Day 93: Post Op Day 13 - The Day The Leg Got Straight!

Yep, you read that right....at the end of PT today, the back of my leg was touching the table! Woohoo! It's been 3 months since that was possible, so it's a relief. By no means does it signal that the knee will maintain this extension (the muscles are used to be bent), but it's a huge milestone. The extension is my key to being able to start ditching the crutches, so if I can maintain the extension over the weekend, hopefully we can start working on quad strength and walking with crutches. My sole goal at this point is to ditch the sticks....too much of a pain. We did a lot of stretching and calf massage again at PT to encourage the extension, and did a lot of quad/e-stim work as well. I got to ride the bike again, too, with a little bit bigger pedal radius. So, mostly good news all around. Matt also said I could start putting a little weight on my left leg when I was just standing with the crutches, focusing on trying to flex my quad and push my knee back to extension. The quad still needs some oomph, though.

Showering last night at home was interesting, too. Since I don't have a walk-in shower at my house, I had to maneuver over the edge of the bathtub, with crutches, and no chair to sit in once in. I tried several methods to get in, and finally ended up sitting on the closed toilet and swinging my left leg over the edge of the tub, and then kind of slithering in, before standing up to take my shower. Getting out was a little easier, but that whole experience just stinks in general.

I decided that trying to go back to work this week probably wasn't the best idea, so I'm going to stay home the remainder of the week. I should be close to walking with the crutches next week, and will be able to manage a little better, I think.