Last Friday marked 4 weeks since the operation. Thus far everything is still going well.  It’s very rewarding to continually notice gains in strength and flexibility; these rewards serve as my fuel to keep working hard. Even as I make this progress I have to say – I find the mental aspect of trying to activate/isolate certain muscles to be very difficult. Not being able to directly control certain muscles is very frustrating.  In spite of the mental challenges; I am still amazed at how quickly things have been changing.

Beginning next week I am going to drop down to physical therapy 3x a week and start working out at the gym again.  I am very happy about this since I have been dying to return to the gym.  It will also give me the opportunity to start rehab in the pool which should be beneficial.

Since the last update I feel more confident on my feet and no longer use a walker.  I have been going for walks almost daily and my gait feels more fluid and smoother than it has ever been.  Tomorrow, my therapist will have me practice walking with a cane to see if it makes a difference.

This week I woke up one morning and noticed that my legs were even more loose than before which was a bit of an odd sensation.  After consulting with my friend Todd who had the same operation a few months before me he told me that this will continue to happen over the next few months.  It’s great to hear that I can expect this but it also means I have to adjust a bit each time it happens.

Finally, I have two new videos this week:

The first is a short video of me walking at physical therapy.  One thing I noticed, and my therapist Kristin confirmed, is that I do not bend my left leg when I am walking.  Kristin believes this is to due to hip weakness.

The second video is me going up and down stairs.  I get more comfortable tackling stairs a daily basis and see continued improvement in the level of control I have going down stairs.