Day 10 - I kick physical therapy's ass and drink a beer

I actually had my second physical therapy session yesterday. And I kicked its ass, primarily because I've been doing the exercises on my own and building up my knee strength and flexibility. My knee flexion is up to 110 degrees and I think that's even gotten slightly better today. All the other exercises --leg lifts in different directions to strengthen the quads, hamstrings, abductors and adductor muscles-- were a cinch. I couldn't go all the way around on the bicycle pedals yet. The stiffness of my knee only allows me to go about 3/4 of the way around, but that'll be there soon enough, especially as the swelling subsides and the fluid around the knee drains. Standing on one leg and the calf raises were no challenge at all. Based on my stunningly, impressive leg strength (well, relatively speaking anyway), my physical therapist told me I'd be out of the brace next week.

I told her I'd already tried walking without the brace and my leg felt ok. She chastised me a bit for that, but not too much. Apparently, all or at least most guys who go through ACL reconstruction surgery try to get out of the brace sooner than recommended. But girls don't and do exactly as ordered. Not sure which way is better. But it seems near impossible to get back all the leg strength you need for walking without actually walking. The main concern with returning to walking too soon is that the muscles won't be strong enough and the knee will buckle. But my leg is pretty stable and there's no chance of it giving way on me.

To reward myself for the physical therapy ass-kicking, I cracked open a bottle of the much revered Bell's HopSlam Ale, which looks like this:


This was my first beer since the operation, and it was magically delicious. Notice the guy on the label who's pinned underneath a gigantic hop bud. That says it all about the taste of this beer. Hopped through the roof, but yet smooth and drinkable, even at 10% ABV.

Tonight, I'm headed to a Mardi Gras party. I'll definitely strap on the brace for that.