I feel like I am going nuts

Am I stir crazy???  YES, yes I am!  After spending 5+ weeks sitting in a recliner or laying in the bed...I am officially stir crazy.  Several things have been recent contributors to my current condition:

• I am really tired of using the CPM machine.  I wish there was someway I could use the machine at night but the machine is too uncomfortable now that I am bending the knee to extreme measures.
• The weather has been so nice outside and it is a bummer that I can't take full use of the time outside.  I miss evening walks and playing with the kids in the yard.  However, I know that soon this will change.
• My foot really hurts.  One thing I didn't expect was for my foot to hurt after all the time not using it.  I guess that is one thing I overlooked.  Even though I have been allowed to put a few pounds on that leg...my foot hurts so bad that it is fairly uncomfortable to use.  But like most things...this too shall pass.  So I am still using it.
• Pain meds in some ways helped the days go by faster.  Now that I am no longer on heavy pain meds it has become increasingly difficult to sleep...both during the day and night. (Currently I wake up around 8-12 times a night)
• My scar is healing and not looking so grotesque.  However, today the actual scar has become very painful.  Anytime something brushes my scar (including my brace) I want to scream.  Hopefully, this gets better soon.
• Lastly, you know you are stir crazy when you have played 55 games of risk in the past 4 weeks.  

Now that I have come to grips with my issues of cabin fever...I am really looking forward to going to the doctor next week.  I am praying that he will finally allow me to bend the leg by opening the locks on my brace.  This will at least allow me to sit in a normal chair and drive.  I think I might even have to take drivers ed again.  I don't think I have ever take 6.5 weeks off of driving.

More to come...today I am at 117 degrees ROM.

Scar Update

The body really is an amazing thing.  After just four weeks my scar is looking pretty good.  Here is a quick look...no worries, this isn't nearly as bad as it was that first week.

4 Week Update

February 14...that means today is Valentine's Day!  So before I forget, Happy V-DAY everyone.

Yesterday was also an important milestone in our house.  Yesterday marked four weeks post-surgery.  In many ways this week is a good time to commemorate the passing of time.  There has been a lot of change over the past few weeks but I still face a long road ahead.

Looking back over the first couple of weeks, I am glad those days are behind me.  On a scale of 1 to 10 being 1 as "no worries" and 10 being "life sucks," the first week after surgery was undoubtedly an 8.  Today I would say I linger around a 3 or a 4.  After spending the first 10 days exclusively in bed, living in the CPM machine, and not showering...life is now pretty good!  I am still living in my locked Bledsoe brace, but getting around the house is getting much easier and less painful.  I have even ventured out of the house to get to church and to get some ice cream.  I no longer have to beg Melissa to do everything and that is a nice place to be.  I now shower every other day, but I am still 100% dependent on Melissa to help me get clean.

My knee is still swollen, but most of the bruising has gone away.  My scar is healing very nicely too.  Last night I made some more progress in that I am now allowed to take off the brace when sleeping.  It felt a little weird but it was very nice to let the leg air out for a lengthy period of time.  I also have begun doing patellar manipulation.  Basically, what that means is that I relax the leg and have to manually move my knee cap around, mainly side to side right now.  This is to help eliminate scar tissue damage and to keep ROM at a comfortable and stable level.  I must say that it isn't the most fun thing I do in my day.  It is also hard to find the knee cap because the knee is still swollen and the knee cap is not noticeable without feeling around for it.

Furthermore, my hair is back after shaving it before surgery and the beard is also coming in very nicely.  I have also lost a total of 20 lbs...much of that being muscle.  I really look different then pre-surgery Lee having lost weight and muscle definition, using a walker, and growing a beard.

Four weeks are now done and hopefully the hardest part is now behind me.