Post Surgery Update #2

     Well a lot has changed in the last week or so since my last post.  Last week I was finally able to get out of the house for a little while, and good thing too because I just couldn't take being indoors anymore.  I had my first follow up visit with the surgeon and it looks like things are progressing nicely.  When I got to the appointment, they had me get some x-rays to check and see how the bone looked after he shaved it down.  After that I was put in the exam room to get my stitches taken out and to discuss the next six weeks.  I'll have to be on these damn crutches for the next 4 weeks, then I start to transition to a single crutch or possibly a cane for 2 more weeks.  When those 6 weeks are up I will have another follow up visit, which I am not really sure what we will discuss then.  He seems optimistic that I will be back to running normally within 4 to 6 months.  I was advised to continue my anti-inflammatory medicine, he prescribed 6 weeks of physical therapy, issued me a temporary handicapped placard for my car and allowed me to go back to work the following Monday.  I immediately contacted Alisha at Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy to get things going.  

     The next morning I headed to PT for my initial visit and evaluation, which went very well.  She told me the two biggest things with this type of surgery is, one, getting your muscles firing and working again, and two, being patient while the tissue in the joint heals.  She was quite happy to see my muscles were already working, which meant I am ahead of schedule with my recovery.  The down side to that is, I still have to wait till the tissue heals, so all my home prescribed workouts are to just maintain and slightly increase my range of motion.  So for now I have a weeks worth of homework to do 2-3 times a day till my next appointment, a week later.

     Friday and Saturday were the first two days my life really felt like I was getting back to normal, despite the fact that I had to figure out how to navigate the world on crutches.  One of my life long friends came into town to be with his family over Christmas, so he and I and three other of my close friends went to see the new Star Wars movie.  Which was AMAZING!!!  I will say this, for all the reports of packed theaters and the box office records, I was a little surprised and how empty the theater was for our showing.  I am not complaining, less people means less noise!

     Saturday, we headed to downtown Toledo to see our local ECHL hockey team the Walleye play.  Our seats were freaking awesome!  We were technically the third row back from the glass, however we were right behind the penalty box so we had the glass right in front of our face and just off from center ice.  I could as for a better game, and the fact that they won with a shutout made it just that much better.