Normal or super weird??? 🤔
Yes, yes I am. 🙋🏻♀️
😄😄😄
However, I’m not talking about ME, per se. Rather, I’m talking about some “mighty interesting things” that I have learned since my surgery, about 2 weeks ago!
On one hand, we have the actual rehab part of the recovery, which includes the step-by-step process of regaining muscle activation, range of motion, strength, balance, mobility, proprioception, and, one of these days, agility. This side mainly includes the physical therapy work along with all of the recovery milestones, like biking, regaining full flexion, walking, full squatting, jogging, running, hopping, jumping….and so on. 🚴🏾🧎🏽♂️🏃🏻♀️🏋️🏃🏿♂️🐸🤾🏼♀️
I’m not so much talking about that side and those specifics. (Though ^this little guy is such a cutie, puddle jumping!! 😍)
Instead, on the other hand, we have those random epiphanies and bizarre techniques that we learn and apply TO the rehab process as we move through it and figure things out.
And these are random items that I am now just realizing and noticing, on my third round of this ACL rehab! Definitely weird, insightful, and entertaining, which is why I’d like to tell you about them!
I have three of these “mighty interesting things” to share, though I am sure there will be PLENTY MORE to add to the list as I get even further into the process – – tomorrow marks my two week point, post-surgery!! – – however, I thought you might want to hear some oddball and exciting happenings instead!! And perhaps you or someone you know can benefit in some way from my random stories!! 😁
#1) The multi-purpose uses of a diaper 👶
On the day of surgery, one is recommended to shower because it will be an assortment of days before that one will be able to shower again. (For me, it was 5 days. 🤭)
Oh, you do your best with wet wipes and washing up in the bathroom. Yet, in the bathroom you must stand balanced on one leg, holding up the newly-surgeried leg in its knee brace the entire time, so it’s harder than it sounds and gets pretty exhausting after a while! And, the wet wipes are helpful but no match for a full and refreshing shower, of course! 🚿
AND THEN, when you remove all of the bandages by day four and you feel ready to attempt to tackle a real shower, you must do everything you can to keep your sterile strips and incisions as dry as possible.
During my previous experiences, I would use a plastic bag, cutting a hole in the bottom of the bag, slip the bag up my leg to my knee, and then tape it both above and below the knee to ensure it didn’t move. I also remember wrapping my knee in paper towels, using Saran Wrap to cover the paper towels, and then taping the Saran Wrap in the same way as the plastic bag so it stayed in place.
And both methods worked great!!
HOWEVER, the absolute winner was discovered by my Mom, courtesy of this little peanut:
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My BFF, Leia!!! Watch this adorable clip of my Mom reading “First 100 Words” to Leia and her priceless giggling! 💓🥰💓😍
So, because my Mom and I were babysitting this munchkin twice per week, we had diapers at home, ready and waiting for her arrival.
Since my surgery, the babysitting has taken a pause for the time-being, (soon to resume again!!) yet the diapers remained!!
And when I requested help for my very first shower, my Mom brilliantly decided to grab one of Leia’s diapers as a barrier to protect my knee from the water!!
#1) I learned that Leia’s tiny bum is the same size as my knee. (I guess you could say that I have a BUM knee!!! 😆)
#2) Look at how perfectly it wraps my knee!!!
⬇️
Then, my Mom wrapped my knee again with Saran Wrap and tape…. and VOILÀ!!!
A perfectly-wrapped surgeried knee, ready for the shower!!! 😃🤣👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
And it works perfectly, as silly as it may look and seem!!! Easy application, the diaper keeps my knee completely dry, and it can be used over and over again!
Who would have thought to grab a diaper for such purposes??? GO MOM!!! And a huge ‘Thank you’ for my Leia girl, because without her beautiful presence and kind sharing, I would not have a diaper to use!! (For my knee, people….. don’t get any silly ideas!!💩😜)
#2) Nobie loves the cold 🥶
And I do not mean the winter chill, snow, and frigid temperatures!!!
Nope, he is definitely not a “winter sports” kinda pup. Nobie is and has always been in love with the sun. Whenever he can, he finds and basks in the rays until he can’t even stand it anymore!! 🌞
Knowing that, I was pleasantly surprised with my next story!!
SO, my little Nobie hasn’t been feeling the best lately. He has had many health issues and allergies, especially over the past few years, and they all seem to be layering on top of one another at this current time. ☹️
Usually, Nobie is most attentive when someone is ill or laid up on the couch due to injury. That is where his nickname “Nurse Nobie” came from.
Only this time, because he isn’t fully feeling like himself, he ignores me most of the time UNLESS I have food. And then I glance down and I have his cute face staring up at me…..
👀 😂
Well, last weekend, I decided that I needed some Nobie cuddles!! It had been over a week since I had any!!
So, I picked him up, made room for him on the inside of the couch, and sat him next to me. I could tell that he was willing to appease me for a short visit, because he lay down in a rigid manner with his head up.
BUT THEN, to my surprise, he found the magic of my polar ice care unit and how cold it felt to the touch…which apparently felt amazing on his little body!!
So, he snuggled in nice and close….
….rested his head on top of the cool wrap….
….and then passed out next to me for the next hour!!
It was adorable!!! And it made me so happy to see him comforted and peaceful next to me and loving the cold!!!
This was a total epiphany moment: Perhaps this is a remedy for our fur babies when they aren’t feeling their best – – resting next to a polar ice care unit or at least something cold!!! Mental note for us all!! 😀 📝
#3) Three times really is a charm!!!!
Or, at least, it sure seems that way so far!!
Now, I do not wish to jinx myself so I shall keep this “epiphany” VERY brief. However, every day since my surgery I have been stunned at how simple this process has been so far.
Now, I know it’s still super early in the rehab schedule. I mean, I’m on week two and I have about 50 more weeks to go.
Yet….
My previous two ACL rehabs were not this smooth and simple, so it’s WEIRD!!!!! Like, Twilight-Zone-invisible-monsters-are-staring-at-me weird!! But also WEIRD as in the magnificent I-can-move-objects-across-the-room-with-my-gaze weird!! As in, it’s really amazing!!!!! 👁 🪴😃
To put it in perspective, a friend of mine found out that I was needing yet another ACL Reconstruction, making it #3. And he wrote to me, explaining that, in his past, he had torn one of his ACL’s and went through that rehab AND he had also ruptured his Achilles tendon and went through that rehab. And he actually told me that he would prefer to go through the Achilles injury and rehab over and over again than to even think about going through an ACL injury and recovery again!!!! I was shocked by this because to me, an Achilles rupture sounds TERRIBLE!!!! But I shall take my friend’s word for it, that’s for sure!! (YIKES!!! As much as an enormous part of me FULLY understands what my friend means. This ACL rehab always takes everything you’ve got, especially if you want to get as close to your pre-injury state as possible.😬)
Though now, I’m moving through my rehab with curiousness and intrigue because I’m not struggling in the ways that I have in the past. My knee has been doing so well right off the bat and I continue to remain ahead of the game, hitting all of the benchmarks that I need and smoothly moving forward in physical therapy. I was totally expecting this Revision ACL Reconstruction recovery to be my hardest to endure and it’s the complete opposite so far!!!
Speaking of physical therapy…..
I now understand what it means to have a knowledgeable physical therapist that knows what he’s doing, that understands this ACL rehab to its core, and that can guide me appropriately based on my own progress. And to be in a facility that is full of equipment, ready to assist each stage of this lengthy ACL rehab process???? It is all like night and day ☀️ 🌚 and I truly believe that that is another huge factor as to why I am doing so well, so quickly.
IMPORTANT SIDE NOTE: I’m tellin’ you, your physical therapist can lead you through a clean path or lead you through an overgrown jungle with vicious beasts and nasty snakes….basically, they can make or break you so PLEASE make sure you research and find a knowledgeable, Grade A, top-notch physical therapist that takes his/her cues off of YOU. I can’t even describe what a world of difference it has already made for me and my journey through this 3rd ACL process has only just begun!!
SO, out of my three stories that I shared with you today, do you find them not-so-surprising and normal OR mighty interesting and super weird???? New-age diaper wraps, cold dogs (as opposed to 🌭 😁), and third time is the (most simplest) charm…..🧐😳🤨🤪
Either way, I hope you enjoyed my stories and found some amusement along the way!! And if any of these stories help you down the road OR, better yet, if you were already aware that some of these things worked and/or were so true and useful, please write a comment and tell me all about it!! I’d love to know if anyone else has discovered these very same “hacks.” 🤔
But probably, it’s just super weird ME!!!! 🤓
♥️👀☀️💓🪴🚿😬📝🥶👏🏼👁🌭🌚💩🌞