15 Days post op

Things are getting a little easier, but my god, it still hurts.  Last night, I just couldn't sleep with that stupid brace, so like a damn idiot i took it off.  I slept better, but in the morning my knee was hugely swolen. 
Exercises are getting easier.  The little things we take for granted when it comes to muscle memory.  My quad is just gone.  Apparently, after my first surgery, I never rebuilt the quad correctly, so I have been using the wrong muscles to walk, which would explain my back pain over this last year.
In physical therapy I am frustrated.  I feel like I can do more than what is asked of me, and like a true athlete, I push it every day.  The therapist is telling me to slow down, because the graft in my knee is barely hanging in there.  So I have forced myself to stop trying new things, and have tried to use both crutches like they say I should.
My staples have been out for a while, and the scabs are almost gone too, but I am still not allowed to take a bath or sit in the hot tub.  This is highly inconvenient because it has been super cold lately.  Oh well, at least I can bend my knee to 90 with no pain.  And i can straighten it too.

9 days post op!

I got my staples out yesterday, which honestly hurt like heck.  Stupid stapels.  The day before, I had my first PT appointment.  I got some new exercises with a big ball and some tubing.  Luckily, In one week, I only lost one inch due to atrophy in my quad, and my calf looks healthy.  The swelling is already way down, and I can see my knee cap.  Bruising is also going away.  Today I got the ok to take a real shower, and I even drove myself to work in my mom's automatic tacoma! 
At night, I still have to take the heavy drugs because if I don't, I teak my knee and the pain wakes me up.  I am still using two crutches, but around the house can get by with just one and the brace.  I can now also unlock the brack to sit more comfortable, as long as I can still extend my knee all the way.  (If that becomes hard, I'll have to go back to locking the brace.
6 weeks is the "woods" as they say.  Im not out of the woods yet, 5 more weeks to go.  And then I'll be safe to walk, but not to ride or run.  It is so hard to just sit around and get fat! 
Pain scale is pretty low, unless you count the weird popping my rear right hamstring makes at night.  Excruciating.  Or when the bone hurts.  Feels like a growning pain I used to get when I was little.  Fits of throbbing bone pain all the way to the bottom of my shin bone, and all the way up to my pelvis.  Damn those hurt.  But other than that, 9 days post op is pretty comfortable.  I can't believe i can already bend 90 degrees!
After my first operation, 9 days post op was still hell on crutches!  So I feel pretty good about the whole thing.  Please God, keep my graft safe so I never have to do this again!

three days post op

Its three days post op and I decided to stop taking the Oxycodone.  I am managing the painpretty good with tylenol and advil.  The oxycodone was making me feel so weird, and sounds were so loud.  Even the tap water sounds were super super loud, I could barely stand it.  I had to whisper my own voice was hurting me so badly. 
My knee looks ok, pretty darn swollen.  Also, it looks like someone stapeled up the wrong piece of knee... like they dropped the stapler and it got me in the wrong place or something. But other than that, mobility is an issue.  It is hard to want to get up and do anything.  At night I tend to flex my own muscles andhurt myself.  Things pop and it feels like my muscles are cramped or tearing.  Very weird.  Other than that, I can't wait unitl I can walk again!

Day One Post Op

I got up early yesterday and did my usual barn chorse.  My mom and I got to the surgery center right at 8 o'clock.  I was so nervous I could barely stand it until... I saw someone I knew!  A wonderful woman from the barn where I ride Monday nights was there!  I immediately felt better having seen her.  Once in the pre-op center I changed and got ready to see the anesthesiologist.  Everyone was so nice!  But come time for my IV I got really tense.  I pass out with needles, so I was really nervous!  The nurse told me it wouldn't be that bad.  She priked me with a tiny little needle with some numbing stuff in it, and honestly, I didn't feel a thing! 

Once they took me back to the operating room, I laid down on the table.  I was joking with everyone about how the operating table looked like one of those things they strap guys down onto in death row, and made them promise not to kill me!  haha

They gave me something that made the lights go wiggy and the next thing I new, someone was holding hot chocolate in front of me helping me drink it.  And let me tell you, it tasted GOOD!
Things were slipping in and out of conciousness, and before long I was getting dressed by someone, and then I was shaking and trying to use a walker to get into a wheel chair.  The pain was non-existent, thank God.  I remember getting into the car, and then something about the Walgreens pharmacy and mom begging with them to give me my perscription in 1/2 an hour, not 2 hours.  They did. 

Once home, I went to bed and fell asleep.  A few hours later I moved from my bed to the couch, promptly threw up, fell back asleep and slept til dad got home.  All in all, a pretty painless day. 

Like sand through my fingers...

Got my tax return yesterday, and promptly bought two money orders to pay the surgery center and the doctors.  Dang.  The good thing is, I have my deductible almost paid... only my co-insurance to go, and I have no idea how I'm going to get that money.  Its in God's hands.  I  pray he helps me somehow.

Oh the Bills

Got a bill from the surgery center, already.  I mean, seriously?  I havn't even gone under the kinfe!  Oh well.  The good news is I did my taxes today, and if  I did them right, Im going to be getting over $1300 back!  And its all going to go straight to the surgery center.  Such is life.  Stupid knee.  Will you ever get better?

I found a really good article that I want to share

This article told it how it is... so I liked it.  I am tired of reading the comments and posts about how "wonderful" surgery was.  I mean, yeah I wish I could believe it, but I've had knee surgery before, just not so extensive.  This one was really good... made it seem more real I guess.  From pre-op, to even recognizing how the poor guy had been compensating his bum knee without even knowing it... check it out.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/398466/what_to_expect_when_a_loved_one_has.html?cat=70