Rehab...Where are the Celebrities?

The first two days at home were pretty uneventful. My knee was very sore, but the pain meds were effective.  I lived on the couch and bed, iced, did my exercises 5 times a day, and spent time with the family.  I watched every minute of college football on TV.   I went to two Christmas parties, and it was a bit of a challenge to be upright and on my crutches for hours on end (it was days 4 and 5). Frankly, I probably should stayed home, but I have young kids and Christmas is a big deal.  I  basically parked myself in chairs at each party and kept my leg up and answered a million questions.  I was pretty darn sore after getting home though.  Anyway, I was set for my first in town rehab appointment on December 24, 2007.

On Christmas Eve, I met with John Zior at Rocklin Physical Therapy. It was day 5, I was non-weightbearing, very swollen, had about 80 degrees flexation, and was locked at 0 degrees in the brace. This was John's first meniscus transplant rehab, and he had previously reviewed Dr. Stone's protocols and had a plan ready to go. We took my knee out of the brace (which I had been doing several times a day and letting it hang off the bed per Dr. Stone's rehab protocols), and he surveyed the damage. We were facing a few big hurdles. First, my knee was very swollen. Second, I was 10% weightbearing. Third, I was still pretty sore.

John measured my stats (flexation, extension, calf and quad size, etc.). Then, without the brace, John had me do leg lifts. It sounds really simple, but my knee looked and felt like a disaster area, so I had to push really hard just to keep my leg straight. I'm pretty hard core when it comes to training, so I pushed it. I could tell John was excited to work with someone who knew how to train hard.  I also realized Dr. Stone wasn't exaggerating when he said the rehab will be far harder than the surgery.

The last issue that John checked was the numbness I had below my knee. From my kneecap to my ankle was totally numb down my shinbone to the outside of my ankle. I couldn't feel anything. It was good and bad since I couldn't feel the incisions, but I was a bit afraid it would never come back. John had me close my eyes and he poked my knee, but I felt nothing. I had nerve damage from a broken arm a long time ago, so I knew not to panic yet, but what I didn't know was that the situation would get worse in a few weeks.

John finished showing me some more core exercises, and we made appointments three times a week. I would do my own rehab the other days at the gym. I would diligently continue my rehab seven days we week for the first three months. I iced, put my brace on, and waited for my ride. It was off to the Christmas Eve parties for me.