7 Months After ACL Surgery: Merry Christmas and Happy Healthy Knees To All

Even when having surgery on May 25th, I still somehow overlooked that my 6 month "anniversary" would be on Christmas. By now, according to a rare few of other patients' personal stories I found on the internet, and legends such as Adrian Peterson, I should be returning to sports or at least be close to it. Well, I am not one of those rare cases and so I am not hitting the slopes or kicking soccer balls around.

You know? Maybe if I had a personal trainer or was getting paid to play, there would be a chance that I'd be back on the pitch now. But I am a 4th year college student whose real-life responsibilities at the moment outweigh my desire to be playing sports, as sad as that sounds. 

But as we speak, I still have no been able to return to any sports but I do feel better. I go to the gym as much as possible (which unfortunately means only about 2-3 times a week) and I almost always do leg workouts. From hamstring curls, to quad exercises, to hip workouts, and my favorite and most effective, yet sometimes most painful - leg presses. I push myself on the leg press machines the most and thats because I they work out almost every part of your leg (at least the parts that you most need to keep your knees stable).

My New Years Resolution - which I am sure you could guess - is to return to sports AND to focus more on my legs in the gym so that I can avoid these injuries in the future (did I ever mention I have a partially torn ACL in my left knee?). I am currently on winter break and am returning to school in late January so expect an update on my knee in the next month or so since I will find time to go see my doctor (haven't seen him since October). 

Merry Christmas to all! 

6 Months After ACL Surgery: Different kind of Thanksgiving

Today is exactly 6 months since I had my ACL reconstructed and my meniscus trimmed.

It is also the weekend of Thanksgiving and unlike other years when I would be in Vermont hitting the slopes to start of the snowboarding season, this time around I am staying in NJ and staying far away from sports...

Still, I have plenty of things to be thankful for and in the spirit of things, I have decided to list a few of those.

Join me after the jump.

22 Weeks After ACL Surgery: Hit the 2+ mile mark!

Excited to update you with even better news.

I went for another run this week and already improved on my previous times. I ran 2.38 miles in 22:31 burning 294 calories and averaging 9:28 minutes per mile (almost a whole minute better than earlier in the week). This time I felt less pain in my knee and even sped up towards the end.

It was pretty sore hour after but nothing unbearable. Also, keep in mind I was running straight the whole time and avoiding "cutting". Still too early for that, but there is progress.

Just like in the last post, here's evidence for this run:

22 Weeks After ACL Surgery: My first mile...and a half!

Have not been this happy to run in a very long time. Actually, have not been able to run like this in a very long time. Today, I hit the streets of New Brunswick and completed 1.47 miles in a time of 15:42. This is by no means an excellent run but for the shape that my knee and I are in, this is a huge milestone.

I am pretty relieved that I was able to do it and proud of myself that I was able to push through the pain. The first 1/2 mile was the most difficult to be quite honest and it might be due to the fact that I was running on a small decline. Still, I pushed through it and made it all the way home without stopping.

Obviously, before the run I did some stretches and also squatted 40X to get the muscles a little loose. Heres proof of this awesome accomplishment:

18 Weeks After ACL Surgery: Started jogging, slowly

You read that correctly...

...I jogged today!

Compared to what I have read on the internet and heard from other athletes with the same injury, I should have started jogging almost a few weeks ago but I guess everyone heals differently.

I stepped on the treadmill today afraid of what to expect and I kept a slow pace for 4 minutes. To call it running, or even jogging, is quite sad but it is what it is. I was trying to hop from one foot to the other so lets just say it was jogging :)

I felt in the front of my knee but the longer I went the more I got used to it. I got off the treadmill and everything was ok. Yet, after getting iced and standing up again to walk by knee was hurting. Nothing major but I felt pain unlike after other session. 

Less than a week left of PT, so I guess I'll be on my own after that. Gina has been great and I am excited to get check out next week and see how far I have come along since the first time I stepped into her office.

17 Weeks After ACL Surgery: Doc says I can begin to jog, soon...

I saw my doctor today and he was happy with my progress. He told me that my ROM is getting better but to keep working on it and that my leg is actually straighter than my non-operated one...wierd. I obviously asked him a bunch of question about sports, stretching, pain, etc. and heres some things he told me:

- keep doing squats to build the quads
- hamstring muscle is looking great, but quad is still small and too weak
- begin resistance for quad (we don't have any machines like that in PT)
- keep riding my bike; its the safest and best thing to do to help ROM (and to build up the quad, again)
- start slowly jogging for short time frames and see how it feels; don't push it right away
- avoid the brace because then your leg will rely on the brace to hold your knee together and not your muscles
- start rollerblading in a month to work on different muscles

Finally, I asked him about snowboarding this winter because my friends are planning a week-long trip to PA in the beginning of January. He just kind of smiled at me and said "Olympic athletes have had ACL surgeries in the summer and returned to compete in the winter. Some blew out their knees and others were perfectly fine. My advice to you is that your not getting paid to snowboard, so just give it time and don't risk it. Maybe by February you can start hitting the slopes".

How about soccer, Doc?

"You shouldn't be thinking about soccer until the spring time."

Next update will be when I start jogging...hopefully soon.

4 Months After ACL Surgery: Biking

Heres to another "anniversary"!

Today is exactly 4 months since my surgery. I have been biking a lot and have started to stretch a little easier. I can't stand and pedal at the same time because I feel like my knee will give out and I can't stay at a high gear because I feel pain inside my knee.

Not much has changed in the last two weeks in terms of exercises except for adding some weight on a few machines.

I am seeing my doctor October 3rd for another checkup and I am hoping he'll clear my for running. Until then, I am sticking to the usual routine and. Will have more for you then.

14 Weeks After ACL Surgery: Skipping doctors visit, more PT

Due to my hectic schedule, its a little difficult to get into the city and go see my doctor. However, when speaking to him, he said that if its not getting worse and everything seems to be progressing than continue PT for now and see him in a month (October 3).

So, he faxed over a prescription to my therapist until October 18th and I have less than 2 months of PT left.

I've done more exercises at PT. I started working on my balance by standing on a foam sponge for 5 minutes while throwing a medicine ball at an inclined trampoline. It gets kind of tiring and scary sometimes when my leg starts to shake, but I feel it working out my whole leg.

Also, something I am very excited and nervous about at the same time...I started doing quick steps on a 1 inch incline. It was a little weird at first because I haven't moved this quick in months. Hopefully, it gets easier as the days go by.

Finally, we've changed up the stretching portion of my visit too. I now lay on my stomach while Gina pushes my heel towards my ass. It gets painful sometimes, especially the first few stretches, but its helping a lot. After she stretches me like that, she helps me work out my hamstring. She pushes against my heel while I try to bring it up to my ass. We do about 3-4 sets of 15-20 reps (at a fast pace).

13 Weeks After ACL Surgery: Survived the Zoo, very, very, sore

And just like that, one of the most epic weeks of my life is over. If this was a regular journal or blog about my life, and experiences, and feelings, and things like that, I would love to tell you how incredible E-Zoo really is.

But its not. It is just a blog about my ACL recovery.

Nevertheless, attending this was one of my main goals when it came to a quick and healthy recovery from surgery and I can finally cross it off my list and proudly say I achieved my goal.

I went all three days and spent about a total of 18 hours partying, partying, and partying (not including the trips on the way there and back).

How does my knee feel after all that? Let me make it real simple for you: sore, very sore. I wore my brace all weekend and it got uncomfortable at times because it was squeezing the life out of my leg and since I was sweating, it was sliding down my leg and poking me at the shin.

OH well, at least my knee is good and at least I came out of this festival much happier than EDC.

Back to school this week, hopefully I can start biking soon.

13 Weeks After ACL Surgery: Electric Zoo, I beg you, please be good to me this weekend

The time has finally come. Electric Zoo Weekend is upon us. I have been waiting for this ever since I purchased my tickets last October. It is a 3 day festival at Randalls Island in NYC.

My last festival, which was Electric Daisy Carnival, I fell victim to a weak and ACL-less knee at one point of the 2nd day, my knee popped out when I jumped. That was the last time I was able to walk for the next month or so.

This weekend, I decided to go about my business a little differently. I will make sure not to wear that cheap knee guard again that I bought in Italy. Instead, I will make sure to wear the big, sturdy, noticeable serious brace that covers my whole leg. I will not jump. Or do anything crazy. I promise myself that. Even though I can function without it and probably get through the festival without it, I know the epicness of it is going to be hard to resist and I will most likely be hopping around or something like that.

So the brace is coming with me, at least just in case someone pushes into me or something crazy like that.

You never know, better to be safe than sorry.

After the jump, check out the preview for this weekends madness

3 Months After ACL Surgery: Back to Basics

Notice the title change? No more "__ Days After ACL Surgery", instead now I think its fair to say I've reached the "months" stage of my recovery.

Yesterday was exactly 3 months since my operation. How are things? Well if you've been following me than you know its been a bumpy and slow recovery, but I believe that it can only get better from here.

I can walk without a brace. I can swim. I can juggle a soccer ball. I have pretty good ROM. I can sleep without my brace. I can shower like a normal human being. I can carry semi-heavy things. I can also go on roller coasters. I can walk for at least a mile and a I sit for at least an hour with my leg in the same position. Basically, I am back to basic functioning. For the most part.

Progressing with PT every week, almost every day actually.

Now to get strong enough for my return to music festivals (remember: 5 days before surgery my knee gave out at EDC)

83 Days After ACL Surgery: RedBulls and Dancing

What do the Redbulls have to do with my recovery? Well, not much really...but I did get to go see them beat the Portland Timber tonight with my cousin Gruby.

He's here for 10 days and I am trying my best to show him a good time, especially since its one of the few times I am with him when he can not worry about family responsibilities 24/7 and instead party with his younger brother from another mother.

This past weekend we did a lot of partying in NYC, Atlantic City, and Hoboken. Needless to say, after a few drinks, I can't hold myself back and I end up...dancing. And guess what, it was without my brace too. Obviously I was trying to be careful but when I look at it now and think about what I was doing in my not totally sober state of mind, I realize I was jumping and twisting and spinning and yet, my knee is still intact...except for the part where its stiff and sore the next day.

But there it is, my first time dancing since surgery. Only 83 days later.

79 Days After ACL Surgery: Kicking and Swimming

Hello there!

Ever since getting the news that my ACL is fine and did not re-tear, I feel like I have been doing much better in therapy and on my own as well. I avoid wearing the brace everyday (except when I party) and one major thing I have gotten better at is swimming.

Up to this point, swimming has been difficult for me. One day about two weeks ago I remember being in the pool with my brother Kris and not being able to stay afloat by using my legs. He didn't really realize what I meant by this until he went under water to see me flapping my arms like a fish in the deep end and my lifeless right leg just hanging there not moving at all.

It wasn't only due to the pain that I was restricted, but I literally couldnt kick and swing my leg. Well the other day I noticed that I can kick much better. I have been doing exercises that revolve around me keeping my leg straight and kicking it up and down to fight the resistance of the water.

If your anywhere near my point of ACL recovery, these are some of the things you can try in the pool that I have been doing:

- with your back against the wall, hold onto the curb of the pool and put your legs up just close enough to the surface, but not out of the water...then, with your legs straight, kick up and down. I do this for about 5 minutes 3 times a swimming pool session and it really kicks my ass

- while holding a noodle, mattress, or floating ball, kick your legs behind you and try to kick as if you were swimming forward

- squats

- walking backwards and forwards in the pool for as long as you can

- and so on...basically, do anything to get your knee working in the pool.

74 Days After ACL Surgery: Bracing myself for more parties

The last few days have been pretty wild. I turned 21 on August 8th and since midnight of that date, I have been treated to a lot of partying by my friends and co. However, regardless of how silly I may have looked walking into bars with a huge brace on my leg, I still wore it every single night.

I am definitely not trying to worry about "drunkenly re-tearing it" again so I am making it a habit to wear it for all the celebrating I will be doing from now on.

Oh how I can't wait to party with out it...for now though, its my number one accessory.

70 Days After ACL Surgery: ACL graft is NOT torn

What a relief! Wow! Just...WOW, I would be really bummed if my ACL graft was torn...

...ok thats an understatement. I would have been very very very pissed and depressed and upset and angry at the world, but after seeing the doctor today and spending the last 2 or so weeks in fear and anxiety, I am so relieved right now to know that my knee is OK and that I can resume my regular therapy.

Bottom line is my ACL graft, which I feared could have been torn or stretched out, is in place. Its actually still tight and stiff, as is my whole knee, but thats better than having my knee flying all over the place.

Read after the jump to hear about what the doctor said and were we go from here.

69 Days After ACL Surgery: Tomorrow I find out if I re-tore my "new" ACL graft...I think

PT today really sucked. I was able to do most of the usual but I was feeling pain in my kneecap like never before. I had trouble doing the step-downs and even the balancing board. The bike was not too bad so thats kind of encouraging...then again I was able to ride a bike without any problems before my ACL surgery.

Anyways, tomorrow is the big day (or at least it should be). I have a 10:30AM appointment scheduled with my doctor but I'm just going to get there around 9AM, write my name down on the check-in list and be like "listen guy, I got shit to do today, my knee hurts, just tell me doc, is it torn?". Yupp, then I have to figure out how I am going to answer his question about "what happened?".

"Oh nothing you know, I just got shitfaced with my buddies and woke up the next morning with a painful knee...".

No. I can't say that. My mom would kill me before he does...even though she might have an idea that thats how it went down.

But seriously, rarely do I curse on this blog, but I-am-fucking-scared-and-nervous about tomorrow. I do have a feeling though that he is going to make me get an MRI and then come back to his office again next week and that is just going to build up my worrisome state....or whatever.

The worst case scenario that I am hoping for tomorrow is that he does the Lachman (something like that) Test and says "Hey, your ACL is fine...it must be your meniscus again". I mean, thats not something to be too happy about but at this point I realize that repairing a meniscus (or shall i say, trimming a meniscus) will be a lot easier for me and him then this whole ACL procedure as well.

Damn, I kind of just want to keep typing to get my mind of tomorrow...but it inevitable. Right now, at this very moment, my ACL graft is either fucked or totally fine...but I wont know for sure for another ehhh 10 hours.

Fantastic.

Praying for the best. Ciao happy world.

67 Days After ACL Surgery: Better than last week, but still worried..

When we left off last week, I was saying how I can't walk or bend it...or something like that and there was a lot of pain and so on.

Well here we are, about 8 days later, and my knee is better...but its still got me very nervous.

I feel like it hasn't been the same since I slipped, with regards to the pain and "wobbly" feeling I am experiencing. Now, maybe this is all in my head and I just "think" that I was able to do more before, but there is definitely pain (mostly at the end of PT and if I walk for too long...without the brace).

But back to last week....

58 Days After ACL Surgery: Did I just tear my ACL again?

Horrible news today. Absolutely horrible.

Everything has been going great my the knee. Physical therapy has been helping me a lot and I've started walking almost normally and going out all the time. Things were only getting better. 

Until last night.

We partied a little too hard last night and I was without my brace. I ended up walking home too (2 miles?) and this morning I woke up to a lot of discomfort in my knee for no known reason. As the day progressed, I started finding out from friends that I might have twisted my knee in the kitchen but nobody remembers for sure.

Then I also apparently told Michelle that my knee "gave out" and hearing her tell me that today scared the shit out of me. 

I am in bed now with the ice machine hooked up to my knee and in a lot of pain. I have been taking advil and tylenol all day but right now nothing is working. I took the tylenol around 4-5PM and I am going to take a vicodin now (10:45ishPM) so I can hopefully sleep ok.

I have pain in my whole knee, but a lot of it is in the side of my knee. Also, when I press on both sides of my knee at the same time I feel pain too. I don't want to speculate about anything because last time I did, I was right on all fronts. This time I'm just going into this situation with a different view.

I had a misstep yesterday. Then I walked a long way home. I overdid it plain and simple. My leg needs rest now and a painkiller will just help me deal with the pain. I am scheduled for PT tomorrow so I will go and take it easy. I will do the bike and other exercises and keep my knee moving so that swelling goes down. After a few days, it will be getting better and better and I will continue with my therapy.

I am praying hard for this to be true.

Updates will be flowing during this long week. Stay tuned.

50 Days After ACL Surgery: First Resistance Workouts

Exactly 60 days, or 2 months after my ACL surgery, I am finally moving to weights and resistance. To this point, most of my exercises at Physical Therapy have been range-of-motion exercises and a lot of movement. Today, Gina though it would finally be ok to start lifting some weights, especially since I was able to get the full rotation on the bike (not with toes, but middle of the foot).

Join me after the jump to read about my first weight exercises.

48 Days After ACL Surgery: Doctor says "Lose the brace!"

Today, after my 3rd visit to the doctor since surgery, I have had the most positive visit yet. He said my knee was looking better and asked me if I feel the bones (knee) shifting at all...I told him no I don't, especially since I am using the brace almost 24/7.

He checked out my knee a little more, bent it and straightened it, and said its still a bit stiff...but not bad. Some patients are a little too loose so stiffness is not a big deal. He told me to start walking without the brace (no jumping, twisting, hoping, excessive walking, etc.) and to take it slow.

Getting better and better.

33 Days After ACL Surgery: 2nd day of PT and walking

As Gina said today : "Today is the first day of a long couple of months"...

And I'm glad to get it out of the way. Day by day is my motto and we will see where this takes me in this whole recovery thing. The only bad news of the day is when I asked the following question...

Q: "When will I be able to ride a bicycle outside?"

...and received the following answer...

A: "In about 6 months..."

Do I believe that? No. I will aim to do that much much much sooner...but just goes to show you what the usual protocal is and what she thinks of my leg so far (no muscle).

Follow me after the jump for the good news.

32 Days After ACL Surgery: First day of PT + Workout Plan

You're in for a real treat in this post, mostly if your trying to find a solid workout plan for the early stages of ACL recovery. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was going in for my first PT session yesterday. My physical therapists name is Gina (from here on out I will refer to my physical therapist as "Gina" instead of typing out "physical therapist" every time) and this kind little asian lady will lead me through recovery for the next few weeks. 

Follow me after the jump to hear about my first day at PT and for a whole workout plan that she wrote out for me to follow at home.

30 Days After ACL Surgery: Not following doctors orders, mixed feelings about progress, just keep reading...

my heels against the wall, doing stretches, tan left leg, sick right leg

10 days ago I went to my 2nd doctors visit post surgery and I went in pretty confident knowing that I had been doing what he told me to do (exercises and applying pressure on my leg) and more (about 200-400 reps daily and actually walking without crutches).

By the end of the visit, we were both satisfied with my progress. He told me not to overdo it and to not get too comfortable on my leg (no walking without the brace, still use crutches here and there), but he felt I was ready to begin physical therapy.

10 days later, I have kept the brace on at all times, not used the crutches at all, and the biggest misque...I have not started physical therapy yet (I start tomorrow).

Follow me after the jump for my feelings and reasons for all this.

19 Days After ACL Surgery: 2nd Doctor Visit Coming Up

Its been a few days since my last post, mostly because like I mentioned in that last one, not much has been happening. I have been doing my exercises and stretches as well as walking on it around the house, while also taking breaks on crutches.

The past two weeks I have stuck to my routine workout which mostly consisted of 100-200 leg lifts, 100 quad tighteners, regular knee bending here and there, and straightening my leg as much as possible.

Tomorrow I am going to the doctor for the 2nd time since surgery and the 1st time in 2 weeks....hoping to be cleared for driving and PT. Speaking of driving, I drove the other day. How? Well, I drive a Mazda 3 hatchback and always like sitting far back from the steering wheel. Fortunately, this routine made it easier to adjust sitting all the way back and being comfortable. I stepped into the car with my brace locked and unlocked it once I was ready to go. It was not difficult at all to drive and I had it in cruise control on the highway.

Still, it will be better to hear it from the doc tomorrow that its OK to drive.

Just like last time, I intend on having a set of question ready for him.

Follow me after the jump for my much shorter list of questions.

2 Weeks After ACL Surgery: Sharp knee pains

Because I feel like everyday I am posting almost the same thing, I will probably start keeping these posts shorter.

The last couple of days I have been walking a fair amount and today I tried taking a day off from walking.  I didn't do too well at that because I walked around the house and backyard. By the time I was getting ready for bed, I made sure to crutch to the bathroom and keep weight of the leg.

Follow me after the jump to hear about my situation.

13 Days After ACL Surgery: Sore some more

Maybe 3 hours of sleep was not enough to help me recover from a hard day of exercises. I was sore all day, even after Advil, and tried using crutches as much as possible to keep the weight of my leg. I was not too successful with that.

Even though I was feeling pain all day, I managed to go through with my exercises and managed to bend my knee to about 80 degrees.

Follow me after the jump to find out I am attempting to get rid of the pain and what I plan on doing tomorrow.

12 Days After ACL Surgery: 90 degree flexion?

Walk, stretch, lift...repeat.

Same as every other day. Im getting sick of it and in desperate need to get out of the house. Thats why tomorrow I am going fishing with Tom and Jetter where I hope to bask in the sun and relax with mother nature.

Back to the main point of this blog...my knee. I continued doing todays exercises, banged out a few more reps and sets actually. By a few I mean I did like 200 leg lifts during the day, about 400 quad tighteners, etc. I also continued the "gravity" stretch where I lay against the wall and put my feet up. Today it was a lot easier to bend it to 90 degrees so there is progress.

Actually, it was so much easier that I chose "90 degree flexion" as the title for this post. Yea, its a pretty big deal. But I still can't bend it myself that much. I tried hamstring curls but its difficult. Also, I barely used the crutches today and even stood in the shower (no brace + weight = I hope not a bad idea). Don't worry though, I made sure not to pivot or put much pressure on it...the whole time.

Follow me after the jump to see some new pictures of my knee.

11 Days After ACL Surgery: Standing tall

Overall, up until around 8PM today, my leg situation was pretty dire. I was feeling some pain especially in the morning and I avoided doing too much exercises (barely any). Once I finally took some Advil at 7:30PM, that changed everything.

Follow me after the jump to hear about how I was walking and flexing the knee.

10 Days After ACL Surgery: Walking forward

Ever since I got out of bed this morning, I never looked back. As I was brushing my teeth I noticed that I was standing without any crutches and without any pain. I felt comfortable enough to put all weight on my leg and guess what? Nothing happened...and thats great!

Follow me after the jump to see how much I walked today.

9 Days After ACL Surgery: Less painkillers, more movement

Over the last 2 days have slowly started to see more progress. The following 3 things have been affected:

1) painkillers

2) flexion

3) pressure on leg

Follow after the jump to hear about it.

7 Days After Surgery: I can bend my knee, a little more

One week later..

Haven't slept since around 6AM all day after I woke up with some discomfort in my leg. Took an advil after some breakfast and its held up until about 2PM. Last night I banged out all the exercises and feel a huge difference in my leg today in terms of movement.

I will do the workouts later as well and see how painkillers go.

My Post-ACL Surgery Workout Routine (Phase I)

With the help of Google, my doctors advice, and my own body, I am writing out a workout routine that I will attempt to follow, up until my next doctors appointment in 2 weeks. This routine will change as the weeks and months go by so I will either update it here, or just start a "Phase II" post.

Follow after the jump for the exercises, reps, and my main goals behind these exercises:

6 Days After ACL Surgery: My Ugly Knee

As mentioned in my previous post, I saw the doctor today blah blah blah he took my bandages off blah blah blah and my knee is quite ugly. Below is a picture with the sock on it that I am supposed to wear over my knee to avoid getting it dirty/infected.

 Follow me after the jump for a quick update and some pictures without the sock (warning: not too pretty)

Seeing the Doctor on Day 6: Questions?

Tomorrow, in a few hours, at 11AM, I will be going/arriving at my surgeons office in Queens. Seeing as this is my first of many visits to the doctor regarding my knee, I have compiled a list of questions I expect to have answers to by the end of the appointment. Follow me after the jump for Q's & A's:

5 Days After ACL Surgery: More Progress

(UPDATE AT 1:30AM: This is wierd, I am lying in bed her and twisted my body to the left to lean on my elbow and use the computer with my right hand. When I kind of twisted, I tried keeping my leg mostly straight, and something popped/cracked in my knee. My knees tend to crack when I pivot on them or sometimes move them while rolling over - this is the first time its happened since surgery - since a long time actually.)

Well hello there once again.

Even though I went to sleep last night around 5AM (and took my vicodin then too, as scheduled), I still did not manage to sleep too late. I was already awake at 10AM trying to figure out how to spend another whole day in the house/bed.

This morning was different though than yesterday because I woke up with a heavy leg. By that I mean that I was feeling some pain and had to readjust the pillow that my leg was elevated on. Then we filled up the ice-machine and once I had that hooked up + some vicodin at 11AM, I was feeling better. Also enjoyed a solid breakfast (something I was not in the mood for since surgery) and hung out on the couch for a little as well as the deck.

Hows my leg since? Follow for more after the jump:

4 Days After ACL Surgery: Progress, Progress, Progress...

Hello there reader!

It is currently 2:30AM and just like last night, I am still up after playing Fifa 12 for the past couple of hours (and most of the day really). Unlike yesterday, today was a much easier and comfortable day. I woke up around 10AM feeling woozy from the painkillers but I was pain free and very relieved about that. I kept the ice machine on all night and had my leg elevated on 1 pillow. When I woke up, it was also nice to notice that I had all feeling back in my leg - so, it took roughly about 3 days for that to happen (the anesthesiologist had said that only happened to 1 other patient he had ever done the nerve block on - maybe she meant she couldn't feel it all? Follow me after the jump for more:

3 Days After ACL Surgery: Stick to Painkillers

(UPDATE 1:10AM - I took 2 vicodin at 10:30PM and 1 oxycontin at 12:30AM + have been hooked up to the ice machine for about 3 hours now + sitting in an upright position in bed. The pain has gradually subsided and I am feeling much better)

Hello there, healthy or also injured person whose looking for advice or a familiar story regarding this dreaded ACL surgery.

Today, has been a mix of feelings and pains. I woke up around 6AM feeling drowsy and out of it but took 1 vicodin. I fell in and out of sleep but it was ultimately the last time I was in a deep sleep. I stayed in bed all morning, and finally got out around 3-4PM when my friend Ben was leaving (thanks for Fifa buddy, I'll practice against to CPU and kick your ass next time).

I tried to walk around (on crutches) and after a few laps around the living room I headed back to bed. I never realized how tiring this whole thing would be. No, not the crutches (trust me I've mastered those a long time ago) but the "trying" to exercise thing. Every time I get back in bed I feel like I was up for hours.  My knee aches, my back hurt, my head spins, and I try to get comfortable.

Later on we had some BBQ (Happy Memorial Day!), and I managed to get up and eat at the table. I kept my leg elevated on a leg rest next to the table and after that came my biggest accomplishment: a shower! Follow me after the jump:

2 Days After ACL Surgery: Still limited movement, "some" weight applied

Well, because I started this whole blog today (the previous posts had the correct dates but I wrote everything today) I can finally write in the near-past/present. I woke up this morning at 6AM and took 2 vicodin. I was feeling pain from the get go and stayed awake for a little while until I fell asleep again during the day for a few hours. I began applying pressure on my leg today and started feeling my toes more and more. My leg is still numb but I'm starting to feel my quad.

Also, I took the top ace bandage off (I had 2 + white bandage) and it gave my leg more space in the brace. I also readjusted the brace a few times, mostly after applying the ice-machine to my leg. I tried bending my knee but it wont go yet, especially with the brace. I lasted most of the day without painkillers but around 1AM I took 2 vicodin. Hopefully, I wake up feeling even better and start having more motion in my leg.

As for food, I did not have much of an appetite today but I was feeling a bit hungry. I had some stuffed cabbage around 8PM and then a sandwich with paste and also a bowl of watermelons. My goal for tomorrow: take a shower and keep doing my exercises.

1 Day After Surgery: Well, its fixed, right?

Today, I woke up at 6AM feeling a little woozy and tired. I wasn't in too much pain yet and managed to play Xbox for a few hours. I quickly got bored of that and was much happier when Michelle came over. I took both painkillers throughout the day and watched a few movies with my lady. I wasn't feeling as nauseous anymore but was still not able to stand on my leg. It also became painful to raise my leg, it was like a burning sensation inside my knee. We stayed up until 3AM and all day/night I was drugged up. Follow after the jump to see my leg:

D-Day: Day Of Surgery

The day of my surgery, I woke up at 6AM and took a shower. I was ready for the operation and was in the car by 7:30AM.

I was told to arrive at the hospital at 9:30AM for an 11AM procedure. I got there at 9AM and found out that the surgery was going to happen a little sooner than scheduled. After waiting in the lobby for a few minutes, a nurse came out from the "Ambulatory Surgery" door and called my name. My mom teared a little bit and let me go. I got into the changing room, sent a quick last text to Michelle (making fun of how my mom cried, I LOVE YOU MOM), and began changing into my robe. Follow me after the jump.

Hurt Again Right Before Surgery

The weekend before my scheduled ACL surgery, I had a setback. I attended Electric Daisy Carnival NYC on May 19th and May 20th. For those who don't know, this is one of the biggest Electric Dance Music festivals in the states and for the first time ever it was taking place in NYC (or actually NJ, at Giants Meadowlands Stadium). I had already purchased tickets in April and was keen on attending this event. However, things didn't quite go as planned, follow me after the jump:

Setting a Date for Surgery

One of the first things I did when I returned to the states was see an Orthopedic Surgeon I have been familiar with since I first broke my leg in the 3rd grade. I saw him on May 7th, and after doing a few tests on my knee and looking at the MRI, he told me that my ACL was not working at all and needed to be fixed if I wanted to continue a healthy lifestyle. He said that I could survive without one, but consequently, I would be dealing with severe arthritis at 40 years old and possibly more damage to the knee. He told me that my leg was not strong enough for surgery just yet, and he wanted me to do 4 weeks of physical therapy before. However, I was planning on taking summer classes at school and also doing an internship.

Was it possible to do the surgery earlier?

Finally Meeting with a Surgeon

On March 26th, one day after coming back to Rome from our Eurotrip, I was finally able to meet with an Orthopedic Surgeon who spoke English. Sure his English was a bit broken (he was French/Italian), but he took his time with me and explained everything that he saw in the MRI. He explained it to me, and then wrote it all down so that I could explain to my mom what happened (no I did not tell her yet, more on that coming up). He said I had a "totally ruptured ACL, lesion to the medial ligament, and lesion to the back part of the medial meniscus" and that I would most likely need surgery when I returned to the states.

What next? 

The first 2 weeks after my Injury

If you've read the short "about me" section on the right, you know how this injury happened and where it happened...

(the right knee, night of injury)

When I was lying on the ground in immense pain, I knew the severity of this injury was nothing like I have experienced before and the timing could not have been much worse either. It was 10PM on a Thursday night, and the next day Michelle (my girlfriend), was supposed to be arriving at Fiumicino Airport to spend her spring break in Rome with her boy. I Facebooked her as soon as I got home from the game and here are a few messages I sent to her that night to show you what was going through my head(never mind the grammatical errors or cursing):