Three Reflections on My Rehab

Last Tuesday was a stupendous day!  I tossed the crutches to the side, lost the brace, and experienced leg freedom for the first time in six weeks.  I met my new orthopedist who was nice enough, but who I labeled the gatekeeper to hell after my first day of rehabilitative exercises.

My orthopedist likes to draw on people. I got a setting Mayan sun with muscle groups labeled. The vastus medialis (inside quad muscle) is the focus of our attention.
My orthopedist likes to draw on people. I got a setting Mayan sun with muscle groups labeled. The vastus medialis (inside quad muscle) is the focus of our attention.

It just feels great being able to move around more, sleep the way I like, and exercise those muscles more intentionally.  A sad event had me going home-home (my parents’ home – which in grad school was the place where the laundry was free and the food was cooked by someone else) and the rehab kicking it up a notch.  My dad’s a physical therapist, and I’m pretty sure that if I do what he says, my knee will feel 18 again by the beginning of spring (which they haven’t seen in over 20 years).  As I was lying down and counting off reps Thursday afternoon under his watchful eye, and then as I was standing against a wall doing therapeutic squats, a few realizations came to me.

  1.  I’m pretty sure The Complete Works of the Marquis de Sade are required reading for PT School and most doctoral programs in orthopedics.
  2. When writing about the circles of hell, Dante stopped too soon.  I found the tenth circle of hell; it’s called therapeutic squats.

    The handy blanket I got at a conference that doesn't squirt out from between my thighs like my daughter's soccer ball did.
    The handy blanket I got at a conference that doesn’t squirt out from between my thighs like my daughter’s soccer ball did.
  3. Walking step-over-step to go up or down stairs is a big deal.  As I was climbing the stairs at my parents’ house and was able to go up with the left foot, then the right, then the left – you know, like non-gimpy people do – I remembered an encounter I had with a lady at church one Sunday.  I was in grad school and had shown up for church.  My dad had some home health patients in that town, a few of whom went to my church.  This older lady was climbing the steps on the side of the church to go in and she said, “Sara, make sure you tell your Dad that Edna Smith (not her real name) walked up these steps by herself!”  I was happy her recovery had gone so well and she was strong enough to do this – in a nebulous sort of way; I didn’t really know her.  As I walked up and down the stairs almost normally and finally with more grace than Boris Karloff‘s portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster, I realized what a tremendously big deal that is.

Now I’m home with two adjustable 5-pound ankle weights, some exercise bands, a bolster, and notes on my exercise sheets indicating the purpose of each exercise and when I can start some of them.  Ibuprofen is my new friend – that and ice.  It’s frustrating that I still have to stop to rest, to apply ice packs.  As I laid on my bed after church, bolster under my knees and 1/2 pound of iron strapped to my ankle, I could hear Dad pushing me to “straighten that leg, give it that last little bit of oomph,” followed by a “There ya go!  That’s it.”  I’m proud to say I didn’t scream at him, cuss at him (all’s fair in rehab and therapy), or accuse him of killing me.  From being his patient previously, I know the pain is well worth the results, and I can get through even the torturous squats if I focus on having stronger legs with no pain.

This Knee Brace Wasn’t What I was Thinking

Back in October, I pulled the troops together for a family meeting.  The gist of this meeting went something like this:  “I’m tired of being so busy during December, running my business, chauffeuring kids around, doing all the cooking, teaching, and keeping the house running.  I never get a chance just to rest and relax.  While y’all are playing games, watching specials, and reading, I end up worn to a frazzle.  Things are going to change this year.  We’re going to work as a team and get things done together so we can all enjoy the season.”  And work we did.  We started doing the Fly Lady thing every weekend, and with tremendous results.  Fifteen, thirty minutes of cleaning as a family followed by standing back, admiring our work, and patting ourselves on the back.

Things were going along rather swimmingly.  We were knocking out the cleaning and the cooking, preparing to decorate and for our trip to the Crystal Coast Christmas Flotilla.  We had food in containers and food in bags in the freezer.  Then a crisis hit.

It’d been a good day.  It was the Monday before Thanksgiving, and I’d taken the girls into the closest city to shop for their Christmas dresses and to return a certified pre-owned Nook to Barnes & Noble that the company had sent me by mistake.  I guess it’s not nice to mess with the minds of low-wage retail workers (“You want to return this?  I need to talk to my manager about this.  I haven’t ever had a situation like this before.”), because doing so must’ve been bad karma or something.  The girls and I returned home with our purchases, and as I was walking across the kitchen floor, I slid down and dislocated my knee.  Oh, sweet heavens, was THAT a new and unique kind of pain!

The girls were amazing, I met some pretty nice EMTs and emergency room staff, and I finally came back home around 8:30 that night with a shiny pair of crutches and a referral for an ortho follow-up.  The next day I went for the appointment and left with a sexy black peek-a-boo knee brace (the perfect accessory to all my holiday wardrobe essentials)

The latest in sexy holiday accessories
The latest in sexy holiday accessories

and instructions to wear it for the next 6 weeks, 23/7.  When you dislocate the patella, there is damage to the soft tissue where it lands, and there’s also damage to the soft connective tissue that holds the patella in place.  These tissues, the ligaments especially, take a long time to heal, but with proper care and attention, they heal fine.  I’m about halfway through my healing process.  Oh, plus there’s the addendum to those instructions regarding the brace:  “Stay off of it as much as possible.”

Squee!  That means being still and resting all through Advent!  That means staying off my feet and letting people take care of me.  So far I’ve gotten to play on NORAD every day with my youngest.  I’ve knitted.  A lot.  I’ve done Christmas cards; blogged; and spent some very valuable time brainstorming, reading, and preparing for some amazing changes in my business in the New Year.  This has been incredible!  Sure, I’ve missed making soap and baking, but perhaps the Good Lord knew that I wouldn’t stop as planned without something major happening to me.

My family has been great about taking care of me and everything else.  Mary has been grooving on the soapmaking, really coming into her own as a soap artisan.  My best friend drove down last week to take the girls and me to finish our Christmas shopping.  Thanksgiving was awesome, because we were home with my parents.  I don’t care how old I am or how many boo-boos I’ve kissed myself; I’ve got a major boo-boo myself, and I needed my own Mom.  Even just having Mom air around is somehow healing.  My dad is a very well-respected physical therapist, so that just added another layer of incredible healing mojo to our visit.  I was slightly amused – and touched – when my dad offered to help me navigate up the two steps to their porch.  I’d been gimping up and down our stairs in our 2-story house for 3 days at that point.  But he’ll always be my dad, and he’s a physical therapist even off the clock, so such is to be expected.  I’m lucky as all get-out to have him, because he’s given me pointers, suggestions, exercises, and prayers for my patience.  He’s done more to help my healing progress than my orthopedist has.  When I go back to the doctor in a hair under three weeks, I’m hoping he’ll be wow’ed by my progress.

While a knee brace and crutches weren’t quite in my grand plan for this Advent season, I’m finding the blessing in being able to take it easy.  The family is getting a great learning opportunity as they experience my duties and responsibilities.  My best friend got the unusual opportunity to take care of me (generally, I’m doing the caretaking).  While the boredom really gets to me sometimes, I’m looking for the silver lining, and I think I’ve found it.

How do you take it easy in the craziness?  How do you make sure you get the rest and relaxation you need?