Melissa The Soccer Player

Hello and welcome to my blog. 
Melissa is asking for help. 
Please read her story and leave comments.

Thanks,
Skinnygurl





On June 11, 2012 I blew my PCL out during a coed soccer game. I went into a challenge with a guy on the other team and he nailed me, cleats up, straight in the knee. I felt an intense burning sensation. and what I can best describe as feeling like my knee bent the wrong way.
A trip to the ER resulted in a diagnosis of no tears, just some strain from the hyper-extension. I got an appointment with an orthopedist and a manual exam and MRI confirmed a torn PCL. Initially my injury was graded at a 1.5-2+, which I was told is right on the edge of what you can live with and rehab without surgical intervention. I was locked out and no-weight-bearing in an immobilizing brace for 3 weeks, but the tibial sag didn't seem to be improving at all. They locked me out for another 3 weeks, and felt like there was sufficient progress to be begin physical therapy. As with everyone else on here, my muscles had atrophied so quickly that I had to rebuild all of the strength in my leg. I made good progress, and within a few months my physical therapists allowed me to do some very tentative jogging to see how things held up.
Unfortunately, they didn't hold up at all. The tibial sag returned and worsened. By my next orthopedic appointment I was graded at a 3+ and told I had no other option but surgery.

I got a call on December 27, 2012 that a donor ligament had come available and I had the surgery on January 15, 2013 during which my surgeon removed my PCL (apparently one end of it had completely torn off the bone, and there was a tear about 3/4 of the way through the middle of the ligament as well) and used the tibial inlay technique to replace it with the allograft in addition to tightening my LCL and MCL, which had both been stretched enough during the accident to not really provide much in the way of stability anymore.

The first few days were brutal. The polar care was the only thing that kept me sane. I was locked out with no weight bearing for 3 weeks. After that I spent 3 weeks still locked out, but able to bear 50% weight on my bad leg using crutches. At the 6 week mark my surgeon told me to lose the brace and crutches and go my own. It was really weird- my nerve endings had been severed and then I hadn't put any weight on my foot at all for weeks- it felt like my foot was all pins and needles for the first few days. I'd say it was a week before I felt comfortable enough to really walk without being overly tentative.

My first few appointments post-op were great and my physical therapists were happy with my recovery. I was able to get through my wedding with no issues, took a 2 week break from physical therapy to head to London and then got back to work. However, at about the 4.5 month mark I started to notice that I could feel a little shifting in my knee at times. It wasn't anywhere as bad as the initial tear instability, but enough to worry me given what happened the first time through my PT sequence. I went in for an emergency check with PT, and they confirmed that I had regained some tibial sag. While they said a little of loosening was to be expected after the transition from lock out to ROM exercises, this was more than they felt comfortable with. No one has ever been able to explain to me why this happened- their only guess would be a fall or a blow to my knee, but I never experienced either of them.

Around this time, I was cleared to jog for 1 minute intervals at PT to try and regain my running form. I never had any pain in the back of my knee, but I started to have a stab of pain in one spot on the front of my knee (right over the top of my fat pad) upon impact while running. After ruling out fat pad issues and instability resulting from muscles that weren't quite back to 100%, my therapists had me run with a tape job that pulled my tibia forward when i flexed my quad- I was able to run with little to no pain. The working theory is that the sag is causing my femur and tibia to contact each other "off" from where they normally would in a solid knee.

So that's where I am right now- 5 months out and fully functional in day to day activities, but only able to run with a tape job or my playmaker PCL brace. It's pretty devastating to make such great progress and work so hard, only to have everything fall apart for no apparent reason twice. I have my next appointment with my surgeon in a month and a half, at which point I can bring up my concerns, but there isn't much he could do short of redoing the surgery. Instead, my therapists have me working on strengthening my quads, hamstring and glutes as much as possible to try and provide the maximum amount of stability to my knee.
I guess my questions would be:

1) Has anyone else had a PCL repair kind of flame out after progressing perfectly for months without experiencing any sort of impact injury or other factor that would stretch the ligament out?

2) Is anyone else competing at a high level in soccer or running moderate distances (I was running 5 miles a day pre-injury) with a sag of probably 1-1.5+?


Thank you,
Melissa

PCL and LCL Injury

Let me introduce Caroline,

In August 2011 I fell off a push bike and hurt my knee the MRI confirmed a Complete PCL and grade 2 Lcl, Finally seen Consultant who told me I had a end point on my PCL and therefore it was only a grade 2 and grade 2 LCL therefore, a unstable knee.
I started Physio weekly and the professional thought I would manage without surgery. It has give way once, but I dont trust it and have had to stop cycling, swimming due to pain. Stairs are a challenge going up and down with pain in the outer aspect and the knee cap pain. Dr now say surgery is my best option he will use Le Prade technique, He is unsure if he will have to do a oestomy first therefore surgery will be in two stages. I have lots of questions

1.How long I will take before I can return to a sitting job then a walking job.

2 Will I after surgery/ recovery be able to cycle, swim and hit a uneven surface most pavements without the pain I get at present.

Thanks any Help or advice gratefully received

Recently my knee gave way half way down a flight of stairs, I would have fallen but lucky grabbed the rail and since then It is more painful than ever on uneven surfaces and really feels unsafe, I have gone back to wearing my brace. Therefore my decision is Surgery

I welcome all comments and thank you in advance.

Jeanette's Journey

On November 5th 2011, I hyper-extended and dislocated my knee. After the results of the MRI came back I found out I ruptured my ACL and PCL and my MCL was hanging on by a thread.. It was no wonder I felt like my lower leg was not connected to my upper leg.. anyway I had to wait 12 weeks before my surgery because I had so much blood in my knee area and all the muscle behind my knee was torn and they wanted to see how well my MCL would heal on its own.. So Physical Therapy started November 30th 2011 for range of motion.. It was amazing, I got full range back before my surgery on January 27 2012.

On January 27, 2012 I went in for surgery, They replaced my ACL, PCL with cadaver parts and tightening my MCL with a screw.. It was a 4 and a half hour surgery with 2 surgeons and they ended up doing a double bundle for my ACL so that was a lot more extensive..
On Jan 28 the first day post op I was not sure I was going to make it. I have never been in that much pain, I was sick to my stomach, the pain pills every 4 hours were just taking the edge off for a little while.. Sunday Jan 29th was a little bit better but not much, I was thinking there was no way I was going to make it out to the car on Monday to get to the Dr’s, But Monday came and I was a little better and I did make it to the DR’s.. Wednesday Feb 1, 2012 I went to Physical Therapy to start Range of motion again.. Thank goodness for the pain pills J.. PT will be twice a week again for just range of Motion. I started Back to work on Thursday Feb 2, 2012 for a half day then back full time on Monday Feb 6th.. Sitting at my Desk all day was a chore but I would put my leg up on a chair, then my desk, then down on the floor, I basically move it constantly J Feb 20th Dr says weight baring as tolerated. That was my OK to get rid of the crutches I had been using since injury date of 11/5/11. By March 2nd I was down to one crutch and by March 9th I was not using my Crutch much at all anymore and I was able to get the peddles around on the stationary bike J Huge Milestone for me. .. On March 13th Dr gave me the ok to start some weight and aerobic exercises with restrictions ( NO Open Chain and NO Plyo) .. I was also given a smaller brace which is nice.
Today is March 21, 2012 I have no crutches, I ride the stationary bike for 30 minutes every other day I am at Zero degrees with my extension but do not have Lockout yet L I am very upset about that.. , and I am at 125 degrees in my flexion. My Knee still is really sore and swells up a lot and gets very stiff but it is getting better every day..


Thanks for sharing your story Jeanette. Keep us posted on your progress.
Skinnygurl
UPDATE...............................
So I had a Dr’s appointment today 88 days since my surgery.. I have gotten to 132 degrees in my flexion and no lag in my strait leg quad sets at Zero extension.. Dr say I can start back to my workouts at the gym just no Plyo and no agility. And the best part is that I can start weaning myself off my brace J On the road to a full recovery.   J

UPDATE....................................  May 21,12
16 weeks post op.. 135 degrees in my flexion and went on my first 3.5 mile hike yesterday J It was so nice to be out in nature again.. its been a long time but I am really felling I am going to make a full recovery after all the damage that I did to my knee.. I still am not allowed to do any agility or plyo but just getting out and hiking is a great improvement from the stationary bike in my office.  J

UPDATE................................September 6, 12
7 months post OP, Went on a 10 mile hike on Monday, Knee was a pretty sore for the next 2 days but that was it. I have been doing some agility work for about a month and have jogged a little.. Things are slowly getting back to normal Still NO Horseback riding which I am really upset about but that will come Also.   J

UPDATE............................October 29,2012
9 Months post Op update , Still in pain most of the time, Knee is very stiff but working on strength every day.. My agility work is not coming a quickly as I was hopping because of the pain but its getting there.. The Dr released me to do anything I feel comfortable with so Horseback riding here I came.. Went on a 10 mile hike yesterday.. Still use my brace when I know I am going to be on rocky, slippery ground but other than that I am brace free.   J

Another Journey From Reader Susan

the first day post op after, with the cadaver tendon before picture of my knee, those strandy things at the upper left hand corner is all that was left of my PCL, or at least that's what my doc told me.


Hi skinnygurl!


I'm sharing my PCL story in case you want to share it on your blog and maybe allow your readers to hear about another experience. I first tore my PCL in May 2005 when I fell ice skating, I caught a rut and landed square on my tibia, pushing it back. I heard a sort of pop, but didn't think too much of it at the time. I got up and finished my skating session, figuring it hurt just because I fell. Afterwards, when I got off the ice, I couldn't bend my knee enough to sit onto the bench, the manager had to get my skates off for me. Getting into my car, I had to move the seat all the way back just so I could get in. I kind of just ignored it all though, as I was leaving for a trip to Israel a couple weeks after that. I bought a knee brace and kept it wrapped up. When I came back from Israel, and it was still bugging me, I went to a doctor who took a couple x-rays, and said I just had a little chondromalacia and sent me for PT. Obviously, it didn't help much, and eventually, I just got used to the looseness of my knee.


A couple years later, I started medical school, and during our first year, we had a musculoskeletal physical diagnosis lab, which included the diagnostic tests of the knee. We practiced these exams on each other, and when my partner did the posterior drawer, and it was unexpectadedly positive, she jumped, gave a little yelp. Our group preceptor came over, looked at my knee, did a couple other tests, and told me these tests have virtually no such thing as a false positive, he was 99.9% sure that I had a torn PCL. So there was my diagnosis, given in a rather unconventional manner. He told me if I tore the PCL, I likely also had other damage, since a PCL tear rarely happens in isolation. I had to see an orthopedist for my insurance company to approve an MRI, so I went, told him my history, and he sent me for the MRI. MRI report comes back as normal. The ortho looked at it himself, and said he disagrees with the radiologist, the PCL looks torn to him, and it didn't matter what the MRI report said about the PCL, it was most definitely torn just from the exam alone. And wouldn't you know it, I'm one of those rare beasts who managed to tear only the PCL. At that time, he told me surgery is not recommended because I was functioning at a high level already, I was skating, running, basically doing everything. Surgery is also more difficult and complicated than an ACL repair, so he basically just told me not to do anything at that time, and I was happy with that answer.


Flash forward to about 2 years after that, and I started getting more and more instability and pain in my knee. It was constantly giving out on me, just collapsing for no reason. I eventually had to stop skating and running because of the instability. And then it started giving out just walking up the block. That was kind of the turning point for me. I went back to the surgeon to ask about reconstruction. He told me that he agreed I needed surgery, but he wasn't comfortable doing it, since it's such a rare surgery. He sent me to Hospital for Special Surgery, and in July 2010, I met with a surgeon there. Surgery was scheduled for the beginning of my one month vacation, which happened to be just before Thanksgiving. November 23, 2010 I went into the hospital and had the distinct honor of being the only PCL reconstruction that day. I walked into the OR, and there had to be about 17 medical students and residents waiting for my surgery, guess they all wanted to see the PCL repair since it's not a very common surgery. I don't remember too much after the surgery, except that I had to meet with a PT before I could be discharged to learn to use crutches, and he was incredibly good looking and very strong. I wish I had worn nicer sweatpants because he really was very handsome.


The next couple weeks were pretty much all the same, laying on the couch, playing video games, needlepointing, going stir crazy. I started PT at day 13 post op, which was exciting at first. But then I could only do exercises on the table since I was non weight bearing for 6 weeks. The interesting part is that I had to go on residency interviews during the time I was on crutches. It makes for a very interesting time, wearing a suit, bulky brace, and being non weight bearing and spending a whole day on your feet. Definitely was not easy, and not something I would want to do again. But my arms got really toned. At 6 weeks, I was cleared to lose the crutches, and I was able to start doing more intense PT using the treadmill, the weight machines, etc. After that, it seems like the rehab just started going a lot faster. 8 weeks post op, and I was able to lose the big bulky brace. My surgeon said he doesn't recommend any sort of functional brace because there isn't anything that would really support the PCL anyway. Still not allowed to run though. At 12 weeks, I started using my hamstrings again.


14 weeks post op, I went back to see my surgeon, and he signed off on my case. He said the PCL was stable. There is still some laxity, but I went from a grade 3+ to a borderline 1/2. He told me before the surgery that if I get back a degree of laxity, it's considered a success with the PCL. He explained it will never be perfect, but it should be stable enough that it won't collapse on me and I can do everything I want to do. If I was a professional, it would be unlikely I could go back to playing at a professional level, but to kick around a soccer ball with my friends, or go ice skating at a semi-serious level, or run 5K or 10K shouldn't be an issue. He told me I could start running again at around 20 weeks post op, and I wouldn't need to see him again unless there was a problem, and I can stop PT since I could do all the exercises on my own anyway.


Well, I started running slowly at 19 weeks post op, not much difference in a week, right? And when I say slowly, I mean really slow. I completely forgot how to run, it's almost the same sensation I was getting when I was relearning to walk, I had to think about where I was placing the foot for each step. I have been doing a walk/run every day so far this week, and so far, it's holding up really great. I'm really happy with how secure it feels. Once I get into the groove and find my stride, I don't worry about my knee collapsing. I also went to my first zumba class, which was a great test for my knee.I'm not able to do a lot of the jumping, but I kept up with the class and my knee didn't hurt at all. I also started a belly dance class at around 17 weeks post op, which started me getting confidence in my knee, even though it's not very stressful for the knee. I know it's still early, but so far, I'm really happy with my decision to do the surgery. Going through the rehab, I was wondering if all this was worth it, if I would go through all this rehab just to end up with a knee that wasn't any better. But now, I'm not thinking about my knee when I walk, I just walk. I can run, I can zumba. I haven't gone back on the ice yet, since that requires a lot of deep knee bend and I'm just not able to do that yet without a lot of pain, but being able to run and survive a zumba class gives me the confidence that I will be able to do anything I could want to do. I'm happy that my knee is no longer holding me back, and I'm sure the people around me are happy to because I don't complain about my knee as much either.


Anyway, there's my PCL success story. Hopefully it wasn't too long and boring, and maybe someone else can benefit from reading it.
-Sue

Thank you for sharing your journey Sue. Us PCL Survivors know the length and pain of recovery so please don't feel as though your story is too long or boring. I'm very happy to share and like you hope someone else can benefit from you!
Skinnygurl

Welcome To My Blog

Just wanted to peak in and say hello. I'm now featuring others with their own story of PCL Surgery and Recovery. If you have a story, e-mail me.

A special thank you to my friend Suhaimi for featuring my story on his blog.
You can read it Here

If there is anything I can do to make this blog better just let me know.

Skinnygurl

Speedy and His Story Of PCL Surgery and Recovery

Two Years Ago Today! It's been two years since my surgery. This blog now belongs to the world. It's my pleasure to introduce to you Speedy.

Walking gingerly on crutches while the two "spotters" look on in case I fall down












I spent a lot of time with this remote







At home 5 months after the surgery
(no contact happen during this game...the guys were kind enough never to tackle me)








Mount Kinabalu.....hope the knee will hold when the time comes






Here is his story..
My PCL incident happened during a rugby practice on 23rd Feb 2006. As a result of the injury I couldn’t run at all, and I normally needed to sit down even after a mere 20-minute walk. I tried physiotherapy for two years without much improvement to my condition. I finally had the PCL surgery on 25 Feb 2008 (at about the same time as the blog owner, Skinnygurl). I discovered during the surgery that my PCL was completely severed from the incident.

Post surgery recovery was agonizing especially the first two weeks when my leg was put on a cast. I underwent physiotherapy religiously at the hospital for about 9 months. Initially, I did a lot of resistance exercises using elastic bands, then slowly migrating to various other exercises to improve muscle strength and flexibility. I started to run again at about the 4-month point. At first I tried doing multiple short distances in various modes (forward, lateral, backward etc.) before gradually increasing the distance.

I have now regained full ROM in my knee. It’s still painful especially after an exercise, but I can now jog for up to 5 km at my own pace and complete a round of golf without too much of a problem. I am also actively involved in rugby coaching which requires me to be on my feet for at least 2 hours for each session. Glucosamine is a supplement I can’t live without now and ice pack is my best friend after an exercise.

My life has definitely changed after the PCL incident. However, I am glad I never gave up, both after the incident happened and especially after I had the surgery (believe me......there were many reasons to do so). The pain is something that I am accustomed to now, and I have to be content that there are many things that I can probably never be able to do again like playing in a full contact rugby match or sprinting after a ball in a soccer game. However, I can’t count my blessing enough for the progress I’ve accomplished now two years after the surgery.

My advice to you guys who are in your own battle towards PCL recovery; be realistic with your target and your chance of recovery, believe in yourself, work hard although the progress is slow and last but not least, have faith........we need a lot of that to keep us going forward.

I wish all the best to Molly, Hamlet, Chris and the rest of you PCL survivors out there. Thanks Skinnygurl for allowing me to share my experience in your blog.


It's My Pleasure To Share Your Story Speedy. I love forward to the day you climb Mount Kinabalu
Skinnygurl
Click Here to read Speedys Blog

Chris - His Story Of PCL Surgery And Recovery

This Is "The" Bike. After the accident.









Oh wow, lots of riding in the back seat with this surgery.











Taking a break from that itchy brace. It's pretty much 24 hours and 7 days a week.








In June of '08, I was involved in a motorcycle accident. Broke right femur (in 2 places), right ulna, right elbow, dislocated the metacarpals in left hand, broke left ankle and last but not least, tore PCL, ACL and LCL in the left knee. After a 13 hour surgery to fix all my broken bones, two weeks in the hospital and almost two months resident in a rehab center I was able to walk again.. as long as I had a brace on left leg to keep the knee somewhat stable. The doctors did not repair the ligaments during the first surgery because of too much swelling and they wanted to wait till the right leg was healed/strong enough to handle "full weightbearing". Needed a good leg to stand on, right??
Originally scheduled for Oct, then mid November, the triple ligament reconstruction surgery was in Dec '08. To use the words from Molly's story, it is now a "nice tight knee". So far so good, it's still pretty "tight". Lost some ROM (can't touch heel to butt anymore), but it's all good. I've been hitting the gym hard to get back in shape. Also been riding the bicycle, started doing short runs and scuba diving. Two weeks ago I did a 12 mile hike in the mountains. The knee felt sore after that! Then last week we just did a 5 mile hike. No more motorcycles....at least for now..
Had awesome doctors who literally put me back together and the PT crew who helped me get moving again. Can't thank them enough. Oh, lets not forget the nurses who made sure I was comfortable and of course the donor There are so many more people to thank, but I think I've said enough.
- Peace.

November 8th, 2009 One Year 7 Months Post Op

Where am I? I have reached maximum medical improvement. Whatever I get now, is on my own. My skilled surgeon and rehab team have done everything possible to help me. Now it's my turn to shine and show case their work.
So what am I doing these days?
I'm pushing myself to reasonable limits within what I think I can do. Sometimes a bit out of the circle to get bigger gains. I can run like the wind, squat moderate to heavy weights, and feel confident walking into any gym. How's that??? I'm happy!!!!!!!!!

I had over 100 rehab sessions in addition to daily homework. Don't rush this process. Do what your rehab teams tells you to do! Oh and after, you have to keep working on your flexibility. I tried to skip for a week. Nooooooooooooo, every day. Keep stretching.

Seven Months Post Op PCL Surgery And Recovery

I had hoped to say I was running but I'm still struggling with pain around my knee cap. I'm waiting for the orthovisc to be authorized. My rehab has been cut to two days per week. Fridays exercises sent me to bed with ice packs again. The pain on and around my knee cap was unexpected and high level.
Seems like I'm getting used to getting around better without my brace but going down the stairs is still a struggle.
Last range of motion was 137 degrees.
Stayed tuned, I haven't given up and I hope you don't either.

Day 205 Of My PCL Surgery And Recovery

Ditch the brace. Well unless I'm doing pivoting sports. Rehab is reduced to twice a week at this point and I no longer need the CPM device. They're picking up the tens unit and ice machine as well next week.
My knee isn't much more than 130 degrees and not exactly straight when extended. Perhaps without the brace that will change.
Upon my surgeons examination yesterday, the PCL surgery appears to be a success!! No laxity although I am still experiencing that crunching sound but have been denied any further surgery to clean that up. I am still waiting for Orthovisc to be authorized.
So at this point things are getting back to normal after more than six months of recovery.
At times I still have pain in the knee cap area and will continue to work on more range of motion. I am looking forward to gaining strength again.
Pretty close to 30 weeks which is a really long time! I am glad it's behind me.
I'll post more updates as my progress continues.
Stay tuned and drop me a line!

Day 174 Of My PCL Surgery And Recovery

Check it out! Balancing on the Bosu!!

I was hoping by now my IT Band would stop hurting so much. Now when I'm standing still my knee makes a loud crack and it pops a little bit. It's alarming to say the least. I'll be bringing this up in rehab to see what they think.

I found a great web page to help explain surgery and recovery. Patient Guide To PCL Injuries Give it a read. Well worth your time.

These are great but be careful. Make sure you have someone there to help you while you're learning how to balance again.

Day 167 Of My PCL Surgery And Recovery

Kind of shaky here and had to back up a little bit. Careful now, don't let that knee go over the foot. It's pretty close there.
Trusty Dagan is still right there at my side every step of the way. What a good dog.



Well today sure brought back some memories. It was almost embarrassing in physical therapy when I was handed 2 pound weights and asked to do wall squats. Before my accident I was holding 40 to 50 pounds and doing skier squats with a burn out of 25 reps at the end. Walking lunges used to be 30 paces holding 60 pounds. Now I can barely do a lunge while holding onto a rail! No worries though. I plan on working very hard and getting back to where I was before this happened. I think running is a long way off but I'll get there. I promise.

I see my OS in two weeks. I hope to surprise him with leaps and bounds! OK, how bout just leaps? My range of motion settled in at about 125 to 130. I have yet to see anything more but I will work hard to get it. More than anything I want to make my surgeon proud and glad he chose me for this special surgery. It's not exactly a cake walk but he believed I could do it and for that I am working hard to make this whole thing a success. The CPM device is still a big part of my life. I am on restrictions for sedentary work only. Last but not least I am stil icing like crazy.

Day 136 PCL Surgery And Recovery

Yup! That's me working my leg!!! I get to do so many more things now!!


125 degrees range of motion, all by myself at rehab today! My leg was measured for strength in all directions and rated good or level 4. Five would be better but I'm working on that! See? All this hard work is really paying off and it's only been 136 days. I'm turning corners now!!!!

The acute soreness I felt earlier this week is normal. I'm engaging muscles that have been dormant for months. It's a different kind of pain than what I experienced after a really tough workout back in the day. Not like lactic acid pain but more intense. So much more intense that it shot me back to using crutches for a couple days. So beware.

I'm still icing a lot and use my cpm device three hours every day. My gait looks better but I catch myself gimping when it hurts. I guess that's just me trying to protect it. Probably normal. I'm still struggling to go upstairs but it's getting better. Haven't been able to go down even one stair yet but it's something to shoot for.
Drop me a line.

Day 114 And The Dog Is Still Watching Me Very Closely

That's Dagan, one of my Dobermans. If I didn't know he cared for me, I would be scared! 117 pounds of flesh. HIM! Not me. lol If he's waiting on me to keel over so I can be a meal, he can forget it. I'm winning, I winning! It's just taking a long time.


Through this whole long thing, Dagan has never once left me other than to get food or potties. It's like his full time job but he takes zero days off. What a guy. What a guy. He gets a lot of extra pats, that's for sure. The other Doberman could care less. Every once in awhile she'll step on my foot to see if I squeal. The PCM machine is part of daily life now. Range of motion is getting better too!

Day 100 Baby!!!!!!!

It's been 100 days since my surgery! WOW! Today in physical therapy after much pushing my knee was measured at 105 degrees. I really thought it was going to be more and I almost broke down in tears with frustration when he told me. I look back on my blog at day 23 or day 44 or 55 and think wow if I only knew then what I know now. This has been a struggle to say the least. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that I'm getting better. Slow going but at least getting better. I am still using my ice machine when I sleep. I am working so very hard on my exercises. My ankle is a bit of a concern but with my continued efforts, it will be just fine.
Stay tuned. 80 more days and I can run? Cross your fingers!

Day 95

This is a weight and I have to push my knee straight. It's a strengthening exercise.
Yup, looking pretty much the same.

Hey everyone. Because I'm not putting much weight on my ankle, it's getting a little weak. I have been assigned to do ankle exercises twice a day along with my other tasks to improve my range of motion. Every day I work hard to get my quad muscles firing and every day I'm a little bit closer to recovery.

To update on how my knee is feeling: it still burns like crazy. Some times it aches, deep from the inside somewhere. My leg is still extremely weak and hard to pick up. Stay tuned!

Drop me a line.

100 Degrees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trying to do my normal stuff. My dog almost weighs more than I do.
Pictures are worth 1,000 words!
My knee is not stable because the inside quad is so weak. This tape job really helps support that.
There ya go. My knee is beginning to look like a knee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Today is day #89 post op. WOW! On Friday my knee was bent all the way to 100 degrees! Triple digits baby!!!!! I am working very, very hard on building my quads back up, especially the inside muscle so my knee cap will track correctly.

My knee still burns like crazy and I'm using my ice machine all the time but it's getting better. That's what counts. It's getting better.

I see my doctor again in August. No one ever said this was going to be easy but I do see light at the end of the tunnel. Finally I see the beginning of the end.For those of you that contacted me, thank you so very much, I am thrilled beyond words. If there is anyone else out there following me, drop me a line and let me know!

Day 85 Of My PCL Recovery

Day 82, I'm using my brace but took it off for the picture.
day 83 using 3 pound weight. I think I see a muscle on my leg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See?? Look real hard, I know it's there.


I never would have guessed in a gazillion years that I would still be walking on crutches and in so much pain. I'm still using my Kinex ice machine at night and ice packs through the day. My quad is so small that now my knee cap is tracking wrong. The Knee flat out won't bend. It gets to 98 degrees or so and the pain shoots me right off the table. We're working very hard in pt. Once the hamstring heals, if my knee still isn't bending plan B is to put me to sleep and force it followed by daily physical therapy sessions. Stay tuned.

Today Is Day 77 And I Have Big News From My Doctor

DRUM ROLL
READY OR NOT HERE IS THE NEWS.

Another month of the same. No driving, No working, still walking with crutches. My new prescription is to get my knee to bend but still no hamstring strengthening. Quads need to get bigger and stronger too. Last measurement for my knee was 97 degrees. I'll have to get 120 degrees or more before I'm cut loose to drive and all that fun stuff. So it looks like August before I get my car out of the garage. Drop me a line, is anyone out there?

Remember When

3 POUND WEIGHTS TODAY!!!!!!!!

Looking back on this journey I had to remind myself of when it all started. It was cold, icy and the end of winter. I had all sorts of fun plans for spring and summer. Shopping, running 900 miles this year, traveling and most important - spending extra time with my family.

It's been months now. Wow, hard to believe. I go out to the garage and look at my car. It'll be so cool to drive once again. Don't take today for granted. Appreciate the day for all it's worth. Make a fun plan with someone and go do it.