Pop!

I'm guessing you may be curious about what's going on with my bum knee lately? Well here's the deal. After I returned from my trip to New York, I limped around for a few days. It wasn't a bad limp, but it was there. I noticed it and my coworkers noticed it too. To be honest, I wasn't really worried. I knew I walked around way too much in Manhattan, but I actually felt as if my knee bounced back pretty well each day. Although after multiple days of wandering around, it had it's toll on my knee. I took it extra easy (if that is even possible) the week after I returned and my knee seemed to get back to normal. The current norm for me anyway.

I cannot deny that it's been a tough Summer. This second knee surgery really took it's toll on me, mentally and physically. The recovery period during the first 3-4 months was much worse than I imagined it would be. I have not been on the "sunny" side of life over the last 6 months or so. It's more like "clouds with a chance of rain." Not good. Back around May I got to the point that I wondered if I would ever be able to return to an active lifestyle again. It was sad for me. I didn't realize it at the time, but around July, shortly before I went to New York, it dawned on me that my worry was getting me nowhere. I can't say I entirely stopped worrying, but I drastically reduced the amount of it. I figured the surgery was behind me and there was nothing I could do to change it. I better just settle in and be patient. Dr. Dye said my knee would heal and I figured it may be good to start believing him.

During my trip, I did worry a little. I really had not walked that much in a long, long time. I thought to myself, "Should I be taking this trip? Maybe a stay-cation would be better for me right now." The need to get-out-of-town took over and I was pleasantly surprised how my knee handled the trip. That the achy feeling in my knee did not escalate to full pain and throbbing as it had when I did too much a few months earlier. In the mornings I would wake up and, while my knee didn't feel great, it wasn't holding me back. That was good to learn. I thought, maybe, just maybe my knee is on the road to be able to withstand some activity again.

A week and a half after I got home, I had a follow-up appointment with Dr. Dye. I hadn't seen him for about 6 weeks. He looked at my knee and said, "It looks better than the last time I saw you!" I laughed. What? How many knees a day does he see? 12... 20? Could he actually remember what my knee looked like 6 weeks ago? Dr. Dye does not take photos, but hey, maybe he has one of those photographic memories. Hmm. I thought it was interesting that during those 6 weeks since my last follow-up I had hoofed it around NY and he still thought my knee looked better! Dr. Dye told me to keep doing whatever I was doing and come back in 4 weeks. I've had to move that appointment out a few weeks due to some work trips, so we'll see what he has to say in mid-September.

There is one especially interesting thing to note. A few weeks ago, I was lounging on my couch (as I do more than I would like to admit) and had my leg propped up on a pillow. I do this often, especially when icing my knee. I had an urge to stretch and bend my legs, so I did. I heard a "pop!" in my left knee, honestly the loudest pop I have ever heard come from that knee, before or after surgery. The pop wasn't painful, it was just a noise. Well, something must have come "unstuck" because suddenly my knee didn't feel as tight. I swear, for the last few weeks it has felt significantly better and I can lift my leg straight with minimal pain in my knee. I would say that's progress! My guess is that one of those synovial "fronds," as Dr. Dye called them, stopped catching. All a part of the healing process, I guess.

I realized it's been a long time since I've taken or posted a range of motion photo. As you can see, my ROM is not back to normal, but has improved. It's all I can ask for as the Summer comes to a close. Hopefully Fall in San Francisco will be a little more "sunny" for me.