So.
Remember when I fell down skiing and hurt my knee? I actually did quite a bit of damage: tore 3 ligaments and the meniscus, contused the bones, and developed a blood clot in my leg. Impressive, eh?
I aim to please.
After walking with crutches and wearing a brace for several weeks, I have been moving along toward independence with the help of physical therapy three times a week. Yesterday Hubby and I went to see the surgeon, fully expecting to be scheduled for surgery in a few weeks. Recovery over the summer….lots of therapy and hard work….bada boom, bada bing all would be well.
Except the surgeon isn’t happy with my progress. I apparently have developed a great deal of scar tissue that is keeping the knee from bending. Doc says that I have to have full mobility before he’ll operate, and he’s not even sure if I need surgery. The good news is the possible avoidance of surgery, and he took me out of the brace. Yay me.
The bad news is that he increased therapy to 5 times per week. At as much as two hours per appointment, that’s a huge undertaking. And he told the therapist in no uncertain terms to push me. Hard. If in two weeks there’s not enough improvement, then he’s going to put me under anesthesia and do something called a “closed manipulation”. Translation: he bends my knee like crazy while I’m asleep.
If I do progress enough over the next two weeks then I get to continue therapy for 6 additional weeks and go back to see the Doc in July.
So. Not really great news, and especially not great at this particular time in life. All 4 boys are playing soccer, we’re still in school, and now I’ve got to be in therapy 5 days per week. That’s a lot of disruption, and a lot of time.
Needless to say, I spent some time freaking out.
Aaaaaand now we’re working on how to survive all this. I’ll let you know what we come up with.
*The whole “monkeys throwing wrenches” thing is a twist some brilliant women I know came up with on the phrase “a monkey wrench thrown into the works”. Whenever there’s a day where lots of things go wrong, we say “monkeys are throwing wrenches at me”. I explain because when I said that to my mother she didn’t understand what the heck I was talking about. You’re now in on the joke.
You’re welcome.
Image courtesy of via Creative Commons license, some rights reserved.
Earnest Parenting: help for parents who have to deal with monkey wrenches.
When Monkeys Throw Wrenches*
hey, what does it mean? 😀
Oh no, Amy!!! OUCH! Good luck on the very hectic schedule you have coming up.
Thanks Wendy!
Oh boy, that’s a lot of therapy and I can relate to your apprehension and dread. I broke my shoulder (cleaning the tub no less) and experienced my own share of brutal therapy sessions. Good luck to you!
.-= Tina@RideonToys´s last blog ..Step2 Recalls 2.5 Million Ride on Toys for a Design Flaw =-.
Tina, there are a lot of people with shoulder injuries getting therapy when I’m there. I think it all looks painful! I was wondering if the shoulder could be worse, since it can make sleeping so difficult.
Oh no, Amy!!! OUCH! Good luck on the very hectic schedule you have coming up.