Realization

A few weeks ago I was at an indoor soccer game watching Kaitlynn play and realizing how amazingly she has done since her surgery! Realizing how important it is to have a great support system and motivation to get well and get back to your normal life and activities. Indoor soccer can be scary...haha. It's very physical and it's co-ed (the division she plays in). There were times when she started playing it that I worried. I wanted her to wear her brace, I didn't want her to go through another injury. But she was confident and she has done so well. You would never know she had surgery (which is how it should be). I was so thrilled with her doctors, her PT, with her desire to get back to normal.

It also made us very proactive with our youngest daughter as she played even more competitively and we wanted to avoid any injuries with her. We stressed the importance of warming up, doing exercises to strengthen her legs and there have been a few scares where we had an MRI done and most recently went to PT to have an injury checked out, but I believe because we've been proactive we've equipped her to try to avoid injury as best as one can. You can never really know what will happen but at least be equipped.

Two Year Update

I haven't updated this since the beginning of Kaitlynn's 2013 HS season. We had a recent comment on the last post regarding her brace, which prompted me to post an update.

The brace she was wearing is pretty amazing and was custom fit to her leg. The one she uses was put out by TopShelf Orthopedics. They are lightweight and approved to be worn during games. She successfully played her entire senior season with no issues. Their team made it to the first round of state playoffs and it was so rewarding seeing all the hard work of recovery pay off and see her senior year be so successful. She did have one scary moment in the last 2 minutes of the state game in that she felt that her leg just kind of "quit", it wasn't going to work. It was scary, but after getting her off the field she eventually was able to walk on it. We made an appointment with the orthopedist who checked it, did an MRI and everything was fine. They felt maybe it was just some scar tissue causing the issue.

She is now almost 2 1/2 years from her surgery and she is still doing great...even playing indoor soccer without the brace. She feels confident enough in her recovery and healing that she doesn't feel she needs it. She's a tough girl and really stuck hard to her recovery and PT. It pays off even though it sucks, isn't fun but she felt like she was in better shape when all was said and done.

First Game of the 2013 Season.....10 months post surgery

It's been 10 months since Kaitlynn's surgery and she just played in her first official HS game since that surgery. She played in some summer scrimmages, but those weren't as intense as the real deal. She did well and even scored a goal. Her coach has her playing at mid-field instead of defense. She called a pass back and immediately shot it in over the goalies head (with her left foot even! She's right footed and her right leg was the injured one). She played a strong game and only had one moments hesitation when she and another girl hit legs, but she recovered quickly and rocked the field. I'm proud of how far she has come! She's a solid player with a passion for the game and her teammates. She is also playing with her little sister for the first time ever, which I love.

Back at it

It is now 9 months post surgery and Kaitlynn had HS soccer tryouts this week and finished in the top 5, actually she was #2. Not bad for having surgery 9 months ago. I am so proud of all the hard work she has done and all of the fears and insecurities she has overcome in regards to her injury to get to where she is at today. She will continue to wear her brace for protection and she continues to do vital warm up exercises before every practice and game to continually strengthen her quads, hamstrings and knees. We are looking forward to an amazing season.

Again, stay pro-active...and if something is bothering you don't hesitate to ask your doctor or PT. There were a few times when her knee swelled up and we weren't sure why. Turns out it was simply scar tissue continuing to break up. It takes time. When they began tryouts she was more sore than usual, but those muscles were continually being worked more and more. It's a journey and one they say isn't truly over until 12-18 months post op. It almost seems like it never happened, but it did and boy was it a journey those first several months. One I hope we never have to go through again.

Cleared for Sports

It has now been 8 months since ACL surgery and I'm happy to say that Kaitlynn has now been cleared to play sports at full participation. Yay!! She worked so hard on her recovery. She was cleared to golf back in March which wasn't too hard because it wasn't on the leg that would take most of the stress from golfing. She did well, even making it to state. She did get tired quite a bit at first from all the walking but it was good for her.

As her muscle became stronger and the PT thought that she had developed it enough for an ACL brace, she had an appointment for a measurement to get it ordered. When she brought it home I about fell over..the thing looked like a bionic attachment. Bright yellow and big (in my mind). I told her that if anyone hit her, they would be the ones hurting, not her.

She worked out with it and became used to the feel of it on her leg. She only wears it when she plays or does activities that could compromise her knee. She is still being smart with it as full recovery usually isn't expected until one year after surgery.

I am so proud of her recovery. If you are in the situation of needing ACL surgery, I really want to stress the importance of being pro-active and disciplined in your recovery before and after surgery. It makes all the difference in the world.

I may post again as High School soccer gets underway and post on how she has done, but I believe her recovery is really complete.

I encourage you to do your research when it comes to all aspects of surgery, from insurance to procedure method, to recovery. Be patient but be dilligent.

I'll post a few pics from her recent soccer scrimmages.

 Made it to state in golf this year which was awesome since she hadn't been able to play for so many months.

 Even did some quadding (wearing her brace of course)

 Her second summer soccer scrimmage since being released. Her HS team coordinates some of these during the summer to get the girls out on the field. She did awesome. 

Since this scrimmage she has had 3 more and I have seen her confidence rise with each one. There is always a bit of a hesitancy at first, almost as though a protective mechanism turns on and needs to be forcefully turned off. There's wisdom in that though. She is not going to do something to compromise her knee no matter what the result might be. Her coach is experimenting with some different positions. She typically plays a defender (which she likes). We will see where she ends up come time for the season to start.

I will still attempt to get some videos up here of her PT sessions, it just takes time and that's something I don't always have big chunks of...too bad we didn't get a heavy snow last winter to snow me in.

Bad, Bad Me

Well, I did it again. I failed to keep updated on this lovely blog here! Though I'm not convinced anyone has read it so I don't feel too bad. Now, had someone left a comment saying "hey, where's some updates, I probably would have updated it sooner. I still haven't finished working on videos to upload, but I will do that....I hope.

Recovery is going awesome. We are now 6 months in to it. It seems like an eternity ago that she had the surgery. She pretty much has followed the same routine with PT, going once a week and working out diligently on her own the other days of the week. Every few weeks they would add a new and harder exercise to do. The first time they had her jump on a box she said it really was a battle of the mind to get her body to do it. Her quad gradually became stronger and muscle returned to it.

 In March she began jogging. Slowly at first and in intervals of jogging and walking, gradually increasing. She is now running 1-2 miles at a time. So far her best time for the mile post surgery I believe has been 8:27. Not too shabby. A few weeks ago she was fitted for her ACL brace, which she will wear when she begins soccer again. In March she was cleared to play golf for her HS team and has done well. Initially her leg would ache and be sore but she overcame it and actually qualified for state. We did have one moment of time when her knee swelled up quite noticeably. We took her in and the doctor reassured her it was nothing but just continued scar tissue breaking up. She is looking forward to summer and starting up training for soccer. We'll take it slow and as the doctor and PT advise her.

Hopefully it's not another 3 months before I post again. One thing I would encourage anyone with is to NOT slack off on your recovery and PT but stay diligent and after it. It really makes all the difference in the world.

Post surgery exercise Video

I am attempting to figure out how to create and post videos here on the blog. This first one...should it work, is days 3 and 4 post surgery. These were exercises that the surgery center and her PT's advised her to do. It is important to get movement back in her leg and knee. Her goals by the time she went back to see the doctor were to get her leg straight and also to get her knee at a 90 degree angle. Keeping in mind she didn't see her doctor for a week and a half after surgery.

oh, look I did it!!! Yay me! I will be working on more videos of her PT sessions. At least the first few. I'm not sure how many Kevin recorded. She used the sock on one foot so it made it easier for her to slide her foot.

Below is a scanned photo of the actual surgery if anyone is interested and not squeamish. I tried to include the notations...I'm hoping this is okay to do...if not someone let me know so I can take it off.