Yesterday, I had my final post-op surgical consult. Turns out it’s only my final one this year. They’d like for me to come back in a year, get some X-rays done, have a check up and see how I’m doing.

But this was the last one for now, unless something goes wrong and I feel as though I need to see the doctor again.

My surgeon believes that I am experiencing more pain than is usual for someone at my stage. Not an excess of pain, but just more than most. Not everyone has either the continuing nerve pain or the weather aches.

However, the good news is that he believes that over the course of the next ten months that pain will continue to dwindle into nothing.

Right now, when the weather changes or a front comes through, I get that deep bone pain, and my knee just throbs and aches. According to my surgeon, no one has mentioned that sort of weather ache after a year’s time. So fingers crossed, I won’t be noticing it either.

The not so good news – I really do have a lot of clicking going on in my knee right now. Every time I bend it. For some people, that clicking goes away completely. For others, while it will diminish, it will never go completely away.

I can live with that.

I asked him about being able to put weight on my knee. He told me that I was going to have to build up to it. Start off slowly, maybe not this month but next month, try regularly kneeling on the bed or the couch, some soft surface. Then, I’d have to work my way up to being able to kneel on a harder surface.

Again, some people are able to kneel without any issues. Other people never grow comfortable with it. I plan on being the former and not the latter.

In addition, I asked him about my flexibility, how far I’ll be able to bend my knee. My physical therapist had believed that after about 140 degrees, the knee itself would lose stability.

According to my surgeon, there is nothing inherent in the knee mechanism itself that will limit how much I’ll be able to bend my knee. The only things that are stopping me are my muscles and my will.

Heh.

It’s going to take time. I get that. I’m also willing to work at it, every single day.

For example, I do what I believe is called a bound ankle pose. Seated, press the soles of your feet together, then bring your heels back toward your crotch while at the same time, pressing your knees down as close as you can get them to the ground.

I measure distances using my fist, going from pinkie, across my knuckles, to my thumb.

On the OEM leg, I can bring my heel in within a fist length of my crotch.

On the healing leg, last week, I was at three fists’ distance.

This week, I’m almost at three fists’ distance. It’s two fists, then almost all of the third fist, just missing the thumb now.

Maybe next week or the week after, I’ll be a two and a half fists.

As I said, it’s going to be slow going. But I have much more faith now that I’ll get there.