Part #5 of Red E Trainer Tegan’s knee reconstruction which she is documenting for everyone to read!
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It was four weeks on Friday 29th June since I went under the knife for my knee reconstruction. By now I had expected to be back at work and life back to normal, or at the very least to be walking….
I was so wrong!
I saw my doctor on Tuesday 26th June to remove the brace and he taught me my first rehab exercise! Slowly extending and flexing my knee to regain movement and strength in my quads and hamstrings. On my first go I got about one centimetre of movement. As I progress with this, my goal is to get it comfortable, bending to 20 degrees from straight. Only at this point I can begin to weight bear and walk with out the crutches. This may take another two to three weeks!!
I flew home on Wednesday 27th July and after a hard time getting through security it was a pretty smooth but very long day. By the time I got home my leg was swolen from hip to toe, it was huge!! I’ve been keeping it up and the swelling has reduced alot making it a bit more comfortable.
I had no idea how much I had been relying on the support from my brace! I had started to move around quite well but since it has come off there is no cheating! My muscles (or lack of) are on their own now and I feel like I’m back to square one!! Just to raise my leg up a few inches to rest it on a pillow takes every bit of strength I have. And a short trip on the crutches leaves me puffed out sweaty, light headed and extremely frustrated!!
I’ve started doing the “mini” leg extentions a couple times a day, each time really trying to take it past the limit. Progress is slow but I’m learning to be patient and trust the process.
Tegan – Monday 2nd July, 2012.
