ACL Recovery Six Weeks Post-Op

It's been a while since I updated my status.  It's been a slow but steady journey, and every day has its share of triumphs and defeats. I am still using the walker, but I am getting stronger, and I am hopeful to move off of it onto a cane within a month, though my therapist says it might be two. I am able to take my leg brace off now, though I sometimes still wear it, especially if I am walking on uneven surfaces.  I can step up with my right leg and then my left as long as it's not a very high step. I am still struggling with stepping up with my left leg first, which is frustrating.
I am able to ride a stationary bike now, which is good.  I can go all the way around--something I wasn't able to do last week.
My extension was at about a 12 last week, but I think it's better than that now because I've really been working on it this last week.  Not sure what my flexion is but it isn't as good as my left leg yet.
I was able to take a bath earlier this week, though getting out of the tub was a struggle. I am still using the bench to shower because it's just easier that way, though it's certainly not comfortable.
So... that's where I'm at six weeks after surgery, three months after the injury.  It's frustrating and often depressing, with glimmers of hope and occasional pride in mastery of a new skill.  The one thought I have to focus on is that I cannot compare myself to anyone else.  No one else has the exact set of circumstances that I do. When I see younger, more active people at therapy with the same injury walking around a week after surgery like it's nothing, it's hard to remember that they probably didn't spend almost two months in a wheelchair before the surgery.  Or maybe they didn't also tear their meniscus. Or... lots of other things that could be totally different.... For now, it's one day at a time, one step at a time.

Lucy is Six!

We have been celebrating Lucy's sixth birthday since last Friday when we took the girls to Great Wolf Lodge.  Lucy loves that place, and she was so excited to get a yellow bracelet and go down some of the bigger slides for the first time.

Getting ready to go swimming at the water park

Lucy with Violet the wolf

We didn't do a party this year (mostly because Mommy still can't walk) but she did get all of the presents she asked for--baby Lady (a.k.a. Lady McTramp) baby Stitch, baby Marie, and baby Dumbo--which she has been asking for since we left Disney World in March.

So many Disney babies!

Rapunzel cake!

She asked for a Rapunzel birthday cake and decided she wanted that at Great Wolf Lodge as well, even though it wasn't quite her birthday yet.
Last night--on her actual birthday--we went to a local pizza restaurant and she brought home a giant piece of chocolate cake, so we put a candle in that. Overall, I think she's had a pretty nice birthday!
This year, Lucy has learned so much! She's becoming quite the little reader and writer, even though I haven't been pushing her at all. I know she's smart enough to get it with her teachers' help, though of course I love to hear her read and we read together.  She loves to draw, like her big sis, and she also has a bit or a knack for math. She really loves to talk about "part, part, whole!" She had a great year in kindergarten with a wonderful teacher and lots of friends. She's still convinced that she will be a princess when she grows up and live in a castle. I hope, wherever she ends up, she always feels like a princess!

Blowing out the candles!

Lucy has always had a flare for the dramatic and that hasn't changed, though I think she had learned to control he temper a little bit this year. We are working on it! She loves to pretend, and listening to her play with her toys is quite entertaining.  I have always said that even though she looks a lot more like Brian, she is my mini me when it comes to personality! I love spending time with her, and this summer is going way to fast. I know I'm going to miss her when she starts first grade in just a few weeks....
Happy birthday, Lucy Kate Annabella!  Many, many, many more to come!