Post-Op Day 2

It's surprising how painful this operation really is. Don't let the smile fool you. Today I woke up on the couch downstairs after taking a high dose of pain medication at 4 am and amazingly enough, the knee hurt a lot more. I thought it couldn't hurt worse than it did on the day of surgery. Turns out I forgot about a few trouble areas. One area that is on FIRE is the hamstring. The hamstrin, if you remember was tapped as an ACL replacement. The hamstring will grow back so you don't "lose" any part of the hamstring but it takes time to heal. Day 2 has brought the hamstring front and center. It's really sore. So the knee is very stiff buttressed by a terribly sore hamstring and you have Day 2. Welcome to rehab.

I've been literally tied to the couch with tubes and straps while the CPM bends my knee for hours upon hours. Yesterday I was bending it at 30 degrees. This morning I was at 35 degrees and this afternoon I'm at 40 degrees. The goal is 5-10 degrees a day until 110 is reached. It was a little alarming to have your good leg still a little numb from the surgery even on day 2. We called the doctor's office and they said it's normal and it probably due to the anesthesia and how I was positioned during the operation. What did they do, jump up and down on my good leg to make my left leg feel better about being butchered? The numb thigh will go away soon. As I type this post the CPM is bending away. The knee feels actually tolerable when I'm resting here using the CPM. The big pain comes when I have to get up. The doctor recommends not doing anything for a week. I'm not supposed to leave the house except to go to doctor's appointments. Dr. Kim asked if I could spend the next 2 weeks at home and just rehab the leg 24 hours a day. I checked with my boss and I can do it.

This is gross but accuracy is what we are going for here. Going to the bathroom is ridiculous right now. There's no stream or pressure. It's like something is numb inside and you just can't cut loose and release the reservoir. Turns out after reading a little bit that the anesthesia numbs that badder control area. That's why my buddy Burk in high school needed a catheter. I'm experiencing this phenomenon unfortunately. As frustrating as this is, there's no desire for "the Tube".

Currently I've been checking emails, watching movies (Grinch who stole Christmas) and playing Xbox with Andrew. He's an Indiana Jones fan and we have to play it all the time, like 4-5 hours worth. I need a new game!!!