So I packed my new laptop backpack to the gills (because I can) and I must have put on an extra 20 pounds on my back like the idiot warrior that I can be. Dad was leaving the country to visit my brother who just had his third boy. Fortunately the grandchildren divert my parents attention from the fact that their oldest child is still single (and let me tell you, they remind of it regularly.) Dad drops me off at the subway station and I decide to grab a quick milkshake before I go into the city to go to work and for physical therapy. You have no idea what kind of a challenge it is to handle a milkshake (which I “wrapped” in a plastic bag and hung from my wrist) so I had to be innovative. Had an easy ride to work…

I forgot that I was coming into the city and going in the wrong direction. As a result I had to reverse direction and “crutch” (a new verb) myself all the way across the platform to the back and then go up the escalator, followed by about 30 stairs. When I arrived at the office, my coworkers were shocked that I was already in the office. They couldn’t believe it. For that matter, neither can I! I ended up making a few client calls and even am getting interviewed for an article in a news journal in a large city tomorrow morning. Cool!! Before I know it, the hour arrives to get to physical therapy, which is several blocks away.

Physical Therapy Session 3: Man… crutching 7 city blocks is a LONG journey. My arms have already received a major workout and they will still need to get me down and up several dozen stairs. Today’s physical therapy session with Jason at Athalon Physical Therapy was much easier. We start with the rub down with the warm ointment to push out the swelling, followed by those awful straight leg raises. Normally I’d have a 5 pound ankle weight on, am told to lie down, right leg bent and try to straighten my left leg and pick it up and then control it on the way down. I do that with muscle stimulation for about 8 minutes. Jason then yanks my legs up and down performing some type of tension test and he tells me that my new ACL is pretty tight and feels good.

Next we do those painful ankle slides where you put yourself on your back, a few inches from the wall and then after hooking your good leg under your bent bad leg, you try to let gravity drag your leg down as far down as possible. Today I did better than 90 degrees! Next comes the bike, which I do forward and backward revolutions to stretch my bend in both directions—and I make the entire circulation, a major accomplishment! We conclude with getting onto my stomach and letting my legs hang off of the bench starting from my knees and letting gravity straighten out my legs. Had a 5 pound ankle weight on. Major ice down which was fantastic… feels great using the cryocuff. Done. Finito.

I get into the subway some time after seven and am feeling a bit exhausted. I’ll sleep well tonight. An uneventful ride home and realize that I will get to sleep earlier tonight. I’ve noticed that the yellow tint in my leg is disappearing and that is a good sign. OK… I’m feeling fatigue in my arms and am about to pass out. Tata for now and will get back to you in the morning… I need to be up at six to prepare for that phone interview in my office in the early AM…