Distorted Rear View

It's now been almost four days since my ACL reconstruction surgery and the whole experience hasn't been terribly dreadful. Sure, I can't walk well or quickly, can't flex my leg so that it stretches the muscles which are screaming for contraction, can't drive anywhere and have to strap myself to a machine for six hours a day which flexes my knee for me, but it could be worse, right?

I think there's something to be said for lounging on the couch, watching television programming that you find completely uncompelling and tedious. On the flip side, at the very least, my daily activities are stress free. Unless you consider having to allot a few extra minutes to hobble down a fifteen foot hallway to the bathroom stressful. I find it more annoying than anything else. It's frustrating having to lift your leg up manually because it's too sensitive to lift normally. It's frustrating to be forced into what is essentially house arrest. And to add insult to injury I have no view out my window so living some fantasy a la Shia LaBeouf in Disturbia just won't happen (unless you count my fifty-something neighbor who has spoken to me twice in the past few weeks...which is also two times more than any other neighbor has spoken to me, but after seeing her you won't consider her a fantasy...).

The pain gets better each day and the Percocet helps take the edge off. I am having trouble sleeping through the night partly due to the leg and partly due to the medicine. I get tired easily at night and I'll go to bed only to wake an hour later, piss like a racehorse, hobble out and drink some water and then hobble back to bed or to the couch. If I choose the couch I strap myself into the medieval Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine and crank it to a light level. It helps me sleep because it keeps the leg from getting restless. Generally while I use this machine I am hooked to a cold water circulator. That helps with the swelling and whatever else. I'm supposed to use the CPM machine for a minimum of six hours and use the cold water circulator for twelve hours. Each day. That's a lot of time doing nothing. I have no plans until my follow up doctors appointment on Wednesday. Even then I can't drive there. I have to rely on someone else for chauffeuring or any higher task which I've thankfully been able to avoid thus far. The temporary loss of independence is certainly a different feeling. I'm not used to being slowed down or not physically being able to do something or anything for that matter.

In the meantime, between my passive leg movements and eating Percocet like Skittles, I'm gonna try to find constructive things to do. I just hope I can find my binoculars.