Magic Legs

This is my new motto! I went to Dr. K today and he has released me to walk. This is a little more exciting for me today for the simple fact that I figured I would be walking with crutches for a little while as I am getting used to putting weight on my right leg again. Apparently, Dr. K had other ideas and thinks I am Wonder Woman or Sheerah or something because he let me walk right out of his office-no crutches!!!

Yesterday was 6 weeks since my surgery and I have literally counted down the days to this moment. It just so happens that I woke up yesterday with horrific pain in the back of my leg around the knee area. I could have died when I realized that I had so much pain and in the back of my knee. I had no idea how I could have done something from the moment I went to bed the night before to getting out of bed that morning. I went to physical therapy and as I was fighting through tears, the physical therapist was examining the back of my leg. It turns out that I had pulled my hamstring in the process of trying to build my leg up to walk again. We have been adding weight lately to my exercises since things were getting a bit easy as well as the plain and simple fact of holding my leg up while on crutches to walk for 6 weeks straight. Apparently I "stressed" my hamstring which doesn't surprise me since the rest of my body was stressed along with it! So, I cried the whole way back to work thinking that I have waited 6 LONG weeks to finally get to start walking on my own two feet again rather than one foot and my magic legs. Alison assured me that if it was hurting my leg more to hold it to keep from walking on it, then there was no way he would continue with that process. And luckily for the rest of you, only Alison and Chad had to witness the complete meltdown yesterday. But sure enough, she was right. Dr. K said that at this point it was ok for me to start walking on it and actually told me that if I wanted to walk out of his office with no crutches, then I could. So, being the stubborn, hardheaded person I am, I was determined to do so. I think I held my breath all the way to my car!

Needless to say, it is still quite a process from here, but I literally got to make a step in the right direction today. I am crutchless and I can't say that I have felt anything better than the peace of mind that goes with that in a very long time. I still have to wear a new brace that they gave me while walking and I have to continue physical therapy 3 times a week, but from here on out, it is on my own two feet. Woo-hoo!!!!!!