Patience

I'm at the point where I want to know when my knee will be healed. Come on people... how long do I have to wait??? I realize my moments of impatience have more to do with the past 18+ months than the last 5 and a half weeks since my surgery. I do recognize I am taking the right "baby steps" along the way. I have faithfully done my physical therapy exercises at least once a day and I am riding my bike on my trainer or a stationary bike for 15 minutes a day. Do you know how good it feels to actually break a sweat? : )

Today, I had an appointment with my physical therapist Susan. I asked, "When will I be able to run?" She said we should wait until at least 8 weeks since my surgery before we decide if it's time to run, or not. Susan said I will be outside cycling before I am able to run. Fine. One thing at at time, I understand. I was happy to hear I can up my bike trainer time gradually to 25 minutes over the next week. I also asked Susan how long it will be before my knee feels normal again, if at all. She said it will feel normal again, but to be patient. People who have resurfacing of the underside of the patella will feel some discomfort for 3-4 months. There are nerve endings in the cartilage under the knee cap that are affected by the surgery and cause some pain. As far as I can tell, it sounds like my current aches and pains are to be expected.

During my PT sessions, Susan has been doing massage on my knee on and near my incisions to work out the scar tissue. Ouch! Once she's done she passes me off to a PT assistant for exercises. A guy named Christian worked me out hard today! I especially liked balancing on on my left leg while standing on an oval-shaped squishy foam pad... while Christian threw a weighted ball at me to catch. Whoa! At least he played the game too and I got to throw the ball back at him. ; )