Tristan's Tantalizing Thoughts

I had a great Thanksgiving. I had Brandon on Thursday so we indulged in the Thanksgiving dinner I cooked. He helped me make the family recipe stuffing and was amazed at how good it was when he tried it. He wolfed down the turkey, stuffing, and green beans and said the cranberries were "meh". I call that a win. He is waiting for me to make turkey soup so he can see all the bones...he is such a boy.

Brandon was with Jen on Friday so I took the opportunity to meet up with Graciela and John West for lunch and then to see Ninja Assassin. The movie was a great "turn your mind off and enjoy" ride and we had a blast.

Saturday was spent playing with Brandon and starting to put up Christmas decorations. He made me promise that once I get the tree in place I HAVE to wait until he is with me again before the ornaments go up...he loves doing that himself.

Sunday was another relaxing day capped by taking Brandon to Finn's place so he could 'observe' youth combat, take the associated class, and then rummage through the loaner gear to see what we could borrow for him. He is VERY excited about trying youth combat and I was quite the proud Dad when I worked on foot work and stance with him...he has a natural ability for it. Jen and I immediately noticed that the hardest thing for Brandon will probably be NOT hitting so hard. I told him that I am glad he likes it so much (so far) but that he has to be fun FOR HIM and he should tell Jen or I if it stops being fun.

To all of you who have served in our nation's military, thank you. Your service, courage, bravery, and sacrifice will never be forgotten.

To all you United States Marines out there...HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Keep leading the way!

They tested my leg again tonight at physical therapy. The last time they tested me was a week and a half ago. My left leg strength is compared to that of my right leg on a device called a biodex. The milestone for the sports protocol says I need to be at 70% of the strength of my good leg in the quads and hamstrings. Hamstrings had passed but my quads fell short by 15%.

I asked the PT to test me again right before my appointment with my ortho. She warned me then that she really didn't think I could pull it up 15%.

Never tell me I can't do something...

My PT comes up to me as they are strapping my leg into the machine.

"Greg, please don't kill yourself doing this, I know you really want to make the mark this time."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"No, Greg, seriously, please don't hurt yourself trying. I don't want your ortho yelling at me tomorrow."

"I'll be fine."

"Greg...I mean it."

"Ok! Sheesh!"


My hamstrings again passed (they are actually stronger than my right leg's).

They test at two speeds. At the lower speed I have to do ten reps as fast as I can and at the higher speed I have to do 15 reps.


Lower speed....I came up 12.5%, 2.5% short of the mark. The guy running the machine looked at me and said "You can do it Greg".

Higher speed...I came in at 80-85%, 10-15% over the goal! So, tomorrow I see my ortho and we discuss what is next with PT and if I can start jog-walking. Will be interesting to see what he says given the arthritis he found in my knee.


In other news, I was at Crown Tourney this weekend and had a blast. Brandon and I watched a lot of fighting together and It was great to see such high level fighters go at it. The itch to fight again is VERY strong...

My physical therapist tested my left leg strength level last night. The goal to be able to start running was at least 70% the strength level of my right leg. My hamstrings came in at over 70% which surprised my PT given I had a hamstring graft procedure to rebuild the ACL.

However, my quads failed, coming in at just under 65%. I do NOT do failure very well so I was not a happy camper. My PT pointed out that what she had neglected to tell me is that the protocol calls for me to be at the 70% level between 12 - 14 weeks post op. I am JUST now 12.5 weeks. She said she will test me again in about a week or so. Also, given that I am not allowed to do certain movements that isolate the quad (due to my ortho finding mild arthritis of the patella) it is understandable that I am having some trouble ramping them back up.

Sooo....next week or so I will be hitting it harder and hoping for the best. I also see my ortho again in about 2 weeks to see if i can drop PT altogether and transition to just a self monitored gym based rehab. Keep your fingers crossed!!

I am about 7 weeks post surgery now and saw my orthopedic surgeon for an evaluation today. He said I am doing great and that after another 6 weeks he will see me again to discuss transitioning from PT to gym exercises. He banned me from ever doing leg extension exercises again due to the "mild stage 3 patella arthritis" he found during the surgery. I am not bone on and bone and he doesn't think I'll ever need knee replacement but does not want me to do "what is an unnatural movement anyway".

Past week 5 of PT. Down from 3 sessions per week to 2. We now start strengthening the hamstrings as well as the quads. Therapist says I am doing great but still need to not be quite so aggressive...heheh

Brandon is full of awesome with a side dish of awesome. He is loving second grade and is happy there is math, lol. We had a great Labor Day weekend that included visiting my old neighbors up in Hanover PA. We spent nearly 8 hours up there...good food, good conversation and lots of dogs and kids antics. Ahhh, good times.

An hour and a half of PT today (my second session). Went from 60 degrees flex of knee to 78. Brace now set to 60 degrees. Can put all 180 lbs on my bad knee. Walking slightly faster. My PT gave me a bunch of exercises to do at home that look all the world like a "buns of steel" advertisement. Still have fluid in and around the knee area and my calf is still VERY bruised (PT says is due to where he cut out my hamstring tendons at the top of the calf muscles). Tackled lots of machines today to get the knee moving. Typically started as "HOLY CRAP that hurts" and ended as "well that doesn't feel that bad."

Afterwords I had a very nice, relaxing dinner with a coworker.

On to the next PT session on Friday!

Screws are still in place, new ACL appears to have proper tension, walking (slowly) without a crutch, AND (can you hear the angels singing?) I can take my brace off when I sleep now!


SIGH!

My brace is now allowed to bend slightly (10 degrees I think) and I still have to wear an ACE bandage and a support thing for swelling, but the improvement is there. So begins the long path back...6-9 months of rehab.

Brandon is back and I am THRILLED...I really missed my little monkey during the 10 days he was gone. In two weeks he is off on another vacation with his mom, only 7 days this time, and then...SECOND GRADE! Where has the time gone!? I can't wait to spend some good Father-Son time with him!

Had my first PT session today. Part of it was removing the ACE bandage covering the gauze and examining the incisions to make sure no infection was visible. After that I did my PT with just the sterile tape on the incisions so everything could air out and dry a bit. I'm a bit of an overachiever (surprise!) so I met and exceeded my flexing goal by 10 degrees. I was proud of already being off of the percocet and just taking ibuprofen but when I brought it up to my PT he said "don't throw them out, you're gonna need them as the therapy continues."

I will have three sessions a week for the next four weeks. They started me slowly because I have a LOT of fluid in and around my knee, so much so that I am largely numb on my shin. My PT pressed his thumb into my shin and noted how the flesh stayed depressed after he lifted his thumb.

( Knee pictures...not for the squeamish! )

It, umm, hurts. Heh. I think I have worked myself off of the percocet but we shall see. On 800 mg ibuprofen now. Doctor was concerned about the calf pain and sent me to get checked out today to see if I have a blood clot...luckily the answer was no...

Surgery went well. Coming out of general was...interesting. Moving around with the brace locked straight makes even the most mundane task...interesting. Minor arthritis was found and cleaned out. LCL is healing and needed no work. Meniscus had a tear but needed no work. First PT this coming Friday, first post op check up next Tuesday.

Ummm. Yeah. Initially I only saw the Darth Vader part...and for one horrifying moment I thought it was a male stripper routine. *SHUDDER*

Well, I will have my ACL reconstruction surgery on the 30th. Had my preop physical yesterday and everything is good to go (pending blood work results). They have me slightly nervous as they are insisting on doing it at a hospital instead of a clinic because I was once diagnosed as having sleep apnea (I no longer manifest the symptoms I had back then) and I will be receiving general anesthesia.

Here is to hoping for a smooth procedure and diving into PT!

I didn't know her as well as a lot of others did...but I feel this loss deeply. She was just so genuinely...good.

The weekend is here! After another insanely busy week at work I can relax. I just picked my first batch of home grown basil from my patio garden. Can you say Pesto? I'm going to wait a bit, pick some more leaves and then make a big batch that I can freeze in several containers.

The oregano and rosemary are doing great and I have tomatoes starting to ripen. I may have to try that tomato sandwich that greenleader was talking about!

I have Brandon this weekend and I decided we are going to day trip Ocean City tomorrow. I want to get in a little more beach time with him before my surgery.

Ahhhhh.

I had a great 4th of July! Jen dropped Brandon with me in the afternoon. Brandon and I saw the new Ice Age movie (in digital 3D), went to dinner (he got to make his own pizza), and then walked across the street from the Columbia Mall to set up our chairs for optimum fireworks viewing. We lucked into a GREAT spot and were treated to a very close, very good display.

Hope everyone else had a great time too!

San Diego was awesome! WOOHOO!

I was back at work today. BOO!

Brandon and I had a great week out there! WOOHOO!

My boss already has generated more work for me. BOO!

Four day work week! WOOHOO!

The student I am mentoring still doesn't have an ID card so I have to escort him every...wait for it.............WHERE! BOOO!


Pictures to follow...

I'm a leaving, on a jet plane...San Diego bound with Brandon. Gone for a week to see my parents and to go to Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, and maybe Legoland.

Unfortunately, with my potential 2 week absence from work later in the summer for my knee surgery and recovery, I have to hold off on my other one week vacation with Brandon until his winter break (4 weeks on and off away from the office would make my boss truly panic). Sucks since I prefer vacations during the summer break, more fun stuff to do...

If you want to see pictures galore of our camping adventure at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park, just click ( here... )

Brandon and I went camping this weekend at Yogi Bear Campgrounds. This was our third time up there and I have it down to a science now. I reserved the camping site already back in April so I would get the one I wanted. Nicely shaded, large, onsite power and water, plus near all the activities Brandon is interested in. I took Friday off from work, packed up the car, picked up Brandon and off we went! He helped me set up camp and did a fine job of cooking hot dogs on a stick over a fire. Brandon watched closely to learn the art of building a good camp fire.

It was the campgrounds 40th anniversary week so Saturday was a HUGE pool party with 50 cent hot dogs and 25 cent sodas (the prices 40 years ago). We spent most of the day at the pool on Saturday, though there was some miniature golf action and a hike around the grounds at the end of the day. We didn't go on the water slides because I decided that with my knee issue caution was probably called for. Sunday consisted of more golf and swishing a bag of dirt to "discover" fossils.

All in all it was as good as it gets. We had perfect temperatures, low humidity, and no rain. Brandon LOVES sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor of the tent and rated the weekend a "two thumbs up awesome" time. There is nothng like sitting by a camp fire with your son just chatting about anything and everything while he attacks his ice cream cone. The finish touch is when he insists on hopping into your chair with you for a little "snuggle time" by the fire...good times and good memories to carry forward in life.