The First Week

On October 27th, 2015 I was rolled into OR 20 for my ACL reconstruction. I moved from the gurney to the operating table, they hooked up my ECG, covered me with a warm blanket and then I was put under general anesthetic. I remember waking up the first time, I couldn't see straight but the nurse gave me more pain killers and barely enough water to get them down, and I dozed off again.

When I finally came to, my leg felt like it weighed a million pounds. I felt a lot of pain in my thigh, because I didn't realize I was in a Zimmer brace and it was on pretty tight. I had bruising on my thigh from physio a few days before my surgery, and that's why my thigh was hurting. The Zimmer brace was secured right on the bruise. I was able to dress myself, and then I was rolled out to the car to head home. 

All the drugs had made me nautious, but I managed to settle in the back seat and made it home. I didn't do much but sleep the day of the surgery. My day started at 4:30am, surgery was at 7:45am, and I left the hospital at 2:30pm.

The second day wasn't too bad, because I was still taking all my pain meds, every 4 hours as prescribed. I couldn't lift my leg out of bed on my own from the pain, so I used a strap to lift my leg. I also had the handle bars for the toilet which helped a lot when sitting down and standing up. Without them, you'll need to balance on the crutches, or pistol squat. I did that when I first tore my ACL, so I decided to be better prepared this time around. It was definitely worth the investment.

All in all, the fourth day is probably the worst. I stopped the pain medication because it was seriously upsetting my stomach. So that is when the pain really set in. Every step I took, I could feel the Zimmer pressing up against my incision down the front of my knee and it was in a ton of pain! If you can handle not having a bowel movement for a week, stay on the pain meds. I couldn't, so I dealt with the pain.

The first week is also hard because you are basically on you back, in bed, the whole time! I would sit up in bed, but it was painful on the back and hips, especially with one leg elevated. Sleeping on your back is awful too. I am a side sleeper, so I had to take my pain meds only before sleeping so that I could actually sleep. Otherwise, I would try and roll onto my right side. This was a big mistake too, because the Zimmer pressed into my side incision and it bled. Lesson here, get used to sleeping on your back.

The first week is by far the most difficult. You will need help from somebody to get food and to help you get in and out of bed. You will run out of energy. You will be in pain. But I can assure you once you are over this hurdle, it gets easier.

Some photos from my first week. I was in too much pain, so I didn't go to physio until the one week mark.