Update, post op week 6
Hi all,
I posted my story in this sub about 3-4 weeks ago, when I was 3 weeks post op. I'm now on post op week 6 and felt like dropping an update.
I'm doing partial weight bearing now, in brace, with crutches, about 75-80% of my weight onto the surgically repaired leg. It's pretty much pain-free in that regard. I'll probably be progressing to full weight bearing within the next week or two.
The joint is way less sensitive/reactive than it was since my last update. So that's good. I'm still trying to protect it from extension thru the PF compartment but otherwise it's not such a delicate thing any more.
The biggest challenge for me right now is progressing my range of motion. I'm able to get my passive flexion range of motion to about 90 degrees, but not past that. And my active range of motion is less than that. My physical therapist isn't concerned, though. He thinks it will come with some more time and continued work on stretching and everything, but says not to push it too hard at the moment. I was actually stuck at about 80 degrees for 1.5 - 2 weeks and then like overnight I was able to hit 90, so I guess that tracks....
Another challenge is just being committed enough to get all of the various exercises done every day, as much as possible. It's tedious stuff. Some days are harder than others. I've had a couple of days where I do the bare minimum, or maybe a little bit less. And some days I kind of go for gold. Ideally, I want to be more consistent. But you can't really go for gold every day. Most days I've been happy with what I get done. And all things considered I've seen signifanct progress since my last update on all fronts, so I think I'm doing something right.
Mentally, it's super challenging. I've always been active/athletic and it's hard to be laid up and disabled, especially since I've got two young kids running around the house and playing and enjoying life. I want to be able to do more with them but I can't right now. Really looking forward to being mobile again so I can have fun with my kids, hopefully without being held back by my old knee pain.
I think it's also mentally challenging bc you have to put so much faith into the idea that it's going to work, the grafts will take, the cartilage will grow, and that everything will work out when at the moment everything is so fragile and nascent and unknown. I try not to think about that too much bc I start to go a little crazy. The data is sound but at the end of the day it just feels insane that you have lab-grown genetically-identical chondrocytes implanted into your joint and they're gonna assimilate into your body. It's just... wild and kinda scary to consider all the possible outcomes.
I think this week I'm gonna get back to doing a little upper body weight training (seated). Haven't done anything besides PT and recovery stuff and my fitbit keeps yelling at me to be more active lol.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I'll post another update when the time feels right. Stay strong, everyone.