I'm Doing It!: 8/5/12

A week ago Thursday (July 26th) was my 11 month anniversary of my bike accident (crushed tibial plateau, broken tib/fib, and torn meniscus & ACL). It was also my "one year" post-op follow up with my surgeon, Dr. Lori Fulkerson. If I could add to her list of credentials it would say something like, "Assists with shocking and inspiring come backs".

Lori was just that, shocked. She said, "When I opened you up 11 months ago I was looking at every surgeon's worst nightmare. Crushed bone. I am absolutely blown away at how well you've healed and how far you've come. The contours at the top of the lateral plateau are really nice. You can see it's a little more depressed on this side than the other, but it's smooth and even and that's what we wanted. Your femur can glide easily right along that grove and depression. You should be fine for at least another 25 years. Really good, Erin. As I move your knee around it's clicking a bit and I think that's just the hardware not the joint. That protrusion on the lateral side is from three screw heads going into your plateau through the plate. It's not deformation or bone growth. All that will go away when you get the metal out."

Needless to say, Alon and I were elated to hear all of this. Put my mind at ease!

We went through some routine questions...

Lori: Any aches, pains, swelling?

Erin: Below my knee cap, along the plateau aches sometimes but it's not debilitating in any way. Recently I had some serious pain in the soft tissues behind my knee and in the upper calf and lower hamstring. Hurt to the gentlest touch. It was worked out by 90 minutes of deep tissue massage (Rolfing). It swells up the day after I run.

Lori: Run! (jaw hits the floor) What...?!

Erin: Since mid-April I've been running 30 seconds on 30 seconds off for about 10 minutes on the treadmill at the gym. One or two times a week. Sometimes I skip weeks at a time. But I'm making progress. Slowly. I stop if ever I feel the slightest bit of pain.

Lori: Well, don't make a habit of that. Running will not be good for you in the long run.

Erin: I hear ya. Running is not my thing really. But there is freedom in knowing I can if I had to, like run away from a bad person, save some lady's pocketbook from a mugger, run to the car, to catch a flight, or up a flight of stairs. Also I might do a 5-10 minute run in the mornings every once in a while, once I'm up to it. But really nothing more than that. I'd like to be able to sprint bases again someday... you know, for wiffle ball and other highly competitive sports.

Lori: Ok, that's fine. I still can't believe you've started running. That's really great. So, what else are you doing for exercise? Are you still doing physical therapy?

Erin: I stopped seeing April in, well, about April, and started seeing Lori at the same office. Been doing 30 minutes of intense Pilates with Lori 1-2 times per week. Now I go every other week, simply because it gets expensive. I'd go twice a week if I could afford it. It's done wonders for my strength, flexibility, and confidence. In my knee, and everywhere else. Relearning neurological pathways, balance, and how to recruit more muscle in this left leg. It's been incredibly educational and eye-opening. I love it. I'm trying to get back to the gym to do my regular workouts but I've been enjoying the summer break. I bike commute about 5 miles per day. I've been hiking a bit this summer and went on a four day camping and white water rafting trip a few weeks ago. That was the end all be all celebration for me!

Lori: That's awesome, Erin. Keep it up. Next time you call me, it'll be three to six months from now and you can just schedule your surgery to get the hardware out.

Erin: That's great! Okay. Are we still looking at a 2-6 week recovery for that?

Lori: Yes. The operation will take about 1 hour. At this point I don't forsee any added surgeries or procedures. Just removing the plate and six screws. The incision will heal in about 2 weeks; you'll be on crutches, weight bearing of course. Nothing like before, but I'm sure you'll be triggered. I'll have you go back to PT for at least 4 weeks to make sure you don't lose any of your range of motion and to keep your confidence strong.

Erin: Okay. That sounds good. Thinking or talking about my accident, and even just coming to this appointment today still creates a very visceral experience for me. I guess it's starting to lessen in intesity and frequency so that's nice. But everything is still so "right there". As much as I want and need the metal out, I'm glad that I can go a few more months without thinking about surgery. It'll be easier on my wallet, too.

A recap...