ACL Repair Day 7
1 week! Last week at this time, I would be at home post surgery, weakly hugging a blue plastic I couldn't stop vomitting in. Now, I have returned home from the doctor's who trimmed my sutures and I'm furiously writing on my blog while icing.
I have a total of 6 incisions and a blood blister. The cuts on my left leg must have healed pretty well because only two are very visible...or they're hidden among my other scars. I was told by my friend who also had ACL reconstruction recently that the docs really yank your knee around hard after attaching the graft to make sure it is strong. I'm wondering if that's where the blood blister came from.
The swelling is looking really decent, and my doctor said my knee is looking really good for where it is at, which is encouraging. I was ordered to have some bloodwork (non ACL related) done but she suggested we wait until my knee was further along as the inflammation would skew some of the results. Makes sense.
Mobility wise, I have to constantly be working on straightening and bending my knee between icing. It's work!
Here are the angle bend goals:
- by week 1-2: 90°
- by 4 weeks : full extension and 120°+
- 2-3 months: near-normal symmetrical flexion (around 140-150°)
I did find this website that shows the ACL surgery with real photos but I can't muster myself to read through it right now. Too soon. Posting here so I don't lose it for future reading: ACL Reconstruction Basics: Quadruple (4-Strand) Hamstring Autograft Harvest
A little thing that made me smile. My friend Ian enjoys googly eye bombing everydays objects and I am pleased he took liberty to my bathroom sundries.
