Holy moles! It is November already. It has been five months since I wrote about a knee update, so I thought today was the perfect day to write one because a ton has happened since then.

For one, I feel that my strength is almost at its fullest. I have not felt this way since October 2017, which was when I first discovered that I most likely needed surgery. I attribute my regaining of strength to hard work at physical therapy, my wonderful physical therapist, and all the aides that help me with my exercises.

Here is a detailed list of my updated physical therapy protocol. I  do not wear a brace when I am at physical therapy. Exercises have been gradually added and weights have been increased as I slowly gained more strength. Now I go once a week, but I still do strengthening exercises every other day at home. It takes me two whole hours to complete my protocol!

Warmup

• Stationary bike (5 min)
• Elliptical (5 min)
• Treadmill (10 min)

Table Exercises

• Straight leg raises for left leg only (4 pounds; 3 sets of 10)
• Clamshells (red band; 3 sets of 10 for both sides)
• Heel slides (3 sets of 10)

Other Exercises

• Trampoline march (2 times 2 mins)
• Leg extension (3 sets of 10 with 15 pound weight; I do not do these anymore, I will explain)
• Leg press (3 sets of 10 with 110 pound weight)
• Bosu squats (3 sets of 10)
• Split squats (holding 10 lbs in each hand; both legs 3 sets of 10)
• Skater clocks (both legs 2 sets of 5)
• Box jumps (3 sets of 10)
• Step ups/downs (3 sets of 10 for leg leg only)
• Dips (3 sets of 10 for left leg only)
• Bosu “lunge-ups” (3 sets of 10 for left leg only)

Balances/ Stretches

• Rocker board balance (2 times 2 minutes)
• Balance on left leg (2 sets 2 mins)
• Heel raises (3 sets of 10 for left leg only)

Other Exercises continued

• 5-way ladder
• 3 sets of 30sec planks
• Bosu toe taps

Only in the last two weeks did I begin to perform all these exercises comfortably. Before that, I was always struggling with the treadmill and the ladder, and I always left physical therapy drained. Now, although I still feel tired after all those exercises, I feel much more accomplished.

An Unnerving Experience

These five months have not been all daisies and roses though. On October 11, my left kneecap noticeably tracked a little to the left while doing the leg extension machine.

I did not hyperextend my leg. I raised my leg as high as I normally do on this machine, usually right below where I start to hyperextend my leg. This requires effort and usually feels a little uncomfortable, but it is tolerable. However, my kneecap slid over a little to the left. When I lowered my leg my kneecap slid back to its original place. Lowering my leg took lots of effort because my leg was locked in the extended position.

I immediately freaked and canceled the following week’s physical therapy appointment. I sent a huge email to Dr. Strauss detailing the occurrence. I also started to rethink and overthink anything dumb I could have done during these past few months. I mean, I was doing handstands around the house a few days earlier, but that probably had nothing to do with it, right?

Eight Month Checkup

My parents and I decided to schedule an appointment with my doctor just to make sure everything was alright. It was almost time for an eight-month post-operation appointment, anyway. Between October 14 and my appointment (November 6), I continued physical therapy but omitted the leg extension machine. I experienced no abnormal pain, which was good.

At the appointment, Dr. Strauss assessed my left quad strength. He said my strengthen had improved significantly but I still needed to work hard to regain complete strength. He also said that my left knee was doing perfectly fine; that little tracking I experienced at physical therapy was normal. He also told me that I will be discharged from physical therapy at the end of the year (wow), I would have to go back to school gym in January (boo), that I now cleared to do all varieties of sports in the Spiderman brace (woo), and that I did not have to wear the brace when running (yay). The next and final appointment I would have with Dr. Strauss would be in late March—the one-year post-operation appointment. That day will be a huge milestone for me.

Here are some pictures of my scars. They have faded considerably.

I am glad I am keeping a detailed record of my recovery. Without these records, I definitely would have forgotten many important details of my recovery. Although tracking my progress is painstaking, looking back at the pictures and descriptions of my first few months after surgery is a reminder of how much I have progressed. So if anyone reading this is going through a similar situation, I highly recommend you closely track your progress too!

Well, that is it for my eight-month knee update! I am happy to say that my knee and my conscience are doing well, considering junior year has tried to sink my boat several times already. We all just have to keep on sailing, I guess.

Katie