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Thursday, August 1, 2013

Road to Recovery: Phase II


As of today, I will be "officially" entering the second phase of my recovery and rehab from my leg injuries sustained on 13 Jan 13.

 
See the lump on my leg by the arrow?
That's where my right kneecap was immediately after the fall.


Anyway, for those new regulars to this blog, and there seems to be a lot ( thanks for stopping by! ), on January 13th I fell while carrying a heavy container down a set of concrete steps and when my knees hit the steps, I completely ruptured both of my quadriceps tendons. I had restorative surgery ~27 hours later, and the next 6 months post-surgery were dedicated to getting the flexibility back in my legs, allowing the tendon repairs to fully heal, and NOT FALLING AGAIN.

With lots of expert care ( my wife and youngest daughter are both R.N.s ) and an exceptional physical therapy team...I made it through - as my orthopedic surgeon put it - well ahead of the curve...for an old(er) guy.

For Phase II - rebuilding the strength and muscle mass in my legs - I have decided to work with a Personal Trainer to monitor my progress and, when needed, push me beyond where I might push myself. Today is day #1, where she'll record all of my metrics; bodyweight, BMI, heart rate, how many times I can dunk a basketball in 30 seconds...okay, that last one won't be happening, but you get the picture. Then on the first business day of the next 4 months to follow, I will come back and have all the measurements updated.

The consistent message I've heard from both of the orthopedic Docs - the one that did the surgery and the one that has been following my progress - is that I won't know how far I will come back until a full ~12 months after the surgery. Wherever I am on that date will be, pretty much, where I will be for the rest of my life as far as my legs are concerned.

God-willing and with lots of help...I plan to be 100% back come mid-January 2014. And since I've never been able to dunk a basketball at any point in my life...I'll have to settle for touching the rim.

And along the way, whenever an opportunity presents itself, I plan to have a little fun. I mean...why be serious all the time?



2 comments:

  1. That is one sick scar! Good luck with the continued rehab.

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  2. That pic is ~2 weeks post surgery. It's looking much better now...all things considered. Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for posting pics of your son. He looks like he's ready to dive into everything. Enjoy every moment!

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