The real work begins

Last week I was in for PT for the first time since surgery. I basically just had an evaluation with my therapist to get an idea of how my activation was and what range of motion I had. As expected, my right leg is very atrophied, but I was still able to turn on everything well (I had been working on activation exercises pre-op). My right knee seems to be a little angry. We're optimistic that once I can get things moving and get some strength back it will settle down. 

I started in the water the begging of this week. We'll just be easing into things to get my right leg back to working again. I think the pool is going to be really great and hopefully help me get stronger. Once I'm a little more confident in the water I'll plan to go to our indoor pool on my off days with PT. 

As I've started more exercises I've been able to move around a lot easier at home. I'm able to use my SmartCrutches around the house. I can almost get dressed without help; getting that right sock on it's the real challenge. All in all, I am getting so much better each day. I have an appointment tomorrow with my surgeon for my 6 week visit. If everything goes well I will be able to start some weight-bearing! 

I've been in North Carolina this week, I go every year with my dad. He has a summer staff meeting here and I tag along and we have a pretty good time. I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go this year, but here I am.

We're in the mountains, and although I'm not quite ready to go on a hike, walking around here even just on the streets is still a bit hilly and defiantly a workout. It feels good though. My right hip is doing really great, much better than last year when I was here. I can walk more and it just overall feels much better.

My right SI joint (lower back) has been bothering me more. It doesn't seem to be effected by the amount of activity I do, which is good and bad. Good because it means I can keep doing what I'm doing activity wise, but bad because it means I can't really control or expect what it is going to feel like. I often plan my life around how I can expect to feel after an activity. For example, if I'm doing something really rigorous then the day before and the day after I'll try to rest and give my body a beak since it's more work for my body than it would be for someone else's.

Hopefully if I can strengthen my gluteus and core I'll get some relief in my back, as well as improve my hip and make it more stable. So I'm going to, as always, continue to work on my exercises and really focus on PT and getting stronger.