MY ACL STORY: The Week When I'm Boring....

Hello everyone :)
Week 8:
I'm not even gonna lie, this week has been proper boring, and I sincerely apologise for this post because it may bore you to tears.
Anyway, the reason for this boringness is because I had my first exam of the year, so all I have been doing is revising like crazy! The exam was AS Ethics, which I was re-taking from last year because I did awfully. And it went surprisingly well, so I was glad that I did spend a lot of my time revising as I felt like it actually paid off and wasn't all for nothing.

This week I had another physiotherapy session where I progressed to some exercises using props. Last week I was doing the same exercises but just on their own. So I was doing the bridging exercise on its' own. But this week I did it with an exercise ball under my heels/legs. This meant that I could really work my hamstrings and could work on my core muscles to keep the ball in place - without moving it too much.

Great things take time :)

Another exercise that I did last week without a prop was balancing on my operated leg. But this week I balanced on my operated leg whilst holding a football in my hands, with my arms out straight. I then had to lift the ball above my head, then back out in front of me, and then I had to turn to the left and to the right holding out the ball - whilst balancing on my leg. I had to repeat this 5 times. I also did this exercise on a blue foam block - so the surface was uneven and really tested my balance! By the 5th time, my leg was quite wobbly but at no time felt like it could give way.
The third, and final, exercise that I did last week without a prop was the sit-to-stand. But this week I was given a 1kg ball to hold out at arms length in front of me. This was so that my muscles really started to work again in my legs. By the 15th time doing this, my legs and arms were shaking like crazy!
In this session my physiotherapist kept saying to me "this is too easy for you", and then he'd find a way to make it harder. This made me feel as though I was really trying to push myself, and as though all of my exercise at home was really paying off.

I went out on a few outings this week, these included going to see Pitch Perfect 2 (which was amazing - maybe better than the first one?!) and going with my friend to get her nose pierced.
On both of these outings I wore a knee support to compress my knee and to help me feel some sort of comfort. I found that wearing this made me feel a lot more confident when walking - with it still feeling quite wobbly.
Walking is still quite difficult, and I'm still slow, but I know that with more time spent on my knee it will get back to normal.

I told you that this week would be incredibly boring *yawn*, and if you made it this far then I applaud you!
I'm not taking as much Ibuprofen anymore because there isn't as much swelling or pain in my knee, which is amazing! The only time I feel like I need it is the day after physio when I feel some muscular pain from the strain in my hamstrings.
If you would like to read my experience of my other weeks post-op, then you can find those blog posts here. 
Feel free to leave me a comment if you've been through this (because I could use all of the advice and knowledge), or if you just feel like leaving a comment :)
Stay positive and keep on being you x

MY ACL STORY: The Week When I'm Free....

Hello everyone :)
Week 7:
I'M FREE.......
I ACTUALLY DID IT!
As you may be able to tell, I am pretty darn excited and happy this week. I love weeks like this, they really make you appreciate your progress and show you just how far you have come since the first day of recovery when you couldn't even walk. I also have the truth about what happened in last weeks blog post which you can read about later on.

I'M FREEEEE :D

This week (if I didn't make it clear already) I GOT MY FRIGGIN' BRACE OFF :D I'm also crutch free too! It feels so good to not be restricted by the knee brace anymore, and to be able to feel normal again, despite the scars all over my knee. I'm not getting so many stares when I'm out and about, but I'm really slow at walking, so people are getting frustrated because it looks like there is nothing physically wrong with me, but there is :(
Oh well, I'm just so happy with my progress to this point to actually be able to get it off. I was always told by my surgeon that I would need it on for 3 months, but the fact that my physiotherapist didn't think that was necessary makes me insanely proud of myself; as if I'm further on in my recovery than they thought I would be.
Freedom has never tasted so sweet!

At physiotherapy this week I used the trampette for the first time post-op. I only did gentle - almost stepping - from one foot to another, and then landing on my left leg in a bent position and holding that for 5 seconds. Adding new exercises to my workouts always make me feel like I've made a bit more progress so I can add something new.
He also told me that he believes my consultant at the hospital will be really happy with me and my progress when I see him in June - which, again, made me really happy!
Ok, now for the truth about my wobble last week. I asked my physiotherapist what he thought it could have been and he said that he thinks it may have been the scar tissue in my knee still healing, and by twisting it a little bit, I may have just pulled it almost. It is nothing to worry about, and it happens, he said that there was no way I could have torn the ACL again just by walking.
So that put my mind at rest and made me feel so much better.

After this physiotherapy session, getting the brace off, and no longer using the crutches, I may have pushed myself a bit too hard. So rather than taking it easy for a few days (like I was told to do), I carried on as usual. This led to me feeling an immense amount of pain in my hamstrings and bum, I was also quite wobbly when walking - which is one reason why I was walking slower than normal. Stairs are also an issue again as lifting my legs and putting all of my weight onto one of them to get up and down is hard, but I want to push myself to make sure that I get this skill back again as you can't avoid stairs in life.
I only have myself to blame for this pain, and it's like they say "no pain, no gain"!

Indeed.

So this week has been incredibly eventful and full of happiness and smiles, hooray for progress! 
I managed to have my first bath post-op this week (I know that you can have one 48 hours after getting staples out, but I was just incredibly nervous that the wounds would open up - which they didn't). I obviously still had showers, but having a bath is so relaxing and it's something that I've missed greatly in the past 7 weeks. 
I also managed to go back to my own bed this week :D Because my bed is a cabin bed (so my wardrobe and desk are under my bed), I couldn't use the ladder with the knee brace, so I was sleeping in my dad's bed. But I'm finally back and it's never felt so good!
If you would like to read my experience of my other weeks post-op, then you can find those blog posts here. 
Feel free to leave me a comment if you've been through this (because I could use all of the advice and knowledge), or if you just feel like leaving a comment :)
Stay positive and keep on being you x

MY ACL STORY: The Week When I Wobble....

This is probably my favourite quote that
I've found from this whole process :)

Hello everyone :)
Week 6:
Recovery is hard..... It just had to be said.
Honestly, I have never been through something as physically and mentally challenging as this. But every week that I get through is like a huge pat on the back for me, like a "congrats, I know this is hard, but you're getting through it" type thing. It also makes me feel really good when I think that I can't do something, and then I push through and do it. It's true what they say "My knee may never be the same, but neither will be determination"....

This week I had my first physiotherapy appointment with the new physiotherapist, who deals with the ACL patients. He had me on the wobble board (for the first time post-op, hoorah!) which was incredibly difficult at first, but once I got into it my balance seemed to improve - which may be my gymnastic skills slowly coming back aha! My physiotherapist was really impressed with my balancing and thinks I'm doing really well with my recovery. I also continued with my strengthening - gentle - exercises. I was informed that for the first 12 weeks this is all we can do, as before that time is when your body is still getting used to the operation, and is still adjusting to the new ACL. So the heavier exercises (like running and jumping) will come after that time, just to be on the safe side.
He also told me that my recovery may be a bit slower than other people's because of the tear in my meniscus that had to be sorted out, which is frustrating but it has made me even more determined to prove him wrong.
My brace should be coming off next week too, and I am very very excited about this! I'll finally have freedom :)

However, despite the positives, I also had a bit of a wobble this week. I was in town shopping, with my brace on and using my crutches, when I felt a sharp pain go through my knee. I'm not sure if I stepped funny or twisted my knee a little bit, or something like that, but I suddenly felt A LOT of pain.
I then had to stop for a few minutes and gain my strength back (and calm myself down as there were a few tears), but then I got going again but didn't put so much weight on my left leg.
I'm still not sure what exactly happened, but it did put a downer on my recovery this week as I've been trying to take it as easy as possible to not aggravate my knee :( At my next physiotherapy session I will ask if he knows what could have happened.
I know that I won't have torn my ACL again as it would take much more than a little twist when waking to do it, but you can't help but have a fearful mind, especially being so early on in recovery, that you've done it again.
Hopefully I'll be able to shed some light on this in next week's post.

This week also saw one of my favourite bands, 5 Seconds of Summer, begin their first headline arena world tour (I know, what a mouthful) *sounds of me sobbing from being so proud*. You may be thinking "what the heck does this have to do with your recovery?!" Well this first show brought about 5SOS' new song "Permanent Vacation" - which may I add has been on repeat for days. And this new song is bloody great to do physio exercises to and I would recommend it to everyone. It is incredibly catchy and sounds brilliant live. The chants throughout the song make it an absolute anthem and get everyone so hyped when listening to it. I love it!
It has also got me super excited to see them in June :D

5SOS in Lisbon.

So this has been a pretty calm week (apart from the wobble when shopping) in terms of recovery and progress being made. I'm still taking Ibuprofen regularly for the swelling in my knee, which tends to be worse after any exercises, and I'm still using the CyroCuff for this reason too. But things are still going well and I can feel my knee and muscles getting stronger every single day!
If you would like to read my experience of my other weeks post-op, then you can find those blog posts here.
Feel free to leave me a comment if you've been through this (because I could use all of the advice and knowledge), or if you just feel like leaving a comment :)
Stay positive and keep on being you x

MY ACL STORY: The Week When I'm 1 Month Post-Op....

Hello everyone :)
Week 5:

This is a good inspirational quote
for me for this year :)

I can not believe that this week was 1 month since I had my surgery. It has actually gone so quickly! The first few days of recovery were extremely hard and long, but once the hard days were over and the recovery got properly going, the days just flew by. And seeing the difference in not only my knee and the strength of my muscles, but in my mindset and the way that I'm thinking about everything. Before surgery I thought I would be the most miserable person ever, and that I would try and hide away as much as possible. But I've surprised myself by the amount of strength and determination I've shown through all of this past month. I honestly believe that if I wasn't as positive as I am being about this recovery, then I wouldn't be as far as I am.
Hoorah for speedy recoveries and positive thoughts :)

This week I wore trousers for the first time post-op! That sounds absolutely ridiculous and not something to be essentially excited about, but this made me very very happy.
For the past 5 weeks I've been wearing shorts and playsuits, no matter what the weather (which in the UK is not always great). I wore clothing that didn't cover my scars so that they could get some fresh air and it was easier to apply the CyroCuff. But this week I decided that enough was enough and I wanted to at least try and wear some trousers.
So, I wore some tracksuit bottoms (yes, they were baggy but that doesn't matter!) and stayed happy for the whole day aha! The fabric felt weird on my scars at first because I still had some scabs left on the staple holes, but apart from that everything was fine. I've missed wearing trousers (I never thought I would ever say that aha).

I also started taking some Ibuprofen for the swelling in the back of my knee this week. For a few weeks now, I haven't been taking any medication for my knee as there was no pain so I didn't see the need to. But the swelling in the back of my knee just wasn't going down, despite keeping it moving and icing it.

The cuts just look like pen now :D

So I did some research into taking Ibuprofen just for swelling, even if there was no pain in the area, because I was scared that it wouldn't work or it would be like insanely bad for me. But after researching and speaking to my mum about it, I found out that it was in fact ok to take the Ibuprofen for swelling.
And after taking 2 before bed, I woke up to a much less swollen knee! Normally when I bent my leg, all of the swollen skin would bunch up and would prevent me from actually bending it. But when I woke up the next morning, I was able to bend my leg much more without the bunch up of swollen skin. I'm going to continue icing my knee multiple times a day and taking the Ibuprofen at least 2 times a day for the best results.

So, this week has been a lot of firsts and experimenting for me. But with this whole recovery I think its all about finding something that works for you.
I'm still continuing with my exercises from physiotherapy twice a day and they're going really well, I'm also still on 2 crutches when I'm out of the house but none inside - so there's no change there really.
If you would like to read my experience of my other weeks post-op, then you can find those blog posts here.
Feel free to leave me a comment if you've been through this (because I could use all of the advice and knowledge), or if you just feel like leaving a comment :)
Stay positive and keep on being you x