Falliversary

Five years ago this evening, I took an unscheduled ride on my rear end down the basement staircase at Recycled Books in Denton after my legs slipped out from under me at the top of the stairs. If I had continued the slide to its completion, I might have had nothing more than a bruised ego...but instead, I grabbed the banister to stop myself, which resulted in one leg stopping and the other one continuing. I felt and heard a loud popping sound from the stopped leg, followed by excruciating pain. A trip to the doctor later that week revealed a ruptured quadriceps tendon and a torn meniscus.

It would take a while, but I would eventually have everything surgically repaired that June, wearing a knee brace until around September and using a cane until October. It felt like a long road to recovery with physical therapy and all that, but looking back, I was really only disabled for a total of six months.

My time of recuperation was not without its inconveniences (most notably related to driving; even when I could angle my knee enough to get behind the wheel again, I couldn't use the clutch until August), but I also gained some valuable perspective as a temporarily handicapped person, and and I learned out of necessity how to slow things down for a bit. But I also found out just how much I was able to transcend my challenges with dogged determination and hard work (I resumed teaching four days after surgery, and I hopped on a plane three weeks later to attend the Sinfonia National Convention, where I freaked out the rest of the Province Governors' Council by hobbling into the meeting room using a walker).

As I look back on the past five years, I'm grateful that I made a full recovery, with only a few visible signs of the procedure, and I'm grateful to my wonderful friends and family who helped me out along the way.

TL;DR: Today is my "falliversary." I can't believe it's been five years. TS; WM (too short, want more): Click the link under "Labels" at the bottom of this post to read the whole thing as it went by, week by week.

Failiversary

Tonight, I'm in the thick of preparing for a big concert that takes place tomorrow, but I would be remiss if I didn't pause for a moment at this time to reflect on the third anniversary of my accident, the entire story of which may be found here (go to the Older Posts link at the bottom of the page, then again to the bottom of that page to a post from 2009 called "An Interesting Day," and then skim at will). As I just said on Facebook, while the ensuing recovery was definitely a challenge, I'm grateful for the things I learned at the time and the friends and family who helped me along the way.

As for now, the knee hardly bothers me at all, save for a little piece of excess cartilage near the scar that seems to have hardened into a bony knot and precludes me from kneeling on that knee (so yes, it looks like I'm Tebowing if I have to do that on a hard surface) and the occasional twinge when the weather gets really, really cold. Three years ago, I had no idea what the immediate or long-term future would hold, but it seems to have gotten back to normal in relatively short order.

Fallliversary

ST. LOUIS--At the end of what's been a long day of travel, I pause to note that today marks the second anniversary of my accident. I'm thankful for a virtually complete recovery, and I'm having much more fun on this bus trip than the one in '09 when my leg was all braced up.

(If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go here for the whole story; if nothing else, the post from 4/14/09 will give you a general rundown of that fateful evening.)

As I said a year ago, little things that I used to take for granted are back to normal now; here's hoping it stays that way for the foreseeable future.

What a Difference a Year Makes

One year ago at this time, I was coming out of knee surgery. I would soon be wheeled out to my parents' car, where I would ride home awkwardly stretched out across the back seat. I would spent the next two days unable to walk at all without assistance, and I would learn exactly how bad daytime TV really is.

The rehab and recovery is well-documented within these pages (just click the tag at the bottom of this post to read about that process, as well as the accident that caused the whole thing), but suffice it to say, I'm thankful that everything has turned out about as well as it possibly could.

I still need to strengthen my quad muscles a bit more, which, ironically, is most helped by going up and down stairs--the source of all the problems in the first place. But since Casa de Kev is a one-story, I tend to only get this exercise at the college (and at church, when they open the balcony). But most of the time, it's easy to forget that I even had a knee problem in the first place.

One thing is certain: There are plenty of things I don't take for granted anymore. Being able to sit down without one leg protruding out, getting from place to place in a reasonable time without easily tiring, being able to fit in any vehicle (not to mention things like stadium bleachers), being able to sleep in other ways besides on my back--these are all things that I couldn't do for a while last year. And I never, ever complain when I see a large number of empty handicapped parking places at a time when all the other places are filled.

The healing began one year ago today. May the progress continue for the foreseeable future...

Blowing out the candles: Happy birthday to my buddy Zack, a recurring character in this blog since day one, and the first person who ever sent me a link to that crazy new thing called a "blog" around nine years ago.

Failliversary

Just as yesterday was a good day in my personal history--celebrating seven years of blogging--today is a much more dubious anniversary: The first anniversary of my accident.

Rather than recount the entire tale, I'll direct those who may be new to this blog here, and if you want to follow the whole thing, click the tag at the bottom of this post called "The 'Accident of Gravity' Chronicles" and everything related to the accident and recovery periods should come up.

As I noted just a little while ago on Facebook, my "celebration" of the anniversary was capped off by something I didn't--couldn't--do a year ago at this time: Walk through my front door at day's end under my own power. And while I may not have hit the racquetball court yet, my knee is something that I don't really think about all that often. Life has pretty much returned to normal.

May there be a continuation of this "normal" for the foreseeable future.

One More Metaphorical Graduation

Early last week, I "graduated" from physical therapy; the rest of the work that needs to be done to rehab my left quads can pretty much be done on my own. And today, I passed another milestone: Seeing the orthopedist for the first time in two months, I was told at the end of the visit (after receiving very positive comments about how everything is healing) that I would only have to go back there again on an "as needed" basis.

As I've said in earlier posts in this saga (which is hopefully winding quietly to a close), nearly everything that's happened since surgery--and really, even during the initial healing between the accident and that time--has been extremely positive. I do have some work left to do in the strength department, and I won't be taking stairs two at a time or returning to the racquetball court quite yet, but for the vast majority of any given day, I don't even think about my knee anymore. (It's true that I can feel a little something on really cold or rainy days, so I guess I'll grow up to be one of those old guys whose knee can predict the weather, but that often comes with the territory.)

There's probably not much more to post on this topic, though I'm sure I'll make note of the day when I go down a staircase without using the handrail or hit the racquetball court again. Thanks for hanging in there with me through all of this.

Been There, Done That, Got the T-Shirt

I hit another milestone on my recovery today: Unless the doctor orders more treatment when I see him at the end of next week, I've been discharged from physical therapy. While I still have several months' worth of work on my own to return my "bad" leg to full strength, I've completed everything that the therapist was asked to help me do.

This doesn't mean that I'm going to go running anytime soon (but again, nobody has chased me since the accident), nor will I return to the racquetball court right away, but as far as regular daily life goes, things are getting back to normal. (It should go without saying that stairs are a challenge, but that's so be expected.) Sure, my leg will get stiff if I'm standing or sitting in the same position for a long time, but the stiffness subsides once I change positions. (I guess that's the real-world manifestation of the old joke: PATIENT: "Doctor, Doctor, it hurts when I do this." DOCTOR: "Well, stop doing that.") And as long as I do even some of my exercises in the morning, I tend to be fine for the rest of the day.

As I've said before, everything that's happened during my recovery has been overwhelmingly positive, and I'm happy to have attained one more goal. And if you're in my area of Dallas and need a good therapist, email me and I'll be happy to make a recommendation.

(And yes, I really did get the T-shirt; the therapy place gives one to each new "graduate.")

Return of The Walk™

For the first time since before the accident, I got to take The Walk™ all the way through Firewheel tonight. While I'd made it through parts of the place in the past few months, this was the first time I'd managed to traverse the entire streetscape, and it felt great.

As my recovery nears its completion, it's a good feeling to be able to return to some of the physical activity that I used to do all the time. While I'm not quite up to running yet (though I may be cleared for same at my next visit to physical therapy in a few weeks), and racquetball may be a while off, there's always been something about a good walk at the end of a long day (or even in the middle, on those rare days when I get an extended lunch break). It's invigorating, it's good for me, and it allows not just the recovering leg, but both of them, to "wind out" a bit after a day of sitting in small practice rooms.

After nearly a month without the cane, I'm enjoying the fact that, for much of the day, I don't even think about my knee anymore. And after nearly seven months of this saga, I'm sure you're enjoying the fact that I'm not blogging much about it anymore, either. But so far, everything about this recovery could be graphed on a steady upward arc, and I'm looking forward to the rest of the process.

Dude--I'm Talkin' To Ya Caneless*

After a weekend of continuing to wean myself away, today was the first day that I went completely without my cane. (It was still there in the car, as a "security blanket" of sorts, but I didn't actually use it to get anywhere.) And after a trip to physical therapy this afternoon, the therapist confirmed that I really don't need a cane anymore unless I was going to walk "three miles or so." I don't see that in my immediate future, so it looks like the can will be retired (though it will still stay in the car for a few more days, "just in case").

And with the end of the cane should come the end of the handicapped parking placard as well; I was given that wonderful blue-and-white piece of plastic because of my mobility impairment, but without visual proof of said impairment (i.e. the cane), I can't really justify taking a place from someone who might be much farther back in the process than myself--no matter how crappy the parking might be at school now.

At any rate, it's good to record another milestone on my road to progress. The therapist says that it will probably be a month before I can try running again, but I'm still covering good ground with my walking.

And I should mention that only one person--the last student of the day--noticed my caneless condition, and he noticed it right away.

*Bonus points to anyone who can name the obscure movie reference that's the source of the this post's title.

Entering the Homestretch

I went to the orthopedist today for the first time in six weeks, and, as I expected, he's very pleased with my progress; I won't have to visit again for another two months.

At this point, as I noted last week, I really am in the homestretch of my rehabilitation of this injury. While I won't be running or jumping or playing racquetball quite yet, I'm starting to approach normal functionality with everything else. My priorities now are to continue what I started in therapy last time--balance, alternating legs on stairs, and so on--while starting to wean myself from the cane outdoors (I've been doing this in the house quite a bit already).

Now that it's October, I have only one month left on my handicapped parking placard, and there's no reason (other than convenience, I suppose) to renew it. As I take longer and longer walks anyway (and will work toward doing so without the cane), I'm looking forward to more fully joining the "abled" world again.

Progress Comes in Baby Steps...Or Are They Bigger Than Imagined?

Time for another update on my knee; these things come fewer and farther between, as it should be.

I went in to physical therapy this morning for the first time in a few weeks. Even though it seemed to me that the improvement was coming at a much slower pace than it had in the past, I was quite happy with how much had actually gotten better.

The biggest difference was on the stationary bike. Last time, I was doing the same half-revolutions that I had been doing at the previous session, but I wasn't quite able to make it over the top for a full turn. Even though I had not been able to make any more attempts since then (the gym at school closes before I get done teaching), I stepped right on there, went over the top on the first attempt, and proceeded to ride that bad boy for over ten minutes!

I've also started working with some other machines, and those things also went well. The biggest things I need to work on now are balance (I'm still trying to stand on my "bad" leg for over 30 seconds) and going against the grain when ascending or descending stairs (I've been leading up with the "good" leg and down with the "bad" one, and after five months of doing that, it's hard to do the opposite).

So it would appear that things continue to chug along; this wasn't the first time that I've gone to PT and come out feeling better about my progress than I did going in. I go to the orthopedist again next Friday, and, with any luck, the treatment will start to wrap up before long.

Unbraceable Me

For the first time in four months and sixteen days (but who's counting? LOL), I ventured into the outside world without the aid of a knee brace today. Although I'd been going without it most of the time around the house (including, thankfully, while sleeping and showering) for the past week and a half, this was the first day that I had done so for the full day and outside the house. I picked a day when I was going to physical therapy anyway to try this, and there have been no issues whatsoever.

I still have a way to go before I can bend my knee completely back, and it'll take a while to regain a normal gait (which I may not have had for a while before the accident; I've noticed over the years that my shoes wore out at the heels before anywhere else, which is obviously not supposed to happen), but I feel more and more like I'm joining the "regular" world again.

So while I'm not yet able to run, jump or play racquetball quite yet, it's still great to be free of yet one more assistive device (having gone through crutches, a walker and a cane in addition to the brace, only the cane will accompany me for the foreseeable future). It's a challenge to do the menagerie of exercises prescribed by the therapist as teaching gets busier in the fall, but the results I've seen from one session to another make it all worthwhile.

The multitaskmaster: One of the things that amazes me at physical therapy is how the therapist manages to juggle up to three people at a time without anyone feeling neglected. It's timed just right so that as one person is being worked on, the other(s) are doing, say, thirty reps of a particular exercise or spending time on some sort of machine.

I pondered whether or not such a skill could ever be transferred to what I do, but I realized that there was really no way I could teach three people music lessons at once. Sure, my equivalent of the thirty reps could be "practice your Dorian modes for ten minutes," but therapy takes place in a big open room, which means that the therapist can still observe everyone while working on one person. In order for me to do that, I'd either have to have practice studios with clear front walls, or a big open space that would be N-O-I-S_Y. So I guess I'll stick to the traditional method for now.

I can has Kevmobile? Yes, I can!

I was going to do a fairly lengthy post about some of the cool new music I've been listening to this weekend, but I wasn't going to have time to finish it anyway (me, delay a post? Never!). Besides, there's a bigger piece of news: After a nine-week hiatus, including nearly two months of borrowing automatic transmission cars, my knee has healed to the point that I can shift gears again. That's right, the trading period is over, and, just a few minutes ago, I was reunited with Kevmobile 2.0.

Needless to say, I'm excited. I have a bit of driving to do for teaching tomorrow, and it suddenly got to be a lot more fun. I was going to attempt the trade-back pretty soon anyway, but the car I had traded for needed to be inspected by the end of tomorrow, so today seemed like the opportune time. I was happy to experience no issues on my drive around the area.

I'll do that music post tomorrow if there's time; I discovered quite a few cool new CDs yesterday that I want to talk about.

Yet Another Update on Me

I went to the orthopedist today for the first time in six weeks. As much as I've noticed the dramatic improvement in things over that period of time, it was brought into really sharp focus when I compared how I feel now with the last time I sat on that examining table.

So here's the latest: In the next few weeks, I'll be working towards two milestones: Gradually weaning myself off the knee brace, and being able to drive my own car again (to say that I miss Kevmobile 2.0 is definitely an understatement, as it's been nearly two months now since I drove her). I'll also begin strength training for the knee and its various accompanying muscles, as well as "gait training"--learning to walk normally again. (Seeing as how, in the years since I stopped being in marching band, I've developed a sort of shuffle--the heels of my shoes wear out more quickly than the other parts--it was always my intent to use this rehab process as a way to re-train myself in this area.)

The visit was short and sweet; it's always nice to hear "Everything's looking really good" from a doctor. I'm back again in six weeks, when things may be approaching a "normal" that I haven't experienced since mid-April.

I Must Be Having Fun, Because Time's Flying

I was talking with a colleague at the college this afternoon, and I think it hit both of us at the same time: School starts in two weeks! How could that be? Where did the summer go?

I know where a lot of it went, of course. The spring semester in the public schools didn't end until a few days into June, at right about the same time that the summer session began at the college. June was spent getting ready for surgery, having surgery, and recovering from same. That went into July (I can still remember how immobile I was on the Fourth), and, right about the time I was feeling better, it was time to go to my out-of-town convention, which segued immediately into Jazz Camp. By the time that let out, it was only a week until August...and here we are.

As I've said, it's been the least "summery" summer that I've probably ever had, especially in terms of getting to do my typical summertime activities. Out-of-town trips, save for convention? Nope. Swimming? Nuh-uh. Concerts? Not a one (again save for convention and--duh-- Jazz Camp). Rangers games? Only on TV so far, though I'll be using up my annual tickets in September, when I can likely fit into a stadium seat with little discomfort. Movies? One; I finally saw the new Harry Potter a few weekends ago (thanks, AMC, for having the handicapped row). I guess I'll have to find a way to pack a bit of "summer" stuff into the fall.

How was your summer this year? Was it pretty routine, or quite a deviation from the norm? Talk to me in the comments; it's been kinda quiet there recently.

Let's Take a Quick Inventory of My Limbs: Right Arm, Right Leg, Left Arm, Left Conversation Piece

I've learned a lot of things since I injured my knee back in April: How to live life at a slower pace than I'm used to doing (even as it takes forever to go short distances); the sheer amount of everyday things we take for granted (driving, showering, getting into and out of chairs, putting on one's left sock) that at one time were difficult or even impossible for me during the weeks after surgery; and people's reactions upon seeing a handicapped person.

That last part is the most unusual of all this, because there seems to be no middle ground. I've noticed that, in some situations, people haven't been as friendly as they might normally be--sometimes even appearing to go out of their way to avoid me, as if what happened to me were contagious (as noted at the bottom of this post, we had a similar discussion in one of my fraternity seminars regarding the reluctance of some college students to interact with the residents when we were performing at nursing homes, as if "old" were a disease that could be caught), while at other times, the leg is an instant magnet for conversation with anyone who has had a similar procedure done or is related to someone who did.

Yesterday kept bringing on occurrences of the latter: On my way out of church, a guy stopped me in the hallway and asked me the usual question ("Was it your ACL?"), before talking about the time he separated his Achilles tendon and had to spend months in a cast. In response, I got to praise the miracles of modern medicine that kept me out of a cast and put me back in the driver's seat less than three weeks after surgery.

And then at brunch, an old guy walked over from where he was eating with his wife and sat right down in the empty seat at my table to inquire about my condition before launching into a tale of woe about his son (which was truly an unfortunate thing: a knee replacement that didn't take till the third time, and the son contracted an e. coli infection during the initial procedure; yikes!). I got to expound on the fortunate nature of my recovery thus far, and the man wished me the best.

I find this whole thing fascinating, to tell the truth. While I'm not one who needs a whole lot of personal space, if that does happen, it usually involves strangers as opposed to friends or even acquaintances (and most often occurs at walk-up ATMs). Still, thus far, I've had no problems with random people coming up to me and discussing my condition--even the table-sitting guy. (There was also a guy who--after asking permission, of course--prayed over my knee in the middle of Taco Cabana the other day, but I have no problem with adding extra prayers to the mix.) It's intriguing to me that something like a knee injury can bring people together into a fraternity of sorts, breaking down conversational barriers which would have otherwise existed.

And I'm happy about one thing: Everyone else's story seems to trump mine; the people with whom I've spoken have all had, to a person, a worse injury or longer recovery time than I have thus far. And you know what? That's OK with me; I have no problems coming in last in this contest.

Have you ever approached a stranger who appeared to have a similar injury that you have had, or has it happened to you? Chime in by posting a comment below.

Commence Relaxation

The long two weeks of convention and camp have come to a close, and things will be back to normal for a while now. I have one full week of teaching before the high school kids start marching band, and then things will be a little crazy as I work to teach everyone while working around their "two-a-days."

But one thing that I've noticed, as I relax for the first time in a while, is that relaxation itself is more normal than it's been in a while. Since I'm over a month out of surgery now, my condition has improved immensely in the past few weeks. It's easier to get around the house; sitting positions are more varied and more numerous again, and everything in general is less trouble than before. And tomorrow, I hit a big milestone: I'll be able to shower again, after over a month of washcloth baths. It will be a convoluted process (involving changing into my old, pre-surgery brace that's allowed to get wet), but I have a feeling it will be more than worth it. (I'll also return to church for the first time since the surgery.)

This has been a really unusual summer, but it's nice to have the busiest part of it in the books. I'm looking forward to a whole lot of nothing for a significant part of this weekend.

Quick Update on Me

I don't have a lot of time before camp, but I have to mention something cool that happened yesterday: I went to physical therapy, and, despite the fact that I really didn't get to do my prescribed exercises at all while I was away at convention, I was able to bend my knee thirty more degrees than I had done at the previous visit! I felt somewhat like a kid who made a good grade on a test without studying (or, as someone noted at camp, like a kid who did well at a private lesson without practicing), but I'm not complaining. And like before, I always come out of PT feeling like a "new man," with increased flexibility and mobility. (The mobility itself is better as it is; I "graduated' to a cane once I got home from the convention, as I'd been using the walker pretty much like a cane--all folded up and to my side--for the last few days as it was.)

Camp is going well so far; I'll try to update here and there as best I can during this busy week.

Today's Visit Left Me in Out of Stitches

I usually chime in on how the healing process is going whenever I go see the doctor, and I did that today, so here's the update: Things are going as planned; the doctor is very happy with how everything looks. The staples around the incision came out, and I can already feel an increased freedom of movement even while immobilized. I'm now able to sit with my knee at a 45-degree angle (I'm still walking with it locked down to zero for the foreseeable future), and that allows something else to kick in: Driving an automatic transmission. This is huge, of course, because I've been relying on others for transportation for the past two and a half weeks, with the result being that 1) opportunities to run even the most routine errands are few and far between; and 2) I've been stuck at home a lot for the past few weeks, with the expected boredom as a result. So starting tomorrow, I'll be able to get regular stuff done and give myself a change of scenery when needed.

I don't go back to the doctor for another six weeks now; by that point, I should be quite far along in physical therapy and hopefully ready to ditch the brace at that point. With classes at both the college and the public schools starting the week after that next appointment, the timing couldn't be better.

From here on, I'm hoping that everything is pretty much routine recovery stuff, so I'll probably go back to blogging about regular topics for most of the time.

Another Step on the Road to Recovery

I just returned from my first post-surgery trip to the doctor. I've been de-mummified quite a bit (the long bandage that went from my thigh down to midway around my foot is no more, replaced by a gauze covering the affected area), and I can now sit with my knee at a slight angle, which is already infinitely more comfortable than keeping it in the same locked-down position from which I still have to walk for about another month or so. (This also means i can finally sit in the front seats of cars again, instead of sprawled across the back seat, which makes trips to the college or the doctor much more enjoyable.)

I'm probably still a week away from being able to drive a car--an automatic, not the Kevmobile yet, but I have a temporary swap worked out with a friend--so I'll still be a bit of a homebody for a while, but the time has been passing pretty quickly so far. All in all, for a week and a half after surgery, I'm pretty happy with how things are moving ahead.

More updates, of course, as things progress.