#784 football, school and a knee update

I really wanted to write on Thursday to keep up with my every-other-day writing schedule, but I was busy watching football. The Utes were playing USC. I'm happy to report that the game wasn't a blow-out, although Utah probably wasn't going to win the game once half-time rolled around. Still, Utah lost only by 10 points, so I'd consider it something of a moral victory considering the last time they played a game they were slaughtered by Arizona State University. To compete with USC was good. The first three minutes of the game were miraculous. Utah jumped out to a 14-0 lead. The adrenaline and testosterone were flowing, but it would have been difficult to keep up that level of intensity for the remaining 57 minutes of the game.

So there's my football update. What else is/has been going on?

On Wednesday I attended Student-Educator-Parent (SEP) conferences at T's school. As I mentioned before, his mid-term report card was excellent, so checking in with the teachers was bound to be a positive experience and it was. Mostly, I was interested in meeting the teachers and finding out how T's classroom behavior is. Sometimes he can be chatty with his friends. Some of the teachers did mention that, but overall it doesn't seem to be a problem. I'm really rooting for T to keep up his excellent grades. Wouldn't it be amazing to have a 4.0 GPA after the first term? Go T!!

Now back to Thursday:

I also had physical therapy on Thursday night and there was a lot of anticipation for the measurement of the bending. I was hoping for 120 degrees; Lance wanted 125. I was close: I got to 119, pulling with all my might. I get to a point and I just can't make it bend anymore. It's like it just stops. I guess it is the scar tissue. The thing about it is that that surgeon will measure the knee cold, meaning I won't be working it out, warming it up and then pulling for all I'm worth with a strap to get maximum bend. In the surgeon's office, I lay on the table and he bends the knee until it stops and then he measures. Like that, I'll probably be around 113 - 115 degrees, and he wants me at 125 degrees.

I have come to grips with the idea of manipulation. I'll find out for sure on Tuesday and I'll let you know.

A quick report on going back to work: I worked five days this week, four hours each day. Four hours is barely enough to get anything accomplished, but it has been ok. On the days that I worked in the morning, I'd come home and ride my bike and do my stretches. On the days that I worked in the afternoon, I went to the gym to ride the bike and walk around the track and do the stretches. Here's the thing about doing the stretches at the gym, though: it's really public. I'd take my strap and pull on the knee like I do at home, but I'm pretty sure I make some grunting/groaning noises when I do the pulling and I get a little self-conscious. I do it anyway, but I notice people kind of looking at me when I'm done and I'm hobbling toward the exit. oh well.

There has been progress, though! I can now climb up the stairs one foot after the other instead of stepping up with the left leg, bringing the right leg up, then left, then right. Now I can just go up left, up right, up left...do you know what I mean? AND I can also step down with alternating feet, so I'm going up and down the stairs normally! Slow, but normal. That's a big deal!

I can definitely feel the right leg getting a lot stronger. I can walk without limping most of the time. The knee is stiff in the morning when I get out of bed and it takes a little time for it to warm up and get the blood flowing through it, but then it feels good. I'm pretty much off the pain pills. I will take one at night after physical therapy at the doctor's office. I always feel extra-tired and the knee is swollen after that and the appointments are late in the evening and I don't have time to get the knee iced down enough to relieve the swelling.

Hope you are having a good weekend! Take care of yourselves :)