7 weeks out...

Okay okay I know I suck at this blogging thing. So much for that English degree. I'm now 7 weeks out and feeling good. Great actually. 2nd Medrol dose pack in 3 weeks helping? Abso-friggin-lutely! It kicks the swelling back immensely and like PT George said, it's "making everything else feel good too!"

I'm still working like a dog at work and waiting for HR to confirm my promotion so it continues to feel worth the effort. Which of course means my workouts are not as frequent, my rehab is mostly on my accord, without the push from an ATC or PT on a regular basis. But I'm always doing something when I wake up and before I go to bed if nothing in between and my flexion and extension are still good for this point in time.

Post op appt #3 was earlier this week (6.5 wks) and he was happy. Gave me yet another reminder that whole I'm a it 33 year old, I'm still 33 and waited 12 years for an operation due long ago. That said-can I get some freaking support please?!? Whatever, e gave me the meds, so why am I complaining...

Here is my typical round of rehab work these days...

10-20 mins spin bike 

Step ups with good leg straight behind x 20 x 2

Step ups and down in front of box x 20

Lateral lunges off step x 20 x 2

Reverse lunge steps x 20 x 2-3

Prone hangs with press and contract x 10 x 2-4 each day

Leg raises front side back in floor x 10 each way x 2-3

Mini squats to box or chair x 10 x 3

Mini squats with med ball straight in front x 10 x 1-2

Side walks with red band x 2 trips up and back

Side shuffles x 2 total trips

Grapevines x 2 total trips

Backpedal x 2-3 trips 

Balance on bosu pad with med ball toss or just weighted hold x 30 (throws or secs hold)

Heel slides x 40-50 each day with gravity bends between sets (lie on back and help pull leg in gently)

Kettle bell single leg deadlift off step x 20-30

I aim to do a pull/push or press workout session around those "rehab" exercises or days and seem to be getting at least 2-3 consistent days in the training room and/or weight room

Don't want to continue to pay for PT off site so I do what I can with our ATCs here at TU...

Holy Moley, I knew this would happen...

The good thing is that I haven't been writing because things are majorly busy in a good way. The bad news is I was pretty miserable about 2 weeks ago and I should've at least documented it. 

One of our tennis athletes who is rehabbing from her 2nd ACL surgery in a year was chatting with me about 2 1/2 weeks out, and have me this slight but memorable warning: weeks 3 and 4 are the hardest. Damn. She ended up being right. I can't say it wasn't all in my head from her notice but I certainly came down from my "I'm gonna nail this rehab thing" high I had been on before that. I was doing okay with PT, he was adding more exercises, but that in turn caused more pain. At work I was mostly wearing my brace all day, working so much thy I wasn't breaking for my workouts, and going home with major dents in my legs from all the swelling. Smack in the middle of weeks 3 and 4, I was part of a Leadership Retreat at work that allowed little time for anything but eating big meals around long periods in a chair. Although the 3 hour session with a TU dance instructor was an interesting one for me to say the least.

Anyway, I've come through that period literally stronger; I'm at 118 degrees flexion; can fully extend to 0; Dr. Hinton told me to put the brace away; and I can get on a bike or elliptical and stride away for time. 

I met my goal of walking the neighborhood brace-free with the kids for Halloween! I went to CrossFit on Sunday and kicked ass in the workout (overall 100 KBS and 100 burpees)!

On to week 6....

Is it true?

A little trivia for you this sunny Sunday morning:

They say that if you are feeling unmotivated to exercise, go ahead and get moving for just 15 minutes and see how you feel then. The idea is that you'll feel good that quickly and put forth the effort to continue. True? 

VERY MUCH SO!!

Feeling SO slow and steady these days that I wonder if it's doing any good, or making my knee recovery worse--what all those nay-Sayers are telling me--so this morning I said, just go and get something in, see how you feel. After two days off from actual exercise (I diligently continued my silly but effective rehab movements) I did feel good. And now I'm sweaty and tired, ready for a shower and a nice fall day with the fam. It's that easy, and sometimes the shortest, fastest workouts are the most effective (go CrossFit!)... Just my two cents. 

Oh, so are you curious??

Stiff-leg deadlift 10-8-6-4-2

Peg board pull-ups 5-4-3-2-1

Push-ups 10-8-6-4-2

Dips 5-4-3-2-1

KB swings 10-8-6-4-2

Good leg pistol squat 5-4-3-2-1

Abs:

Sit-up with med ball (10lb) x 10

Russian twist with med ball x 10

Repeat

Plank x 30 sec

Oblique twists x 30

Repeat

Another workout...

Warmup-- leg swings, scap pullups, arm swings, upper body stretches

Strict press:

Bar x 8

55 x 6

65 x 4

85 x 3 x 3

**3-4 modified rope climbs (below) in between each set

4 rounds:

Bar curls x 12

KB snatch x 10

Med ball straight leg sit-ups x 12

PT day 3 & Post-op 1

Did rehab #4 today 10/16/13... Then went to my first post-op with Dr. Hinton. A lot for one day but mostly positive.

PT--

Started with stim while George finished with another patient; then he worked my kneecap and range of motion (75 degrees!) and had me do some leg extensions off the side of the table, then prone hangs and small leg curls to keep the knee moving. My extension still needs work. They continued my "leg press" work and band extensions, then another round of med ball throws to the trampoline before a 5-6 minute stint on the awful upright bike with the off-kilter pedals to accommodate my lagging leg. Then more stim with ice and I made my way downtown to Union Memorial hospital.

Post-Op:

First, wander aimlessly onto elevator and hope I'm in the right place. Then proceed to X-ray and wait.... Have a nice chat with another mom of a grade-schooler about how old we feel getting injured and when we see our kids' friends with skinny jeans and iPhones. Yeah, we had that conversation. 

After xray, I saw PA Ben from surgery day and Dr. Hinton. They were pleased with my healing this far, confirmed my knee didn't slide in and out of place like it used to, but were way more concerned with my extension than my flexion...bummer. I believe Ben said "slow down" and Dr. Hinton came at me with a needle. Felt it was a good idea to drain my knee to release some of that nasty swelling. Ummm, anyone remember my wonderful experiences with needles and blood draws? At least now I'm pretty comfortable telling people beforehand and forewarning them. It wasn't enjoyable but I survived and my knee did feel better. It just took all the shape I thought I might have still had in my quad. Boo....

Doc wants to see me back in two weeks, but thankfully I can see him in our sports med room instead. So he's finishing up and basically says I gotta remember that with waiting so long to get this thing repaired came "extra" damage to the meniscus etc. and I won't exactly be running as my form of cardio, and I'll have to stick to elliptical and other Mahoney cardio options...and then he reached out to shake my hand! WTF!? I'm ignoring his hand and probably looking at him funny, and asking him to clarify. Sure some people like the elliptical and droning on and on, but Jenn doesn't have time for 45 minute cardio fests, that's why I do Crossfit! (Go Crossfit!) he basically said I shouldn't plan on it 5 days a week, should keep my sports to one day a week, incorporate other things like swimming, biking.... Yay! Another reason not to run a marathon! (Sorry many marathoning friends, just not my thing!)

THEN I felt better and was able to leave. 

Rehab day 2...

George pushed me harder today, making me keep my end of the bargain in not being treated like a "regular" patient and rehabbing like an athlete. And it hurt, but in a way I'm thankful for the PT--even the $30 copay...EACH TIME (I hate insurance)--and some personal attention to my healing. Can't afford it forever but he's working for me.

He started me in the actual "gym" part of the clinic which is different than the doctor-y room I was in on Friday. That alone made me feel better. He started by moving my kneecap around (ew) and then checking my flexion which was roughly 70% this time. Then we hit the "leg press" contraption. Side note: I have not been on equipment "machines" in a gym in longer than I can remember. The hardest part for me is welcoming things outside my own personal philosophy for how to workout. I'm not stubborn...I swear! 

So he had me do some mini squats on the leg press where my body is the resistance, first with both legs then a couple sets with my bad leg. It feels good to work on my range of motion. Then we limped over to the Cybex leg curl machine. I attacked that as if I thought my leg would actually CURL. It feels good to bend my leg and focus on my quads...it felt AMAZING to focus on my hamstrings! So that was good despite the severely limited range, then he had me balance on my bad leg I gauge that which really hadn't faltered since before surgery. We took balancing a step further by placing me in front of a small trampoline and I threw a 2lb med ball into it while balancing on my left leg and threw and caught 30 times. My leg was TIRED after that but I didn't need to put my right leg down for support.

Next he strapped me into a resistance band and paced me away from the wall so I could bend and extend using the band as a strengthening agent for resistance. About 2-3 sets of 10 wasn't bad. The worst part of the day, pain wise was him settling me onto a stationary bike where my good leg pedals as normal while my bad leg is set to limited range of motion. It. Hurt. And I only did it for 2 minutes. Ugh.

We finished up with 10 minutes or so of the GameReady ice machine and electric stim and then I left. I worked the rest of the day at home and it was wonderful!

Sunday funday

Stated the day with a nice little workout while the fam took a walk. A walk that I typically love being a part of...pity party for me :(  so instead I just pulled on some TU workout clothes and drove to the gym. Felt good, but it certainly feels silly rolling around so much to find an easy way to stand up. Once I'm down, I'm down for awhile! Slow and steady, keep calm and rehab on...

Workout:

Warmup: leg swings, arm swings, static leg and upper body stretches

Incline bench warmup (bar x 10/55x 8)

9-7-5:

Incline bench  65-75-85

Bent over snatch grip row  66-77-83

2 rounds: 

Inverted row x 10

Low impact burpees x 10

Alt KB arm curl to OH press x 20

Bench squats (good leg) x 10

Bench leg raises/abs x 10

Rest 1 min

Repeat above circuit 2 more rounds

PT exercises: 

Teeter-totters left-to-right 

Teeter-totters front-to-back (slight lunge ability today) 

Balance (bad leg)--1 min steady (easy)

Flexion

Quad sets

Heel slides (better range of motion and activation without assistance but still very limited)

First day of PT, one week out

Nearly fainted at Union memorial Sports Medicine today. It's not a good feeling when your knee has been locked straight for a full week, then someone unwraps the bandage and asks you to move it...And it doesn't listen. The swelling is gross and mushy so it simply felt strange, and fortunately I am a person unaccustomed to my body feeling strange. I had to ask for a cup of water, and lie down on the table. At least twice. Embarrassing. Not quite as bad as nearly passing out from the eye drops at the eye doctor in front of a really cute young doctor, almost passing out during my first glucose screen, or actually passing out into a chair while leaving the hospital after one of our prenatal appointments for Kate. What can I say? I'm a bit queasy!

But I survived. And I went to the gym after, but shouldn't have. Still got some work in though, and really trying to keep up with my progress...

Workout post-PT:

Warmup (slight due to PT right before)

Peg board pull-ups x 10 / 5 / 5

Push-ups x 10 x 3

Behind neck press with bar x 8 x 4

4 rounds:

Stepups on 8" box (good leg) x 10

Good mornings with bar x 8

DB shoulder press (15) x 8

DB reverse fly (15) x 10

Sit-ups with 10kg plate x 20 x 2

"Can't keep a good woman down..."

Wednesday, 5 days post-surgery...

Started the day dropping Kate down the street for her ride to school, then just kept on going down to the box in Towson  for another workout. Ran into Justin and Catherine before class and got some work in:

Warmup-- leg swings, scap pullups, arm swings, upper body stretches

Strict press:

Bar x 8

55 x 6

65 x 4

85 x 3 x 3

**3-4 modified rope climbs (below) in between each set

4 rounds:

Bar curls x 12

KB snatch x 10

Med ball straight leg sit-ups x 12

Flexion exercises from doctor x 3 sets

EMOM for 7 mins: 30 secs box pushups (14-17 each time)

A friend made a comment when this picture was posted on Facebook that it "proves you can't keep a good woman down." I appreciated the sentiment. Then it occurred to me that I'm not sure why it seemed so crazy to other people why I was still trying to get moving. When it's something you do every day for most of your life, you enjoy it, and it makes you feel good (and ideally recover faster!!) it doesn't make sense NOT to do it...it's just what we do!

Falling down doesn't have to mean you can't get back up...

Two weeks ago I was feeling incredibly motivated, strong, empowered. By my work, my workouts, the Crossfit Towson community I've become a part of... And now I'm spending the next 8 or so months recovering from ACL reconstruction surgery. It was bound to happen, I first injured it back in 2001 before my final hockey season at UD. And to think about not being able to play sports recreationally or competitively with my kids, despite being in athlete shape, was wearing on me. I asked for a sign to help my decision. Then in the midst of potty-training lil JJ I knelt down and leaned back in my heels and pop! Hardly walking for 3 days was a good sign I was headed to the OR sooner rather than later. 

So here I am. Surgery Friday at noon, lots of good strong meds, rest, elevation and ice all weekend, and by Monday evening I was back in the weight room at TU, working the ol' upper body. I keep telling people I'm as motivated as I've ever been so why not back that up?

Sleeping on our couch could be more comfortable, and I'm certain I'm making it smell funny :) but I also get to take advantage of a much-needed week off from work, and enjoy a quiet house that I never really get to appreciate anymore. The most troubling part of this is staying motivated on the nutrition side of things, but after I'm off most of the medicine and am not as concerned with getting sick from an empty stomach I think I'll be okay.

Workout 10/7:

Strict press (bar) 

Front x 8 -- 15 leg raises on bench

Behind x 8 -- 15 leg raises on bench

Front x 8 -- 10 incline push-ups on bench

Behind x 8 -- 10 incline push-ups onbench

2 sets each:

Alt DB Curls x 12 (15) -- bent over DB fly x 10 (15)

2 sets each:

EZ bar rev curl x 20 -- OH EZ bar tricep press x 20

Straight leg sit-ups x 20

Oblique twists x 20

Straight leg sit-ups x 20

PVC work

Band stretching

Peg pull-ups x 10

Inverted rows x 30

It ain't easy...

You know that moment when you're sure you're forgetting something, but you're too busy doing the other 12 things you have to do to remember that other thing? Yeah... that's our life. I was dutifully prepping my meals for work today, when I became aware of the erratic path I was sweeping through my kitchen. I realized that hubby, too, was doing his thing, prepping breakfast and gathering his own meals. The kids were sitting at the counter, caught somewhere between eating their oatmeal and giggling over something only they understand, and I took a deep breath and felt....surprisingly full. Not full in my belly, as I had yet to begin the making of my own breakfast (our kitchen is not proportionally appropriate for multiple people making erratic paths for meal prep) but full in my heart. We may look extremely frenetic -- and on many days, this is not happy chaos -- but it's because we're doing what we think is right. We're preparing healthy meals, we're feeding our children before they go off to school, we're both working full time to support the whole thing. Sure, it'd be easier to have a 9-5, drop the kids at the bus stop or daycare, sit at work (without breaking for a workout, or a homemade meal or two), return home to the couch and a pizza. But it's not our way. And so there's chaos. But there's also an awful lot of love, and giggles aplenty.

This is healthy family craziness, and I thank you for checking in!