Month: February 2018

Den of Positivity, 12 Weeks Post-Op: “…Due to the advances in polymer sciences, the use of bio-absorbable implants in orthopaedic surgery has become more frequent. These implants offer the advantages of initial biomechanical protection and gradual loading of the biological interface between the two tissues, as well as a reduced need for hardware removal. With the use of these biological ‘anchors’, the formation of collagen fibres that anchor a tendon into the bone following surgical reconstruction has generally been regarded as a critical event in the reconstruction of a bone–tendon interface. With time, healing between the two tissues occurs through a process of progressive re-establishment of an integrated collagen bridge between the tendon & bone…Bony integration of this interface tissue appears to occur via progressive ossification of the extracellular matrix (ECM) that ***GRADUALLY MATURES TO RESEMBLE A ‘NORMAL’ INSERTION BY 12–26 WEEKS.*** Wo-hoo! 12 weeks, baby!

Anyone remember this song from Sesame Street..?

…I couldn’t get it out of my head today…

Den of Positivity, Day Who-the-F*#%$-Knows-Anymore:

Weekends suck. Vodka does not. Cheers.

Den of Positivity, 15 Weeks PI, 11 PO:

“…I have a different perspective now: I feel more peaceful and patient. I keep being reminded of the cyclical nature of the world of 10,000 things and have powerful insights that change what I see. I know that we humans are like the rest of the natural world and that sadness, fear, frustration, or any troubling feeling cannot last. Nature doesn’t create a storm that never ends. Within misfortune, good fortune hides.”

– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life: Living the Wisdom of the Tao

My wife took our kids up to NH for three days over the school vacation to ski with my in-laws. I stayed home to work and keep healing (11 weeks PO). My son is 10 and has been skiing for a few years, but my daughter, who’s 8, was terrified the first time she tried at age 5, and hasn’t wanted to try again since. Until this week. I was sad helping them pack up their ski clothes and wishing I could be on the mountain with them in a body that didn’t hurt. But Leah’s smile from the chairlift erased all of that. And I will ski again next year.

Gonna leave this here for any Hamsters having a hard time.

I drove *myself* to work today! 11-minute trip. It didn’t feel great sitting on my hams, but it was bearable, I took my time, & there was little traffic. I’m 10 Weeks PO, and was cleared to drive at 6, but I could not have done it before now without pain & fear. I did the right thing by waiting. Laying down now to ice before the trip home.

When I was resting my body on Mon & Tues, I made this chart out of curiosity & the need to do something with my busy brain. It compares my surgeon’s rehab. protocol alongside those of Dr. Wood in Sydney and the two in our files section (University of Wisconsin & Carl Askling article).

The management of such minutiae made my head spin a little (Wendi Brown Miller!), but it gave me both a bird’s eye view of the similarities & differences, and a good preview of my PT exercises & goals to come. If you have nothing better to do…take a peek.