Two Weeks Later...

It's been two weeks... two VERY long weeks...

Actually, it blows my mind that it's only been two weeks. I don't know about you, but it seems much longer than that to me.

Today was a very laid back day. After breakfast, my parents went down to the Farmer's Market to grab some plants and vegetables. That gave me some time to myself. What did I do with that time? Shopping!

For those that are members of REI, you know that today was the last day of one of their few sales of the year. I used a gift card that I received from my brother for Christmas, plus the member's coupon, to purchase shorts, a shirt, and a multi-tool for my truck (it's like a Leatherman...)

I bought the shorts knowing that I will need some extra pairs this summer due to the brace on my leg. If you haven't seen this thing, just know this: It's a monster! It's huge! It's made out of foam with 6 Velcro straps extending from my thigh to my ankle. Knowing I can't slip pants over this thing, I'd better have a nice supply of shorts in my closet.

So where do things stand now that it's been 2 weeks from the accident and a week and a half removed from the surgery?

Physically, I still have aches and pains... but not as bad. A week ago, if I came up off the couch, the knee would hurt like a mother and it would literally take my breath away. I'd usually have to wait for the pain to pass before I could get moving. That problem went away around mid-week.

I've gone from taking two pain pills every 4 hours to one every four hours... and now I'm taking about a total of four a day. So, as you can see, the pain is getting less and less intense.

I still wake up with crazy pains throughout the night, but not as often as before. This morning I awoke with an ache in my ankle. That was very odd because I hadn't experienced that before... it went away and then came back a bit this afternoon.

Have I mentioned the muscle spasms? My leg flutters quite a bit throughout the day... but at night, it tends to jerk and twitch like nobody's business! The most ongoing pain I have is in my upper thigh. I don't know what is going on with my quads, but they tend to be flexed or tense all of the time. I can feel knots on the sides, too.

Mentally? Hmm... well, as you can tell, this is getting old. I had a rough day yesterday... but today is much better. I think I'm mentally exhausted with all of this. For example, today I took a nap. However, while I normally take naps that range from 30-45 minutes, this one was almost two hours. My mom said she could tell I needed it... she's probably right.

One week from tomorrow, I get the stitches out. That means they'll unwrap this behemoth and I get to see what is under the ACE bandage. I'm curious to see the scar - particularly, how large of a cut was made given the distance between the 2 pieces of my kneecap. In addition, they'll take X-Rays... which means I can see the hardware. I'll try and take pictures... :-)

So as I begin my 3rd week, I think I'm doing OK. I'm taking longer strides with the walker, and I hope to get back on the crutches to check my mobility. The walker is great, but it's not what I want to be on in the coming weeks. To me, getting back on the crutches would be progress. (At least using them in public)

Thanks again everyone for the supportive emails... they really mean a lot, and the encouragement truly goes a long way.