TwoJeez

It’s been almost six weeks since my knee fracture and I’m proud/excited/cautiously-optimistic to announce my gradual return to the two wheeled mode of transport that I’ve been missing through the first part of this summer. I had my first follow up appointment with my sports medicine doctor last Thursday and the prognosis was good. After reviewing a few new x-rays, it appears that everything is healing properly and my therapy is helping to get me back on the road much sooner then I expected. Considering that the first question my doctor asked me was: “Are you back on the road yet?”, I figured that it might be time to give it a try.

As soon as my Physical Therapist put me on a stationary bike I’ve been testing myself to see how much pedalling I could do without inflicting any additional damage. Starting with short 15-20 minute casual spinning sessions and gradually building up to full speed 30-40 minute rides on the rollers, I thought I should start to venture out and start to build back some of the strength that I’ve lost throughout the healing process. I quickly discovered that I have a long way to go before I return to my previous form. On Sunday I decided to venture out for a casual 5-mile ride on the paved trail down the hill from my house. I knew that getting down the hill would be the easiest part of the outing, but I wasn’t really sure how I would fare on the way back up.  Continue Reading »

Moving into my fourth week since the patella fracture, I’ve become increasingly anxious due to my lack of mobility. A few people that have been following my recent posts have noted the positive spin that I’ve been placing on the recovery process. It’s true that I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to keep a positive outlook while I’m rehabilitating my knee, but I’ll admit that my sunny disposition has become slightly overcast.

Despite the change in forecast, a few rays of sunshine have recently poked through via the acquisition of a cane. I’m not really sure if I’m supposed to be walking without my crutches, but using the cane has been making it much easier to get around. It’s not causing me any pain so I guess that’s a good sign. I haven’t had a chance to consult with my physical therapist about my new walking stick because the holiday weekend derailed my therapy schedule. Since I wasn’t able to get an appointment over the weekend I’ve been doing my exercising at home. Most of the stretching, bending, and flexing in my routine are easily replicated using a yoga strap and a little ingenuity. Thanks to the exercise my quad has started to regain some of it’s ability to do some real flexing and my range-of-motion seems to be improving steadily. I’m still wearing my knee immobilizer when I’m not doing the therapy to prevent my newly found mobility from injuring me further. Although, when I’m sitting on the couch enjoying a beer I do let the knee get a little air.

Adding to my mobility anxiety, the first few stages of the Tour have been nothing short of amazing. Armstrong, Contador and the rest of the Astana team had an amazing team time trial this morning (er I guess this afternoon in France). They now have five guys in the top ten with Armstrong tied for time (with the exception of a few tenths) with the leader Fabian Cancellara. I’m still pushing for my goal of riding somewhere to watch the final stage of the Tour, but if the racing maintains this intensity it’s going to feel like an eternity before I’m back in the saddle. I think I’ll set up a bike on the rollers tonight and give it a light spin, per the doctors orders of course!

IN OTHER NEWS:
My youngest sister Kelsey passed her NCLEX last week making her an official RN! Congratulations Kelsey!