Almost 1 week out of surgery!

Hi All!

So I am about one week out of surgery and doing great! I have been able to walk more using my crutches and taking less pain meds. The only downside to this whole thing is the lack of sleep I am getting. I normally sleep on my side or my stomach and this surgery requires to wear the leg brace at night so I can only sleep on my back. It feels weird to try to sleep on my side with the brace on. So that and walking insanely slow are my only down sides to this whole process. The pain is not that bad...just take pain meds and it goes away :)

Yesterday I had an appointment with my Doctor to do the first follow-up. The appointment went great! The doctor was really impressed with the range of motion I already have. I can bend my knee to about 90degrees! He said that everything looks great and my x-rays came out perfect. He was really impressed at how well I was recovering to the point where he said I only need PT 2 times a week and not 3...I may still go for 3 just to get better quicker :)

I think what helped was the next day after my surgery I was already doing simple exercises. I started to bend my knee by placing a pillow under my knee and letting gravity pull down my foot to bend my knee. I also keep my leg straight on a bed and flex my quad muscle to start building something strength. Then I sit on the bed and slide my leg side to side on the bed. This exercise is a little difficult cause it uses your inner leg muscle and unfortunately that is where the doc did surgery. My last exercise is to do leg raises. All of this takes about 20mins and I do it 3 times a day. It has gotten a lot easier over the past couple of days :) I am positive that is the reason why my doctor thought I was doing so well :)

Well today I got to leave my apartment and my mom and I went up to the rooftop of my building and sat in the sun building a puzzle. Definitely got a workout trying to get up there and a nice tan :)

Need to get some rest tonight...first day of PT tomorrow afternoon!

Time to watch another movie!

Day 2!

Today is day 2 post operation! It is going well. Not a great as yesterday. I think this is because my knee was numb all day yesterday and that numbing wore off through the night. 

I couldn't sleep all night. It sucked but it was mainly because I always sleep on my side with my knees bent and my medicine wasn't strong enough. But after this surgery you can only sleep on your back. Ugghhhh! My doctor only gave me Percocet and definitely was not strong enough. This morning my mom called the doctor’s office and they gave me Oxycontin which has taken away most of the pain. 

Today my doctor wanted me to start bending my knee and doing light exercises. I have to complete the exercises 3 times a day and it is about 20 mins each. The first time was pretty difficult but throughout the day it got easier. So hopefully there will be some progression within the next couple of days. 

I haven't left my bed all day! Thank god I got a TV for my room. I have just been watching movies not stop and watching the horrible traffic on 495...all those suckers have to go to work bahahahah!

So I can’t wait till sunday. I get to take off all the bandages and shower! It will feel so good!

Take care,

Steph

MFPL Reconstructive Surgery!!

Hello!

So today I just had MFPL RecOnstrictive surgery on my left knee! Whoo this has been a great day! I know there are many bloggers out there that talk about this surgery so I wanted to add my story.

Back in 2002 when I was 13, I had a lateral dislocation on my left knee cap. Ouch! It was painful! Since then, I have had 5 full dislocations. I have always treated it with physical therapy and some rest. It was always a problem but something I could "live" with until it dislocated August 2011. Usually I bounced back within weeks of the dislocation but this time it took 5 months to recovery. I then decided to have the surgery done to provide satibilofy and trust back in my knee. Those out there with this issue...how werid is it not to trust a body part!

So today had the surgery with a Doctor from Commonwealth Orthopedics, Dr. Chris Annunziata. Chris was great! One of the best doctors in the DC/Maryland/Virginia. Commonwealth was great too! Everyone was caring and had great bedside manner. For this being my first surgery ever, they really helped me calm down and relax. Laura the PA was also great! I called her several times before my surgery when I had questions. She was always friendly and quick to respond.

Anyway, today is my first day. I am surprised of how little pain I am in. I am able to get up out of bed, use the bathroom and move around my apt with no help but crutches. I can put some weight on my leg which is great! It seems like it will be an easy and quick recovery! I am feeling very optimistic! I take my pain meds routinely to make sure I'm not in any discomfort bthe only pain I feel is I think the new legiment and how tight it is. I would say it is more of a sore pain and it's not bad.

As of now I am very happy with my decision to have the surgery. My doctor said that as soon as he touched my knee in the OR it dislocated! Gezzz!

I will keep an update on my progress! I hope this helps you making your decision to have the surgery or not :)

Steph

WOW!

It has been almost a year since I wrote a blog! Gezz!

Well of recent I had a birthday (turned the big 2-3...woo) and Jason came to visit for a few days! We first started to celebrate my birthday with meeting up with JayKat for dinner :) It was kind of a joint birthday dinner for all of us! Then my roommate, Amanda, Allison and her boyfriend David. It was a great time

We went to the National Harbor in Maryland. Haven't been then yet and it was pretty cool. Kinda dead during the week or when there are no conventions going on. So we walked along the pier and hung out on the benches for a bit. The decided to catch an dinner during Happy Hour. We decided to go to Rosa Mexicano which was great! It is kinda pricey so I suggest going to the Happy Hour. They had half priced appetizers and $5 1800 Margaritas! YUM! So we shared a couple of appetizers and a few drinks. After dinner we walked our Margaritas off and sat and talked. It was so nice to just relax with him :) 

Other than that I have recently joined Weight Watchers. I have been doing it for about a week and have lost 5lbs! So I am keeping it up! The program is so easy and I actually like it! 

Below are some pictures from my birthday weekend with Jason! Enjoy!!

Those men are always chasing the ladies!

A start of a new year..

2011 has came and it is a start of a new year. There are many changes that will happen. I have made a couple New Year's resolutions so lets hope I can stick with it and accomplish them. It will be hard work but I can definitely do it! I am excited to see what the year brings. More excited to spend more time with my family and friends. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Home for Christmas :)

Christmas Day photo...beautiful family :)

These two are so cute...sometimes it makes me sick

But I love them!

Mom and Dad in their new clothes!!! 
I am the fashion designer in the house!! 
With a little help of my sisters (H&K)

 Who invited these two?? 

I don't know who the National Capitals are...Red Wings are the only team I cheer for!! 
And a Red Wings glass filled with 
Bud Light couldn't get any better :)

Visit to our Rochester Hills friends

2 beautiful ladies with their Real Men

NYE with the Sees

He dressed up for NYE!!...Jason-get used to it!! :P

Lovely looking guys

The whole gang at Champagne Explosion!!

Boston Trip with Allison

Just got back from Boston. The trip was great! We arrived at about noon and checked into our hotel. Once we put our stuff away, we headed out to Quincy Market/North End. Our hotel was just minutes away to shopping and amazing food!! Here are some photos of the trip!

City Hall

Quincy Market-Smelled amazing and produce was CHEAP!!