- Stand for 3-4 hours. I could probably stand longer, but your strong leg gets pretty tired/stiff. My husband's company was hosting a brunch after the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and I went. Standing the whole time was not really an issue.
- Drive a car! I can finally get in and out of the car on my own, with my crutches and brace. Hooray! Freedom! I probably couldn't sit in the driver's seat, so straight up, for more than 30 minutes, but that's a start!
- Leg lifts! At PT this week, I started to do leg lifts and leg exercises that actually resemble exercises healthy people do at a gym. Hooray!
- Sit on the couch for extended periods of time. Who would have thought being a couch potato would be a measure of success? For the first week and a half, I was having trouble sitting up on the couch for more than 30 minutes. Now, I am able to for a longer period of time. Having my leg propped up allows me to sit even longer.
Two weeks out...things I'm struggling with:
- sleeping is still not going well. I am getting about 3-4 good hours of sleep a night. I don't know if this is because of my body still being confused from the pain pills or if it is from...
- Nerve pain! I've started to have some pain, especially at night, on the inside of my thigh. My doctor warned me that some people experience nerve pain due to swelling inside the joint and around the surgery area. I told my PT about it, and she pulled on my leg to create more room in my joint. This didn't hurt and I was skeptical about the validity of this approach. I'm happy to announce my hesitation was misplaced, and I did not have nerve pain last night.
- Still using my crutches. I know I could walk, PT knows I could walk, and my doctor knows I could walk. Unfortunately, the trained professionals among that grouping agree I should not walk yet. This is crazy frustrating. Crutches are the pits.
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