5-1/2 weeks in...

Dick's knee and brace bent at 90 degrees

Today is a very exciting day in the Craddock/Chow house!

Dick had another appointment with his surgeon today. The doctor took x-rays again, and was pleased with the recovery process so far.

Today is 6-weeks since Dick broke his knee, and 5-1/2 weeks since his surgery.

Dick was told to work on bending his knee up to 90 degrees by today. At this point, he's able to do that fairly easily, using only the muscles in his leg, versus needing the help of his arms/hands. Today, the doctor adjusted Dick's leg immobilizer so that it could also bend up to 90 degrees, which means that Dick doesn't have to keep his leg straight anymore! He's able to walk around much more easily and comfortably now. Yay! He also learned that he'll be able to sleep without the immobilizer on, which should make sleeping more comfortable.

Dick is very happy with these changes, and feels like they will make so many things much more easy and comfortable now.

He is supposed to start with a physical therapist now, but we are going on a trip next week, and the doctor thought it would be best if he waits until we return to start physical therapy.

In the meantime, he's able to walk easier now. We're even considering going out to dinner tonight (for the first time in 6 weeks!) to celebrate! :)

update

Dick just sent this message out to our family, so I thought I'd include it here. (Poor Dick, he doesn't get any privacy when it comes to my blog.)

It’s been a while since I’ve sent a broad update, so I thought I’d share what I’ve learned, having just been to see the knee doctor today. (My surgeon is Dr. Jeffrey Halbrecht, but his Physician’s Assistant, who I see more regularly, is Dr. Kevin Smith. That’s right; I’m being treated by the guy responsible for Jay and Silent Bob.)

Today marks six weeks since I broke my patella and Friday will be six weeks since my surgery. The short version of the update is: Everything is going well.

I saw the doctor again today, and he looked at the knee, poked around a bit, and took a new set of x-rays. Everything is progressing as expected. The x-rays show that bone is growing back and the break is healing as expected. It turns out that bone breaks heal pretty well in about six weeks, with new bone growing to fill in the break. Of course, the collateral damage caused by surgery takes much longer. I’ve got the expected range of motion (90 degrees; even a little bit more). The knee is still swollen, but that’s normal. (Side note: the doctor said that he would be happy to “drain the swelling” if it was bothering me, but also warned that it would likely come back as I exercised the knee. Large needle jammed into knee? No, thanks, doc.)

The doctor would have started physical therapy today (or, in the next few days, as scheduling allows), but suggested that we wait a week, given that I am going on a trip next week (leaving this Sunday). You may remember that I’m the Best Man for my friend Martin's wedding, which is happening next week in Montana. If it was almost anything else, I would have cancelled the trip.

So, net-net, the knee is in good enough shape to endure physical therapy, which will start when I get back from my trip, so that’s good news.

There was more good news today:

• I can take off the immobilizer when I sleep. Yay!! (I haven’t been sleeping that great; this should help…)


• I now have the immobilizer set to allow 90 degree range of motion. Yay! What this means is, even with the immobilizer on, I can walk more-or-less “normally” (i.e., without a limp). This is big-time good news, as everything just got a whole lot more comfortable.


• I can walk on flat surfaces – like around the house – without the immobilizer (being very careful). The doctor expects the immobilizer to come off entirely shortly after starting physical therapy, say, in the next couple of weeks


• I still can’t walk up and down stairs normally. I have to take them at half-speed (i.e., putting both feet on each stair), but that’s one of the first things that they’ll work on in PT.

I asked if I could drive a car (specifically: MY CAR :^/ ), and, unfortunately, I can’t do that until the immobilizer is off for good. Makes sense, but a little disappointing.

So, there you go. Mostly good news, and I feel a lot better after today. I always have a bit of anxiety before seeing a doctor, always expecting them to frown and say "oh, well, this isn't good." Ugh. Anyway, very good visit today.

-dick