Surgery Recovery - Day 6

Ali came over to keep me company today which was really great of her, she helped me get to and from the doctors and provided entertainment for me while working and attending conference calls.

The doctor's appointment went well. Traveling there was a bit of a challenge - I had to crutch up the street to grab a cab, crutching up an incline is harder than I thought. Then the first cab that was stopped at the corner had this skank driver who wouldn't take me - fortunately there was a cab right behind it whose driver wasn't a loser skank.

At the doctor's office I was immediately brought into a room. Since they didn't have any useful leg props in the waiting room this was really nice. I wasn't going to attempt to get on the high examining table so I sat down in the visitor chair and propped my leg on the rolly chair. I think the Dr. didn't appreciate this that much, although I did make sure my shoes were off the chair. I could tell by the disappearance of his eyebrows into his forehead that I wasn't supposed to be sitting there.

Once I successfully launched myself onto the inconveniently raised examining table his eyebrows returned to their normal position and we started. He cut the bandages off and explained what each incision on the knee represented. He also showed me the pictures that were taken during the operation - those were very cool. He checked how much I could straighten my leg and how much I could bend it (over the side of the table, supported by the other leg). He said both ranges of motion were good and that the swelling was likely caused by the fluid injected during the arthroscopic process and nothing to be worried about. I asked about the wobbly, floating feeling and again he said that I shouldn't be worried about the knee cap moving, that this feeling would diminish as the swelling decreased. Unfortunately, the swelling is going to take some time to go away, it will likely be into next week or longer before its gone. I am also going to start physical therapy 3 times a week, beginning next week. I don't have to wear the bandages any more, which results in some very interesting and horrified looks from people who glance at the knee (you can see all the incisions).

The knee seems to be doing well - I can tell that it is improving, slowly. The sharp pains continue to decrease (as long as I don't twitch), the swelling doesn't seem to be increasing and I can get up and down faster. This is particularly helpful because I have to chase the hellion cats away from the flowers. The only new oddness is pain in my lower quad and shin, I think this is probably because the fluid in my knee is being spread to these areas. Still, I'm not complaining, I'm doing much better than I was 4 days ago!

Tomorrow is my first day by myself. Currently I am most concerned with how I am going to get coffee. I wonder if Starbucks delivers....