Day 5 Post-Surgery

It’s 5 days post-surgery and it’s time for the fun to begin. I had an easy surgery and post-surgery. I’m down to one crutch but Dr. K. wants me to go crutchless today. It’s 11 am and I still haven’t done that yet. Maybe later this afternoon! I’m also hoping to sit outside on my porch after “work” (I’m telecommuting) as it is so nice out. DC is having a great Spring. I’m down to 1 percocet every 6 hours and sometimes can wait even longer. My knee, I guess as it should be, is still quite swollen, which prevents me from bending it and it also feels live a vice is on it.

My PT starts June 4 and I’m preparing for that by doing some movement exercises now and anticipating that with more movement will come pain. As they say, no pain, no gain. I’m willing to put up with the pain (to a point) as long as I can see/feel my knee improving. The hard part comes when you just don’t feel anything is happening. And, as I recall from post-injury and rehab, change isn’t very noticeable. You won’t notice anything day to day; more like week to week or month to month. But, again, that’s okay as long as I move forward and stay on schedule for improvement.

My next goal is to be able to take the bus to work June 9 week. Then I hope I will be able to walk 5 blocks to the Metro and take the Metro to work, which will be quicker and more efficient for me. And then, my final goal in Fall – to go for a run. It will be a beautiful, crisp day and I will run after work and feel great.

3-Days Post Surgery

Note: I’m not thinking very clearly (percocets) so please forgive any errors or things that don’t make sense.

My friend who was staying with me left this morning so I had to step things up to become self-sufficient. The surgeon told me to bear weight on my leg with the crutches. I had started doing that and this morning tried going with one crutch – and was able to. I feel very good about this and am getting encouraged that I am now on my way to a speedy recovery.

I think there are several reasons that I am progressing so well. The first is that I had an allograft (ligament from a cadaver) instead of an autograft (ligament from either my hamstring or tendon). While the allograft isn’t as strong as an autograph, it doesn’t require another incision (where they take out your own ligament) to your leg. So, I am only dealing with one impact instead of two. Also, I was strengthening my quad for almost 4 months before my surgery and I really think this has now helped me. I am now doing 3 exercises, 3 times a day (foot pumps, leg lifts and heel slides – which I’m not doing very well as bending my knee is difficult due to the swelling).

I am telecommuting as a lot of my job is web-based. I won’t put in a full day but at least will get done what needs to be done.

I go to my surgeon for a follow up on June 3 and hope to go directly to work after the appointment. I then start my PT on June 4 and continue that twice a week for who knows how long. I’ll also need to do PT exercises at home at least twice a day, including hopping on the exercise bike and trying to get the pedals to turn.

So, all is all, things are going well.

So Far So Good!

It’s Sunday, the day after my ACL surgery and things seem to be going as well as they can. Surgery went off with out a hitch. I actually walked into the operator room and hopped up on the operating table on my own. I remember a few nurses doing their thing and the anesthesiologist talking to me and the next thing I remember is someone calling my name trying to wake me up. It was over before I knew it. I had some pain at the back of my leg and after my requisite saltine was given a couple of Percocet’s which started to do their thing after about 20 minutes. Thankfully, I was not nauseous after surgery which was a great relief. My surgeon cleaned up some tissue on the front of my knee as well as some damage to the knee cartilage. He said there was no meniscus damage. Things seem to be going in the right direction.

My friends came and fetched me at the hospital. I had problems negotiating the steps on crutches. Walking was fine but I had to come up my steps on my rear as I just couldn’t seem to use the crutches (a mental block of sorts and I just couldn’t get up a step). I have a tolerable level of pain but the nerve block may still be doing its magic and I know the Percocet’s are helping as well. I was able to get to the bathroom on my crutches with no problem, which along with the possibility of feeling nauseous were my two biggest post-surgery concerns. I’ve been using the Polar Care (water/ice machine that circulates cold water around the knee) non-stop since I got home – even during sleep. I actually got several hours of sleep last night even though I was only able to sleep on my back because of the immobilizer brace. I did need to take the pain killers as needed. Actually I needed to take them a bit earlier than was scheduled.

I just spoke to my surgeon and he told me to take my brace off. Most people seem to keep their’s on for 10 days or longer. It felt good to get that thing off my leg. So, I’m not going to argue with my surgeon’s opinion on this. He also said to get off the crutches on Tuesday and bear weight as much as I can without pain – again most folks stay on them longer. It does hurt to move the knee especially lifting or bending it but that is to be expected. I just did a set of leg raises and a set of foot pumps and it wasn't really that bad. The pain killers are working.

Except for the need to replenish the ice in my Polar Care and carry anything (can’t do this and use my crutches), I’m able to do just about everything else. I actually made it downstairs today to feed my cats and make coffee and an english muffin for me. My friend then carried these outside for me and I sat on my deck as it was a beautiful day. I had problem sitting and didn’t want to overdue it so I went back upstairs and got into bed so my leg can be extended and/or elevated and back on the Polar Care.

Now, the boredom is setting in. I have some videos, books and magazines but I’m not all that interested in those. I am having problems with my phone jack and finally was able to fix it (at least for now) and once again I have a phone and DSL connection. So that’s surgery and day 1 post surgery. I’m waiting for the nerve block to wear off and for the pain level to pump up. Then the fun really begins – physical therapy.

It’s the Small Things in Life….

As soon as I got on the Metro this morning I realized I forgot my wallet and glasses. I took both of these items to the gym last night so I could do some last minute grocery shopping before my surgery. And, of course I forgot to transfer them from my gym bag to my work bag. Since it was “bagel day” at work, I skipped breakfast and was planning on getting a café au lait at my one of my favorite places in DC – Cup of Seattle. It’s a very tiny coffee shop and the people who work there are wonderfully welcoming and friendly. They also remember their customers. It’s a joy to walk into this place. I did have my check book so when I got there, I asked if I could write a check. Instead, I got a free cup of joe!

Anxious and Anticipating

Well, it’s two days until D-day – my ACL surgery. I have read more than enough on this subject including whether to have surgery, what type of surgery to have, how the surgery is done and what happens after surgery, which, to me, is the most difficult part. I have prepared for the big event and its aftermath by setting up my bedroom to be my new “home” for several days such as getting a mini-fridge, setting up my laptop, organizing an arsenal of reading materials, encouraging friends to visit me to starve off boredom, etc. I’m hoping I can venture down the stairs on Day 4. There is just something about crutches and stairs that scares me.

I was lucky enough to find a friend that is willing to stay will me for a few days as getting out of bed will be painful and difficult (so I hear). I will be dependent on her to get me to the bathroom, make my meals, bring in my mail/paper, feed my cats and so on. I will then be dependent on other friends to feed my outside colony of cats, take out my garbage, move my car for street cleaning, buy groceries for me, and give me rides to the PT, surgeon and work.

As of right now, I’m not too worried about the surgery itself – that may change on Saturday when I get to the hospital and it all sinks in. I have put my trust in my surgeon and am hoping for the best outcome with no complications. It’s the post-surgery I am concerned about and wondering if my knee will indeed get back to normal (success rate of ACL Surgery is 85%) so I can walk properly (and for more than 5 blocks), run, do yoga, kneel, and bike ride. I doubt I will ever ski again as I never, ever want to go through this again.

I know what I’m in for post-surgery: 4-6 months of physical therapy (2-3 sessions/week for the first couple of months; 1 time/week afterwards) and at home exercise (2-3 times a day of quad strengtheners, heel slides, etc. as well riding an exercise bike). I’ve been doing these exercises and the bike for 4 months now but after surgery it will be much more difficult as well as painful (I heard some exercises brings tears to your eyes). I now bike for 24 minutes; the weeks after surgery doing a simply revolution will be difficult and doing 5 minutes will be a reason for congratulations -- one of many goals to be reached on this long, tedious recovery process.

So, I now put the fate of my knee in the hands of my surgeon, my PT and me (to religiously adhere to the rehab and stay optimistic). Stay tuned…

Why are Animals Used for Entertainment & Profit

I purposely did not watch the Kentucky Derby this year because I do not believe an animal’s purpose is to entertain humans, and, in the case of horse racing, to make lots of money for them. I concur with a May 6 editorial in the New York Times on horse racing that, “the horses seem more like financial vehicles than animals with an existence of their own. The life of the money comes to seem just as important as the life of the horse.” So I was angered and saddened when I heard the news that one of the horses, Eight Belles, broke both of her front ankles and had to be euthanized. Questions are swirling as to whether the jockey lashed her to the finish line ignoring a telltale sign that she was injured; whether her trainer administered steroids to make her too large; or whether owner Rick Porter acted selfishly in entering the 3-year old filly in the Derby? (See Sally Jenkins Washington Post article.) This follows the another horse racing tragedy where another horse, Barbaro, was also euthanized eight months after he shattered his right hind leg at the start of the Preakness Stakes. It makes no sense that these animals had to suffer and die all to entertain and put lots of greenbacks in someone’s pocket. According to the the Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, there are 2 fatalities for every 1,000 starts on U.S. dirt tracks. Again quoting from the NYT editorial, “The first rule of racing must be the welfare of these horses. Nothing else is acceptable.”

Of course horse racing is unfortunately far from being the only activity where animals are used to entertain people and/or increase their bank accounts. Circuses force animals with the use of whips, sticks and bullhooks to perform unnatural acts such as jumping through fire hoops, standing on their heads, walking trunk-to-tail, skipping, crawling, twirling, hopping on their hind legs and rolling over in unison. While circus promoters claim their animals are well treated and that the animals like doing the tricks, this is far from the truth. For example, video footage taken between 2001 and 2006 of Ringling trainers and handlers shows that elephants were aggressively hooked, lame elephants were forced to perform and travel, and a trainer inflicted a bloody bullhook wound behind an elephant’s ear flap. According to David Hancocks, former director of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, “When [circuses] portray animals as freaks and curiosities, devoid of context or dignity, circuses are perpetuating outdated attitudes. Wild animals in the circus are reduced to mere caricatures of their kind, exhibited just for financial gain. In this way, they corrupt our children, promoting the notion that exploitation and degradation is acceptable, even brave or funny.”

Then we also have the sadistic and illegal (in most states) dog fighting and cock fighting where once again humans profit at the expense of animals. These animals often die of blood loss, shock, dehydration, exhaustion, or infection hours or even days after the fight. I can’t even fathom why someone would support something that is so horrific and inhumane.

I hope that one day mankind will accept and honor the words of Albert Einstein:

A human being is part of the whole called by us universe , a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty...We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive."

Cyclones, Hurricanes and Droughts - Oh My!

Is it my imagination or does there appear to be more weather catastrophes of late? Maybe I just never really paid attention to global weather and that all these cyclones, hurricanes, tsunamis, droughts, floods, etc. are as common as they every have been. But it is getting very scary when a cyclone (2008 Myanmar cyclone) leaves 22,000 dead and 41,000 missing and a tsunami (2004 South Asian Tsunami) leaves more than 225,000 people dead in eleven countries. Particularly haunting were the images from Hurricane Katrina since this was close to home so to speak, not in some far off third world country.


Last year, Great Britain was hit by the worst flooding in decades. A heat wave blanketed south-eastern Europe and killed hundreds of people, and out-of-control wildfires burned Greece. In the southwest U.S., California, Nevada, Colorado, and Utah were hit with sweltering heat. The central part of the U.S. - especially Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas - was awash in water. And this year in the U.S. we have seen mass destruction from unprecedented numbers of tornadoes and flooding. What the hell is going on?

There is not a clear consensus on what is causing this and as a matter of fact there is much controversy. There have been many that have weighed in on this. For example, Stephen Tindale, executive director of Greenpeace UK said in the Independent newspaper in Britain, “No one can ignore the relentless increase in extreme weather events and so-called natural disasters, which in reality are no more natural than a plastic Christmas tree." Speaking to the same newspaper, Friends of the Earth Director Tony Juniper pressed the argument home: "Here again are yet more events in the real world that are consistent with climate change predictions."

The Environmental Defense Fund says that studies show that global warming will increase the frequency or intensity of many kinds of extreme weather. While we can't attribute a particular heat wave or hurricane to global warming, the trends are clear: Global warming loads the atmospheric dice to roll "heat wave" or "intense storm" more often.

Meanwhile, Daniel Sarewitz, a professor of science and society and director of the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at ASU and Roger Pielke Jr., of University of Colorado, Boulder, say that tying the tsunami and other natural disasters to human induced climatic change “is both scientifically and morally unsupportable.” Other geologists said that groups of giant earthquakes hit Sumatra every 230 years or so. The last quakes there were in 1797 and 1833 and the 2004 South Asian earthquake was thought by to be more or less on schedule.

While everyone debates this, these natural disasters go on and on and thousands and thousands of people die and lose their homes and livelihoods. All I know something is up and the weather is getting stranger and harsher and nothing is being done about it. I don’t need any scientific evidence to tell me summers are getting warmer and the seasons are blending into each other. I’m experiencing that first hand.

I encourage everyone to become involved in this issue. Can We Solve It? You decide. But do it now or it may be too late if you wait. Soylent Green here we come!