...i'm on a horse...

i just love that commercial. look at me. now back at him. now back at me...

anyways, i am supposed to have the brace on at all times but it doesn't fit right and i don't think i can get it to fit right either. my thigh is large but it is atrophied so it's hard to get it fit right. there is NO way i can get it to fit without first wrapping it in an ace bandage. so my rule is ANYTIME i leave the house then wear the brace and take a crutch, just in case. even though i broke that rule last night :^D

went to my post op visit thursday and so far so good. he said it was natural for me to be in that much pain after the POL (posterior oblique ligament reefing) procedure.

right the most pain comes first thing in the morning for 2 reasons. first, all the swelling get to set up cuz you're not moving around. second, you're asleep so you're not popping meds so your level of meds in the bloodstream is close to nil.

work in the morning. the first time i've been in the office since 2/16 kinda crazy that it will be march tomorrow. i start rehab on thursday and i can't wait. for right now i am doing the "over the bed" hangs to increase the extension. the towel under the foot just isn't hardcore enough for me. after about 3 painful days of bed hangs i got all the extension i need and there is no pain whatsoever so it's worth it. i just make sure i co-ordinate it with a vicodin dose.

shout outs to the Cowtown race peeps. y'all keep doing the dang thang!!!

-dominator

...i'm on a horse!!!

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free, free, set them free...

i have freed my leg from the brace and dressing and letting it breath. don't worry this is just temporary but it feels so good. i will attempt to drive today sometime this evening. i'm thinking of something tasty to take-out. i figure that will sufficiently motivate me to crank the car.

i have to do it sooner or later and since i'm scheduled to work (from home) and have dr. appt. on thursday i'd better test it out soon. Griffen has been the best companion. he has decided to always be in the same room as me to keep me company. i luh my kit-TAY Grippen.

doing a lot of house cleaning. nothing straining just 10 mins here 5 mins there. it's the only thing keeping me sane being kooped up.

-deep knee breathing dominator

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drugs are bad... BUT pain is worse...

i am sick of taking pain meds and tried to white knuckle it yesterday to see how long i could go. debilitating pain after 5 hours. but that experiment let me know what my true threshold is and i am taking a lot less now.

i just want to be well enough to drive at this point. i hate wearing the brace and walked around a bit without it. disregarding the doc saying KEEP IT ON AT ALL TIMES. well, i know why now. you will forget not to move a certain way and really hurt yourself or jeopardize the graft. yesterday i shifted my weight when picking up a sock while holding the crutch and my knee felt like jello. nothing happened but it drove home the point i need to KEEP THE BRACE ON.

-brace wearin' dominator

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crutchless in arlington...

not so much completely crutcheless as it is i can get around without them. i won't be missing that "full-body" workout they provided. i changed my dressing even though the nurses at the hospital said i wouldn't need it until my office visit. i don't think they realized it is for THURSDAY!!!

one thing about this doc is he is BIG on not over prescribing meds. he makes you sign a "commitment to avoid addiction" sheet. which is kinda cool and different. that being said i will be calling in a script for more vicodin tomorrow. thank God the pain isn't in the "percacet zone" for 2 reasons. first cuz i'm NOT in that much pain and next ida have to drive to his office and get a hand written script for some (thanks to the DEA and dopefee'ns)

can't wait to start PT and get the dominator train cranked up. he's on the track and fueled to the top with motivation he just needs that jump start. 4 big milestones for me:

1. drive
2. take a (whole body) shower
3. start rehab
4. start swimming

i will let you know when i hit those. well guys, off to get more ice for the therapy machine.

-crutchless dominator

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five's a charm?!?

going for ACL surgery number 5!!! yes, you heard that right. scheduled surgery number 5 tomorrow at 1pm. this time tomorrow yours truly will be getting himself strapped to a cold table. i will be praying that everything goes well cuz you never know. anyways, here's thanking, in advance, the dead guy that donated his tissue so that dominator may TRI again!!!

-allographt dominator

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vanishing ACL...

well, it appears my ACL vanished. according to the awesome dr. montgomery it looks like i tore it at least a year ago. enough time passed that my body "reclaimed" it. a process that happens when bio material isn't getting blood flow or nutrients delivered to it.

so the bad news is that it looks like i'll be needing ACL surgery and long rehab. the good news is that i do my best diet and exercise routines after surgery/rehab. that process of regularly going to PT and seeing daily/weekly progress turns on that inner beast and my focus is coherent as a laser.

this doc is WAY better than my last ortho and he laid out the surgery in detail. he said he is going to do an auxiliary procedure whereas he strengthens the medial support structures with folds. he says that's why the other surgeries previously probably didn't work. the medial support structures have weakened and allow the joint to get... well... disjointed! he guarantees the knee will be more stable than before and that even if the ACL tears again the knee will a lot more solid.

the pain and swelling is caused by the flakes of the cartilage floating around irritating the insides of my knee. and that swimming, cycling, and the elliptical should be fine as long as there is no pain during the activity. but seeing as how my surgery is scheduled for next wednesday there isn't a whole lot i can do anyways.

my big thing right now is missing a lot of work and seeing how much the insurance will cover. the insurance should cover everything and there shouldn't be much outta pocket. co-pay only i think. but you never know with insurance. they screw you when you need them the most. and the work thing is kinda big cuz i don't want to miss too much work but i don't want to be worried about rushing back to the office either. this is the problem when you don't have short term disability. but if it's copay only i won't complain too much. the time off wasn't worth the 5000k deductible i had at the last job i had.

the doctor and the staff are all committed to getting you back to doing the things you did before your injury. so we shall see...

-invisible ACL dominator

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super bowl xxiv...

we will see who will win but i want the Saints to win. no love at all for the Colts and so very very tired of them talking about Peyton like he's a god.

anyways, the knee got exponentially worse yesterday morning. i woke, got outta bed and heard a pop. every since then the sides of my knee are killing me and are sore. any rotation of the knee hurts like a motha and it's really hard to walk. docs appt. is no tuesday so i can't wait to see what's up. mri photos below:

can't you see all the damage? :^D

-sir limp's a'lot dominator

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happy groundhog day...

and just like the movie, here i am again, fat, outta shape, with a busted knee. what to do what to do. well, i decided i would keep going to the pool. swimming is no impact and as long as i can do it with no pain during the activity i will keep doing it.

way back when i studied for the NASM (national association of sports medicine) personal trainer certification. and the thing i remember the most is that pain DURING an activity means you should NOT be doing it. after an activity is different. discomfort is different than pain. and the pain from natural lactic acid buildup is not what i'm talking about.

the MRI people screwed me over tonight because they scheduled my MRI BEFORE getting it approve with my insurance. so they called as i'm on my there saying they need to reschedule. i told them do NOT call me to schedule UNTIL you get authorization. don't be wasting my time. hopefully they can get it okayed for tomorrow. worst case is that they have to wait till i go see an ortho and have them order it. i am still waiting to hear if they approved the ortho i want to see.

that's about it for now. let's see if punxsutawney phil sees his shadow.

-punxsutawney dominator

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