Finally...got some better news this week. After the last MRI, I had the chance to sit down with my doctor on Thursday. Immediately, he walked in and proclaimed, "I have good news."
The good news we heard is that the bone is now showing signs of vascularization...in other words, blood was beginning to flow back into the areas affected by the osteonecrosis. This is what we wanted to hear.
What does that mean? First, I no longer have to walk with a cane. Secondly, the overall process of healing will take around 6 months. Thus, we will have another MRI in 6 months to confirm the bone has healed completely. Until then, I have to continue to use my unloader brace for the next 6 months, but only when I know I am going to be on my feet for an extended amount of time. The great thing is I can begin introducing some activity back into my life. I was encouraged to walk around the block and to ride my bike. YEP, I can ride my bike again but I did have some specific guard rails...no hill climbing and no racing.
I am looking forward to spending time on the bike again.
I am still dealing with some pain in the knee. I am hoping that some of this is still a symptom of the osteonecrosis and the fact that my muscles and tendons are overloaded. I started to do some basic physical therapy to help rebuild the muscles and even ordered some orthotics to help with my overall alignement. Can't wait to see where things go.
I will continue to report any new progress and tell you how the therapy and the orthotics do for my overall progress.
