Another DOC visit

Another week...another doctor visit.  At just over 14 weeks post-op...I am feeling good and I was really looking forward to talking with Dr. Tarlow to see my latest progress and to ask some big questions.  Teh appointment was quick and full of exciting news.  The first news I got was that my doctor has decided to drop my health care provider.

Yes...not my fault.  And really I can't blame him for the challenge doctors have to face with providers these days.  What does that mean for me?  It means I have to go back to my old doctor that couldn't provide surgical services because the provider wouldn't cover the facility.  At least...I think I can go back as long as they haven't dropped my provider too.  Just another fun think to navigate through...

Back to the knee news...

1. The knee is still swollen but that isn't something that is totally abnormal at this point.

2. I have to wear my unloader brace for another 6 months and then for any periods of extended time on my feet.

3. Everything looks and feels like it is healing nicely.  I do have some popping and grinding still when the knee is flexed but the Doc told me that is fairly normal at this point and over time it should go away.

4. Stationary bike is a good thing as long as I don't overdo it!  Thus, I keep doing what I am doing and I actually road 5 miles yesterday.  My furthest bike ride in almost a year.

5. I asked if I could eventually Mountain bike again...while keeping my fingers crossed.  To which I couldn't believe my ears...the answer was YES!  In 18 months I can begin to mountain bike again.  That news was almost too good to hear.  I can't wait to get back on a bike soon- 18 months will not come fast enough.  (And yes, I will be allowed to single speed as long as it isn't a steady diet of it)

6. Dr. Tarlow, also felt that the cells are growing like weeds and that over the next 20 weeks they should begin to morph into a thicker substance that resembles the new cartilage that is to come.

Overall, the news was all good.  I couldn't be more excited.

Another Random Update

Today, I am at 9.5 weeks post-op.  I have been a little hesitant to post anything lately because the progress is very slow.  The knee is still a little swollen, the scar is healing nicely, my pain is manageable, and I am still in need of crutches to get around.

When it comes to the pain...I would never classify the knee as feeling awesome, but it does feel a lot better than it use to.  If I am honest, my progress seems to be moving at a glacial pace...the small increases in my ROM seems hardly enough material to write a blog about.  However, for your own boredom I will keep on keeping on!!!

Yesterday, brought some more progress.  I have slowly lowered the seat on the bike to help increase my range of motion.  I only have three more notches until my seat is all the way down.  I road for another 15 minutes yesterday.  It did take a few minutes until the knee warmed up so that I could actually make a full revolution.  Over the entire 15 minutes I set a new record for distance traveled.  I rode bike a total of .59 miles over 15 minutes.  Being a former competitive rider...It is hard to believe that I am celebrating such a small milestone on the bike...but you have to look at the little things.

I am getting more use to the brace everyday.  I did try to take a step around the car door this week with out the use of my crutches.  It was such a small distance I decided to give it a go.  Let's just say that if it wasn't for the brace and the car being so close to me I would have been flat on my face.  I am still not ready to walk unassisted yet.  Monday brings some more changes and more to share.

Stylin in my new brace!

This week has been a real test for the knee (8.5 weeks).  I attended a conference for the last three days which meant a lot of time on my feet and walking from session to session.  The time out of the house and the new routine proved to bring some great relief to the soul but a little more pain to the knee.  I also got really good at giving the short and modified story of what happened to everyone that had the nerve to ask me why I was on crutches.  Even though the extended time on my feet brought pain...it was all worth it!!!

The good news of the day is that I finally got my brace.  At least I think so...I mean, I think it is mine.  I took Aaron with me this afternoon to have a little father/son time.  As the tech assistant was opening the box holding my brace I asked Aaron what color he thought my brace would be.  He thought about for a minute and shrugged his shoulders.  With great enthusiasm in my voice and without hesitation, I told him it was black!  That was when I heard a the little voice of the tech assistant say..."Silver."

"What?" I questioned.

"It's silver.  Isn't that what you ordered?" she asked.

Evidently, the order was black, the order sheet also showed that it was suppose to be black.  But what we got...was silver.  I guess God thought I needed a little more bling in my life.  After convincing the tech to not send it back (I can't afford another week waiting for a new brace) we finally moved on to the fitting.  Here is a look at what the unloader brace looks like.

This view of the brace shows how the unloader brace actually works.  There are different numerical settings that correspond to the amount of pressure that gets placed on knee.  The pressure point is placed on the opposite side of where the relief is needed (the higher the number the greater the pressure).  In my case the pressure point is on the outside of my knee.  I will leave it in the second position because I have damage on both sides of the knee and we don't want to damage the outside of the knee trying to unload the inside of the knee.  The reason for having the brace is because the damage and the patch on the inside of my knee is so large...it should help that section of the knee have a better chance of healing.

The knee still continues to be slightly swollen- Swollen enough that I still have no real contours in the knee joint.  The best part of it is that my knee no longer looks like a watermelon, but more like a grapefruit.  The outside of the knee is still quite numb, but I guess that is normal.  I am enjoying my time working on ROM on the stationary bike.  I pretty much have no problems getting full rotation.  That means tomorrow I get to lower the seat and work on getting another full circle once again.  The most time I can spend on the bike is about 15 minutes before the pain gets to be too much.  Besides the bike I do some straight leg raises and that is really about all.  I can't wait until I hit a few more weeks and can begin walking exercises.

At least it is March Madness!!!  Go Kentucky!!!

Not this week...

I was planning to update everyone with my stylish looking brace today...but there is no brace.  I have been waiting all week to hear back from the doctor that my brace had arrived.  After waiting around until Thursday afternoon I decided to give the office a call to see what was going on.  What I found out is that the brace was just ordered on Wednesday due to slow insurance approval.  That means I have to wait another week to get my unloader brace. Now, don't get me wrong.  I am not super excited to wear another brace for a few months.  However, the brace will allow me to introduce a little more weight into the joint.

The bike work (ROM) is going well.  After slowly warming up the knee I have finally made a full rotation on the bike at a speedy rate of 15sec/rotation for 15 minutes.  At fifteen minutes it is time to fall off the bike and ice.  That's about all right now.

Doctor Visit #2- 6 weeks

I received some good news today visiting the Doc.  But let me add a little drama to the blog before we get  to that part of the appointment.

The last couple of days have been great.  All I can say is, "NO CPM!"The feeling of adding 6-8 hours of time back into your day is wonderful.  I feel like I have so much time to get things done that I couldn't do or was pushed by time to get done.  I have been able to do more work from home, talk with the kids more, and even read more (actually I have read 1000 pages in the last three days).  I had some catching up to do.

Moving forward...today has been the day I have been anticipating for the last two weeks: Follow-up #2.  Before we left for my appointment I was a little nervous.  I was afraid that the doctor would be disappointed in my ROM, or the swelling around my knee, or something else that I never thought of doing.  With some small butterflies in my stomach we loaded the kids and me into the van like usual; me scooting back on my butt while Melissa slowly holds my leg until I get into place.  We first headed over to my in-laws to drop of the kids with their grandmother and then we were off to see the "Wizard."

Fairly quickly after arriving to the doctor's office we were escorted back to our holding tank.  While crutching to the back of the office I noticed the office staff all looking at me...to which I responded in my best Mr. T impression..."What you lookin' at fool?"  No, not really but I thought about it.  Anyways, as I was saying...I was crutching to my holding tank when all of a sudden I got a few comments about how cool my crutches were.  I must say they are pretty cool and it is even more impressive to receive such high praise in an orthopedic doctor's office.  Incase you missed it...here is a quick reminder of how cool my crutches really are:

Impressed aren't you???

After sitting in my holding tank just a few minutes Dr. Tarlow made his way into the room.  The moment I have been waiting for was finally here.  He asked me to remove my gargantuan brace so he could have a quick look.  He then proceeded to check my knee cap, feel around the osteotomy, look at my scar, and lastly pick up my leg to check stiffness and ROM.  To my amazement he told me everything look great and that he was impressed at how well I was doing...the swelling looked great and my ROM was awesome.  One more test...it was time to get an ex-ray to see if the Osteotomy had fully healed.  Good news...the bone had healed about 95%  The only part left was a small section at the base of the Osteotomy where the bone hadn't filled in.  Dr. Tarlow said that this was normal and that he was very pleased with my healing.

What does all that mean?  Here is basically what I was told...I no longer have to wear the immobilizer!  YEAH!  However, I was measured today for an unloader brace and will have to go pick it up next week when it arrives.  Secondly, I can bend my leg and drive again.  It was nice driving home from the doctor today.  The days of sitting in the back of the van facing the side windows are gone.  Furthermore, I can start following the PT protocol that is laid out for me in the Carticel book.  Doc told me I don't need to pay for PT unless I really want to...I have done a good enough job so far on my own that he trusts me to do what needs to be done.  I still have 5.5 week left of using my crutches but it feels nice to have made some major progress in the recovery process.  I still have lots to do and a lot of time in rehab...but progress is being made.

Glad things went well today.