Fix you

You can fix something that's broken. But then is it really ever as good as it once was?

Something feels off and it's hard to tell if the injury was meant to tell us that we should be moving on to other sports and things in life. Or is it just that we just aren't as fast or athletic as we once were? Not that we were ever really that good to begin with but it's really hard to accept being not good.

You work so hard to overcome something. You dedicate. Sacrifice. Endure. Then, when you get there and it's not quite how you envisioned it or remembered it, that really sucks.

A few more Ultimate games left this season. Will continue to work on getting better.

After that, hopefully it'll all be clearer.

First point

That's pretty much all there is to say. Scored our first point post-surgery at Ultimate frisbee last night. Didn't do much else...

Discovered our big weakness, too. Got strength back... Got endurance back....

But we have a very slow reaction time.

Time to work on agility!

That was embarrassing...

We hadn't been wearing the knee brace at all in the last few years. Not a big fan of that chunky thing...

It never even occurred to us that ignoring the brace all this time would be a problem. The straps are numbered. How hard could it be to put it on? 1, 2, 3 ...

So we strapped it on how we thought it should be strapped on during our first game of Ultimate. Right away, the large gaps on each side of me where noticeable. Was the brace too small? Had I shrunk? How could that be??

Mireille played anyways but vowed to get the brace checked out right away. We can't play like this all season...

Called the store where the brace was purchased and we went in right away. The guy asked me to put on the brace.

I secured the first strap and the guy fixed it. Secured the second strap and the guy fixed it again... And so on! Mireille could see where this was going. In the end, the brace fit like a glove.

"It happens all the time."

Of course...

"Nervous a bit? I couldn't tell..."

Finally it stopped raining for a bit... Ultimate frisbee season kicked off!

Last night was our first time back on the field for a game and it was quite strange. It almost felt like we had never stopped. Except the heavy brace was a reminder... Mireille probably should have practiced a bit with it beforehand. It ain't easy lugging that thing around.

We were very cautious out there. Had to test what we could do. The first half of the game, we didn't do too much... Just tried to keep up with our opponent!

The second half was much better. Caught and made a few passes. Ran a bit harder.

The highlight of the game was when the guy from the other team was plowing towards Mireille. She reacted the way someone would when you see a mouse in your kitchen. She lost all her cred in that moment...

Mireille would like to think the highlight was when she made the pass that won us the game. Hopefully, that overshadows the incident...

Today we are going to get our brace adjusted. The leg has changed quite a bit since it was originally sized. The leg workouts are paying off.

My turn

My fellow ACL bloggers have been churning out 2 year post-op updates so I'm feeling the pressure to follow suit.

Here's a quick summary:

1. Occasional cracking during some yoga poses.
2. No more numbness.
3. Still got some scar tissue. Probably because Mireille was too squeamish to massage the wound. I've made peace with the fact I might be dented forever...
4. Still can't bend quite as much as good knee but the difference is barely noticeable. Only a problem for certain yoga poses.
5. Experience some pain when kneeling on hard surfaces. Not sure it will ever go away because the padding was shaved down during surgery.
6. "Bad" leg is same size as "good leg".

Ouch

Lately, our workouts have shifted to include stuff that will whip us back into shape for Ultimate frisbee. That means jogging and some good leg exercises. But there's a problem...

Mr. Right Knee is hurting.

I'm fine, of course. Heck, I got fixed and I'm new and improved. I can handle the workouts... But buddy over here is sore all over!

Must be all that over-compensation coming back to haunt us.

If it's not one, it's the other. *sigh*

Back in action

It is official.

We've signed up to play Ultimate frisbee again. This is going to be interesting... Haven't played in 2.5 years. However, Mireille still practiced her throws. So that shouldn't be an issue. It's going for the disc that is scary... Hope no one throws it to us in the end zone. The pressure!

For anyone reading this with an injured ACL, don't worry. It's not that it took that long to recover. I also had a baby during that time. Caused further delay...

Of course, I'll be suited up in a knee brace for insurance.

Despite some fear, we are looking forward to it!!

Beef

A couple of months ago, a fellow Ultimate Frisbee player from the team we used to play on injured his knee. The unmistakable loud pop was heard from across the field.

Of course, he stopped playing and quickly made an appointment to see a sports med doctor and physiotherapist. He was also put on the waiting list for an MRI.

So, here's our beef.

When we first got injured, we followed the same protocol. Saw some professionals who examined the knee. We repeatedly got told: "Oh, it's probably just your meniscus."

"Well, your knee is tight. I doubt it's your ACL."

Yeah, well then we got our MRI results and there was a shopping list of damage. How devastating is that to hear after people have been playing down your injury??

My teammate went through the same thing. Despite hearing the pop, he was told it doesn't seem that bad. He just got his MRI results back and the injury is practically as extensive as ours was.

Ugh... wouldn't it be better to be told the worst and then be somewhat relieved when the results come back in? Why keep our hopes up?? Sorta like the concept of under-promise and over-deliver???

Rollin', rollin', rollin'...

So, we finally got a foam roller months after it was recommended by a fellow ACL blogger. And I love it!!

It was primarily bought for me but Mireille's also been using it to release tight muscles in her back. You may never need a professional massage again. (Slight exaggeration)

Ours is a Terra Fitness foam roller. Apparently, it's made from recycled stuff. Good for the knee and good for the earth. Way to go.

Go out and buy one. Now.

No, really. Now.

Tee Time

What better time to start taking golf lessons than coming back from an injury?

Mireille had been a self-taught golfer for the past 4 - 5 years. Before starting again after ACL surgery recovery, she (finally) decided it was time to take lessons. Time to iron out the kinks that had been following her season after season.

These lessons are actually proving to be good for me. Who knew that right-handed golfers, who pivot on their left leg, can turn their left foot out to ease pressure on the knee. Well, Mireille didn't.

I guess it's only helpful if you've injured your left knee...

Pure Laziness

I haven't written in forever and was hoping that I'd feel like it soon. I still don't feel like it.

I'll report on a few quick things:

1) All sensation is back -- no more numbness / dead zone below the kneecap. It took a year and 3 months to be normal again.

2) Still some bruisy-type pain in certain kneeling positions.

3) Feel 100% normal.

4) Strength and size is pretty much even.

Ok, there. That's it for now.

Almost one year since surgery

In a couple of weeks, it'll be one year since I went under the knife. Time flies. People still say to Mireille: "Wow, it took a long time to get well again."

Really? Strangely, it feels like a distant memory but, at the same time, it feels like it was yesterday. That probably doesn't make any sense whatsoever but it's the best way I can describe it.

And, by the way, that is meant to encourage people. In the moment it seems like forever but looking back it'll be nothing. Don't sweat it. (Okay, well that's a bit unrealistic...)

Our current dilemma is whether or not I should go for a one-year check-up. Frankly, Mireille doesn't see the point. Like I said in the last post, the leg is still small so we can guess what the surgeon will say...

"Keep working at it."

Do we really need to hear that? Who do I think I'm fooling? I still pop, crack and can't bend all the way.

Maybe we should just book a physio appointment, go on the torture device and see where my strength is at... Then Mireille can decide about the surgeon visit.

What should I do??

Udpate from Florida

We've been in Orlando this past week, visiting theme park after theme park. It's been a lot of fun even though the weather's awful. Where's the sun??

A few months ago, we certainly would not have enjoyed ourselves as much. Limping would have ruined it. A stiff knee getting up after the ride is over would have been annoying. Standing in line overcompensating with the good leg would have been painful.

Being practically healed is great! I don't remember what it felt like to be injured. Mireille remains cautious because the adjoining leg is still smaller.

Here's an update, 11 months post-op:

• If leg is extended too long, I crack at the first bend.
• One-legged jumps on surgical leg not even with jumps on good leg.
• Running is not perfect but pretty good.
• Surgical leg still smaller than good leg.

Still regularly going to the gym, spinning 2x per week, doing yoga daily. Not hitting the pool, though...

You know your ACL is healed when...

When you're walking across a driveway, covered with fresh snow and hiding a thin layer of deadly black ice. The good leg slides forward while the bad leg twists back. Nothing pops out of socket.

We passed the test! I held it together during what could have been a terrible disaster.

Awesome.

Another year over... soon.

I should probably write something before the year ends.

But it's just the same old boring stuff. Lots of gym workouts, jumping, spinning and some swimming. I've been running regularly at the gym lately, too.

I know. I said running was terrible and that we'd stay away from it to spare the meniscus. What prompted this desire to jog? The knee brace resizing incident.

In early December, we went to get DonJoy the knee brace resized thinking the thigh had gotten bigger. Nope. Not at all.

We are now running out of desperation. Desperation to get that quad built up.

Girls can jump, y'all

After the injury, Mireille was surfing all over the net trying to find out as much as possible about knee injuries and recovery.

She found a DVD called Girls Can Jump, which is a program designed specifically for ACL injury prevention in women. However, it's good for anyone -- we're just more vulnerable, of course.

http://www.girlscanjump.com/

We started the program last week and it's going well. All that jumping is good for the confidence.

Warning: it wasn't filmed yesterday (if you know what I mean) and can come off a bit cheesy. But whatever. The exercises are timeless.

I recommend it to anyone who wants to prevent a knee injury.

Run, Mireille, run

It seemend the stars just weren't aligning for us tonight.

We drove all the way to spinning only to find out there were no bikes left... the class was full.

Then -- plan B -- we went to the gym. But the front door wasn't working and we would have had to go all the way around the building to get in. Too much frustration was setting in at that point.

We went home but couldn't just go in and sit on the couch. Not after being told yesterday we had a lot of work left to do in the strength department.

So we laced up our sneakers and went for a run. Just under 5 kms of consecutive running.

At first, the limp was bad. But, after a while, we got the hang of it and the confidence kicked in.

No pain, no swelling. Soreness where we want it: in the quads and hammies.

C'mon, bear. Bring it on.

Tortured by the torture device

Today was our 8 month post-op follow up with the surgeon. And what a disappointment.

The green light for sports rested on a strength test on the Orthotron. Yes, that dreaded machine I wrote about a while back ("Almost 6 months" post).

The machine obviously hates me as much as I hate it.

Why couldn't we test me with some leg presses and hamstring curls? We rock at those.

So, we gotta keep working at it. Will probably revise my gym workout to be even more aggressive.

On the bright side, I am doing fine. The problem is Mr. Quad and Mrs. Hammie. They're just not strong enough, it seems. They're also still a bit smaller than on the other leg. But not that much. I'm really surprised by our results.

Oh well. Gotta listen to the expert.

No news, good news.

Ugh... sorry.

There's just really nothing to report.

Doing the same old strength training exercises and activities. Slowly getting better, as usual.

• I still crack and feel crunchy
• Get stiff when sitting too long
• Am smaller than my right-sided twin
• Not running
• Still numb and sometimes painful when kneeling

It's annoying but doesn't interfere with life or any of the sports I currently do.

Meeting with the surgeon Tuesday. Looking forward to hearing what he has to say...

Because what if I get chased by a bear?

Mireille has been very disciplined throughout this whole process but lagging in one specific area: running.

Running is pretty much the only thing holding us back from being a normal person again.

Sure, we tried a few times but never fully succeeded. What's the point? We don't plan on going back to any running sports until next summer. But, Mireille is starting to think she needs to put more effort into this...

On our last day of physiotherapy, Mireille told her physio she still couldn't quite run. He said: "Do you really need to run? Do you like running?"

I wasn't sure if he was joking or not. I waited. He wasn't joking.

"Of course I need to run!" Mireille exclaimed.

"What if I get chased by a bear?"

True story.