Every day now when I wake up my leg feels a little bit stronger and a little bit more normal. I ditched the crutches today for good. I’m slowly re-teaching myself to walk normally, since they told me at PT today that I needed to stop keeping my leg straight when walking. So, I’m trying to bend it more and walk more naturally. My balance is pretty good now, though, and I don’t think I have to worry about any falls.
I also conquered stairs for the first time since my surgery today. I can now retire my “sitting on my butt and pushing myself up each stair with my hands” method in favor of regular walking. I suppose my dream of having one of those sliding mechanical stair-chairs has now been rendered unnecessary.
Alas, feeling confident after letting the stairs know who is once again boss, I decided to try my luck at getting in and out of the shower myself. Previously, my patient and gracious dad has been helping me in and out of the shower with some very clever usage of a step-stool and one foot shimmying (demonstration not forthcoming). I was able to get in and out quite easily, with the help of some shower shoes to help me gain traction.
I decided not to drive to my PT appointment today, but I might try getting behind the wheel tomorrow. It shouldn’t be a big deal, since the surgery was on my non-driving leg. That’s really the only thing holding me back from being able to do pretty much everything I need to for daily activities.
PT itself was basically business as usual, with the exception of one fun drill. They had me stand on a mat, with my eyes closed, while the trainer pushed me from various directions. I had to compensate by shifting my weight so I didn’t fall over. I didn’t realize how much the muscle-mind link between my left leg and brain had eroded, and it was pretty darn tough. I didn’t fall, but I really had to think about it.
Anyways, hopefully more (small) improvements will be coming daily now.
