🎵Little limb, little limb….🎶
Oh, I’m continuin’ the song! Can’t stop now!
🎶MERRY had a little limb, who’s pleased with some good news!!🎵 😃😃😃
SO, on this MERRY week that is leading us towards the Christmas holiday, I wanted to share an update about my left knee!! Or my little limb, like the song says…. 😆
First, please let me explain that back in September 2021, I had my 6-month check-up with my knee surgeon. It did go pretty well; however, I was deemed “not strong enough” to move up to the big leagues of PT and join a strength and conditioning program that PT offers.
From that moment on, over these last 3 months, I became determined to work on my strength and stability!! So that the next time that I saw my knee surgeon, she would be impressed with my progress during her evaluation and think about clearing me to join this performance-based program.
Well……About 1.5 weeks ago, I had my almost-9-month check-up appointment with my knee surgeon!!!
AND SHE WAS PLEASED WITH MY PROGRESS AND GAVE ME HER APPROVAL TO MOVE INTO THE STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING PROGRAM!!!!!!!!!! 😃🤗
Which is EXACTLY what I was working towards!!! AND…..it totally freaks me out, I’m gonna be completely honest.
This high-level small group program is built for athletes and those wishing to return to their sports. Which means that this will allow me to go back into training like an athlete, which I did for years and years….and the last time that I trained like that was a few years ago! And though I am not NECESSARILY working to go back to a sport, I do want to rebuild my confidence as much as humanly possible, along with my strength, jumping and agility abilities, and learn how to trust my knees (and my body) fully again.
This also means that the program will be intense, challenging, and it will push me a ton more than traditional PT. And even though the instructor will ease me into the process and I will be able to gauge what I do and do not feel comfortable doing yet, there is a higher level of risk to my “little limbs” (both of my knees that have a history of injuries) when it is a high-level program like this. And THAT can be kinda scary for someone who has dealt with multiple knee injuries over the past 8 years and just wants to get out of the injury loop!!! (That someone is ME!!)
EVEN STILL, I also know that in order to move on from these injuries and also to rebuild my confidence to continue living my very active lifestyle, I need to practice all of the elements that this strength and conditioning program will offer. Which is why this next quote hits me and comes in handy:
Life is good in my “normal PT setting,” where I have been recovering from my ACL surgery since March 2021! I’m consistent with my training, making solid and steady gains, and the progress is moving forward, slowly and surely!!! If I wanted, I could most certainly stay in this safer PT plan for another 3 months until I see my surgeon next at my 1-year mark. 🤔
And then there is this next-level program, that will keep me on my toes, work me hard, challenge me in every possible way, and give me the chance to grow exponentially over the next three months. In short, it could help my abilities skyrocket and allow me to move from the “good” to the “GREAT!!” 🤔😃
And, as I remind myself to not be afraid of giving up the good and going for the great, (thank you, Steve Prefontaine!), the potential leap up to the “great” level just seems worth the risk of what I mentioned earlier, right?? (Especially knowing that I will work smart as well as like a beast, I promise! 💪🏼👹)
So, if all goes well and COVID closings do not impact the plan, I will be starting this strength and conditioning program at PT in early January 2022!!! HOORAY!!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
To say I left my surgeon’s office feeling happy that day is a definite understatement. I was THRILLED, along with my slight intimidation about what this program will be like for me. And right before I walked out of the examining room, I took a look at this very specific picture on the wall and decided to take a selfie with it!
It was this realization that my history of knee injuries and myself had to form a truce and an alliance. So, with acknowledgement respect, and appreciation for ALL of the lessons that I have learned over the years because of my knee injuries, I took this selfie as a sign of this truce. Something that I never would have done in the past because I was too ashamed of my knee injuries.
Yet, ON THIS DAY, with the “merry good news” about my “little limb”…..😉……it brought on this mode of reckoning in my system. And I realized that another way to break this injury loop that I have been in, is to bond with my past of knee injuries and REALLY start to release the hold that they have had over me. And at that moment in the examining room, all of these thoughts and this realization took on the form of a selfie with this all-too-familiar ‘Knee Injuries’ picture. A pretty powerful selfie, don’t you think?!?! 📸
And that concludes my knee update for YOU!! Thank you for taking part in my joyful news, along with the silliness that accompanied it. I do appreciate you! 🥰 And perhaps I shall create more lyrics to my “Merry had a little limb” rendition, adding on when more good and great things happen…🎶🎵🎶🎵 I’ll keep ya posted! 😁
With all the ❤️❤️❤️ from me and my cheesy elf face……
…I wish you a fabulous rest of the week!!! Whether that means having a very Merry Christmas with your friends & family, a very Happy Kwanzaa with your friends & family, OR enjoying any end of the year holidays, celebrations, or festivities (very safely and thoughtfully, please!) with those that you love!
And in case my cheesy elf grin wasn’t enough, here I am, in a reindeer antlers competition with the adorable pug on my shirt. I am well aware that the pug wins, hands down!!!!! As he should. 😍
Until next week!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! 🎄💖🎁❤️✨🎶🎄💖🎁✨🎵