(Nearly) One Month Post-Op

I am almost 4 weeks post-surgery! Hooray!! I am all finished with the CPM machine, too. I feel like I have loads of free time now since I'm not stuck to that machine for 6 hours a day. It did really loosen up my knee so I miss it a teensy bit. But not too much. 

My knee is feeling a little better and a little stronger nearly every day. It buckles less inside the brace when I walk, and I'm trying to increase my ROM a little each day. I think I'm around 110-120 degrees now. It's much more difficult since I was only allowed to go to 90 the first few weeks, and it's very stiff. I've been trying to not take any prescription or over the counter pain meds either since I typically don't like taking any medicine. It's definitely still pretty sore, especially when I bend it or after physical therapy exercises, but it's becoming more bearable. 

I've been pushing through the odd pain in the back of my knee and have been doing tons of PT exercises in order to keep my quad from atrophying as much. Hopefully it's working at least a little.

Surgery leg vs. regular leg. My left knee is a little swollen still.

John loves doing physical therapy with me. He always runs over, lays down next
to me,  and goes "Ria workin' out!! Tootsie toes! Leg up! Leg down! 1-2-3-4-5."

I still haven't gone to pick up the e-stim machine, but I'm thinking about getting it this week after seeing my legs from the angle of laying on the floor while doing PT.

Super-atrophied left quad next to my huge-looking right leg.

Between my knee feeling a little better and having more free time without the CPM machine, I've been doing a lot more these past few days. Probably more than I should be doing, but I'll get back to sitting on the couch soon. It's been a busy week.

On Friday, it was Caitlyn's last day of high school. We had to go all out. We held up a big tropical sign across the road to welcome her to summer break that she drove up to, then Nathan, Joey, my dad, my mom, and I attacked her with shaving cream. We tried to show Little John ahead of time so he wouldn't be scared, but he still freaked out a bit. Luckily he calmed down quicker than the silly string episode and was laughing by the end of it. Caitlyn was such a good sport, too, and she got a little revenge on my mom and Joey. She spared me thanks to the leg brace. 

With everything going on, I totally forgot that my driver's license expired on my birthday. Luckily it was no big deal to go renew it a couple of weeks late. I was a bit worried I'd have to go back to my temps and re-do everything, but that only happens if its been expired for 6+ months. My mom drove me down to the BMV, which of course was packed, and we ended up being there for about an hour. Luckily there was a chair for me to sit on to rest my leg, and Little John provided lots of entertainment. He was really good the entire time. At one point he ran into a corner, and when I asked what he was doing, he popped a squat and shouted "Pooping!" It was hilarious. 

John Nathan also turned two on Saturday! Kevin and I were at a wedding, so we couldn't go to the last-minute family party for him. He was originally supposed to have his party earlier in the day, but Kelly has been pretty sick this week so it's rescheduled for next weekend. We'll definitely be there then!

Happy 2nd birthday, cool little dude!! I love you.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to handle going to a wedding, but we had told Stef and Brandon we were going way before the surgery and I really wanted to go. It was a lot of fun! The wedding and reception were at the Faculty Club at OSU near Mirror Lake, which was gorgeous. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor ceremony, and Stefanie's vows were so sweet and personal that she had every guest crying a few lines in. There was a lovely cocktail hour, a delicious dinner, and dancing after. We ended up leaving a little while after dinner because after 4 hours in the brace, my knee was killing me. I was able to make it that long thanks to Stef's wonderful sister-in-law who works for a medical equipment company. She brought a wheelchair with a leg rest for me to use during the ceremony and reception. Thank you for the wheelchair!!

The beautiful bride! 

Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Hoge! :)

The rest of the weekend was busy and wonderful. After the wedding, I went to Kevin's to hang out for only the second time since surgery. I love home but it was great to get out and go to Kevin's again for a little bit. Ashwin, Rohan, Hayes, Erin, Craig, Eric, Andy, Kevin and I were all there. It was so nice to see everyone in a place where I can take my brace off and relax my leg. After a few hours, we ended up going to Pointe Tavern for a little bit. Kevin and I left to go back to Dublin when my knee started to get sore. 

The guys at Pointe Tavern

On Sunday, almost everyone from the group last night went to brunch (Kevin was at a movie--Thanks for giving me a ride all the way from Dublin, Hayes!), and then we went back to Kevin's. Kevin's parents came to visit. It's always a good time when the Andersons visit!! Kevin and his dad picked up takeout from Barley's Smokehouse so that my knee could be a bit more comfortable (I think I over-did it the rest of the weekend so it was very sore by this point), and we watched The Mothman Prophecies. For those of you who know me, you know I hate scary movies. It wasn't too terrible, but it was a bit creepy. Especially when Kevin's dad told me the story of a bird flying into their window and leaving an exact mothman print a week after they originally saw the movie. I'm superstitious, so this was extra creepy to me. They also brought some DVDs and a game to lend me while I'm hanging out at home. Thank you, Cindy and Larry!

The rest of the weekend slowed down and was pretty lazy. It involved multiple s'mores, sleeping in, reading, and a cookout in Dublin. It was a relaxing end to the busy three day weekend.