, that thing sucks when its locked in full extension. i mean, it sucks when its not locked too, but sucks a whole lot less. i’m also allowed to travel without crutches soon, though its probably a good idea to keep them in chaotic situations (ie subway). its also good for getting myself a seat.

last, i was kind of speechless when he said after i see him in 2 months, i could be cleared to play light sports… if all things go well with PT. that’s pretty stunning, as it would be less than 3 months after surgery, and definitely a goal that should keep me inspired as i go through weeks of therapy.

surgery was 10 days ago, and before today, each day was better than the last. strength coming back, actually taking the subway, better mobility, less pain, etc. but i guess it cant always be good news.

today was the first day the knee was worse than the last day. sadly more pain and swelling than yesterday. definitely upped the cryo-cuff, decreased the strength exercises, and did my best to control this swelling, and was close to taking aleve, but was able to resist.

probably means i shouldn’t be pushing it by going to work every day, staying out late studying, etc. cant have all these steps forward without at least one step back right?

kbhembree asked: what graft did you use for your new ACL?

donor allograft. even though some studies said it doesn’t have the same strength as autograft, i think the skill of the surgeon makes a much bigger difference, and my surgeon prefers the allograft.

for over a month now, i havent left my apartment without either crutches or a cane. and though my taxi/car service use has increased, public transit is still my primary form of transportation. so here’s my down and dirty rankings of riders willingness to give up their seat for someone with a cane/crutches.

DISCLAIMER: i ride some lines more often than others, so some are based on tiny sample size (confidence interval is probably HUGE on those). also, if the train is only 25% full and there are plenty of empty seats, i cant really gauge willingness to give up seats. additionally, a-division trains (those on number lines) are narrower than b-division trains (those on letter lines), so that may bias my decision.

WINNER
C - often crowded, but even mean looking old women regularly offer their seats to me

BEST
B/D - you know those seats that jut out from the sides? people love giving those up
1 - the way too friendly upper west siders are good, the students are a coin flip
A - see B/D on seats

OKAY
N/Q - too many tourists
R - see N/Q on tourists
F/M - never really trust those LES-ers
6 - its fine, i guess

WORST
L - they like pretending they dont notice you
4/5 - never seen so many grown healthy adults fight for so few seats
2/3 - pretty decent at the tail ends, but the 34th/42nd/72nd stretch is chaotic

NOT RANKED
7 - who goes to queens anyway?
S - no beach, no prospect park, and i dont do times square or grand central
G - never crowded enough
J/Z - i forget these lines exist sometimes
E - im a brooklyn bound C-train man, the E is the bane of my existance