ACL surgery finished, rehab under way

Pam LeBlanc had surgery to repair a detached ACL this week. Chris LeBlanc photo

I’m not good at sitting still.

My friends know that, my husband figured it out when one Saturday morning early in our marriage when he suggested I skip swim practice and run errands with him (“Let’s not try that again, we’ll all be happier,” he later reported), and my family members have a clue, too.

But sometimes it can’t be helped. And one of those times is now.

On Wednesday, an Austin surgeon cut a few tiny slits in my knee and used delicate instruments to replace my anterior cruciate ligament, which I detached when I fell skiing, with a new-to-me ligament from a cadaver.

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I woke up in a hospital bed with a giant brace strapped around my right knee and some ugly white support hose on both legs. They sent me home with a pair of crutches and a machine that pups cold water around the joint and wished my husband well.

Thursday, I slept and visited with a few friends who stopped by. That evening, I enjoyed some late evening excitement courtesy of a friend’s dog who chased my cat to the top of the tallest tree in our backyard. (After 45 minutes of trying, Chris used an extension ladder and a long pole to get her back down, thank goodness.)

Already I’ve had my first physical therapy session, made it to part of Banff Film Festival, and watched live music and ate dinner in a friend’s backyard.

Now I’ve got a stack of books, a list of writing assignments, a puzzle, and an exercise regimen to follow.

A long recovery from ACL surgery

Doctors tell me I’ll be off crutches in two to three more weeks. After that, I’ll slowly add in more activities. In another month I can get back in the swimming pool, but only to pull – no kicking allowed. Later I’ll be able to swim and hike.

With some hard work and a little luck, I’ll eventually be doing all the things I do, from back packing to snow skiing. I’m trying hard not to think about the adventures I’ve had to cancel, from dogsledding above the Arctic Circle in Sweden to driving a herd of horses through Northern Colorado and bicycling through Switzerland.

Instead, I’m grateful for the adventures I’ve had and the ones still yet to come.