January 24th, 2011

Physical therapy at 8:15 am. Fog is still lining the bottom of the valley but the foothills are green and golden, bathing under the early sunshine.
I woke up less during the night, feeling less pressure in the upper thigh. It’s a great feeling to be able to move with more freedom. I can turn fairly easily in the bed and it helps my lower back.
The physical therapists are all at work when I show up. Funny how I never thought of the profession until now. These people do a remarkable job.
One of them starts me on four minutes of knee dangles. First, two minutes with my good leg on top of my bad and that’s the hardest part. The pushing is okay until it reaches a point where I feel stuck. Meanwhile, my other knee is smirking and bragging. Then, two minutes of extension with my injured knee on top of the good one and this is the easiest part that I always keep for the end.
Then follow the regular exercises that must strengthen my hamstring, my calf and also my butt. Straight leg raise, rolling my feet on a gigantic ball, and finally the icing of the knee right after the PTA has checked the improvement. He’s pleased with the mobility of my knee. I am too, but it’s awful to remember that I will be back to the staring point after the surgery.
I heard some people prefer going on without the reconstruction of the ACL, but I want to return to a full life so there is no question about doing it or not. But in the back of my head, I dream of waking up with a normal knee and skipping the surgery. The post surgery looks like such a long bumpy road.
I have tons of questions for Wednesday when I meet the surgeon. My most important one is when can I walk without a leg brace and crutches. I’m not even talking of long walks or hikes. Just moving around. And then there is Maine. If I believed in a god, I would pray so that we can all return to our beloved lake cabin without even thinking about it.
Oh how I wish I could rewind the 4th of January. I would have stayed on Academy, the blue slope that wasn’t challenging my knee. I would now be doing whatever needs to be done at home. I hate watching my husband do all the work. It used to be me doing all of that. I know that patience has entered my vocabulary but I’m not yet fully cooperative.