Yesterday the doctor said everything was going well with my leg, and that the graft feels very solid. The only concern he had was that my extension isn't where he would like it to be, so he wants me to work hard on that over the next few weeks.

He answered my questions as follows:

1. How will I know if I re-injure the graft?

It takes between 2 and 3 months for a graft to become mature and "stick" at both ends. Before that time, it's easy to tear or stretch a graft without knowing that you have done so.

By now, my graft is a bona fide part of me, so any re-injury at this point would result in the same sorts of reactions as before: pain, swelling, bleeding. He said that I would definitely know if I reinjured it.

2. When can I run? Do yoga? Should I be wearing a brace for any physical activities?

I can start running again in one month, which is earlier than I expected to hear. I can do yoga now (and in fact I already have done 10 minutes of basic positions this morning!). I think the yoga will help with my extension.

I don't need to wear a brace at all, but he did suggest getting a neoprene support to wear for confidence's sake when skiing or running.

3. Did Diclofenac cause my terrible swelling?

He suggested that Dicolfenac could have been the cause, and that different people do have strange, weird, and wonderful reactions to drugs sometimes. He said there are lots of different anti-inflammatories that can be used, so to mention that Diclofenac doesn't work for me if I need an anti-inflammatory in future.

4. What kind of screw do I have? Will it need to be removed?

I have a regular (non-absorbable) screw, but it should not need to be removed unless it works loose. The screw gets loose in about 2 or 3 percent of people, and if that happens, they simply go in and remove it. It does not affect the graft. I would know if my screw became loose either by having pain and soreness or by actually being able to feel it through the skin!

5. Can I stand up on public transportation now?

Yes. There is a small amount of risk involved if I get jostled around a lot, but it's not enough of a risk to cause much worry.

6. When will I see him again?

3 months! My next check-up appointment is October 8th at 6 p.m.

I have generally been feeling very good about my leg over the past week or so. It's sore and weak, and I have to make myself remember to go up and down stairs normally, but at least I can go up and down stairs normally, and the soreness and weakness will pass.

I haven't been doing my exercises like I should be doing them over the past week, but I have been walking a lot more (which probably contributes to the soreness).

Last night I caught myself trying to sit cross-legged, which might be allowed by now. I see my doctor on Wednesday, so I'll ask him if I can start doing yoga. He did say to wait about 6 weeks--it's been that long, but I don't want to rush it if I'm behind schedule on healing.

Yesterday was 8 weeks since surgery. Julie decided that she wants to start seeing every two weeks, instead of twice a week, so my next physio appointment is August 5th.

She had me doing hamstring strengthening exercises, mainly lifting and pushing weight with my ankles while in a sitting position on this chair that looked like a torture device.

After physio I was very very sore, and today I'm still limping around a little bit, especially when I stand after sitting for a while.

I've found that I'm using my knees a little more normally, braving to kneel from time to time, and standing up from sitting on the floor a little more gracefully than before.

I can start riding my bike to work if I can get the nerve up to do it. I might practice around the house, then talk to my doctor about riding to work when I see him on Wednesday the 30th. I'll see if he thinks I should wear any sort of protective brace. So far he has been dismissive of that idea.

My calendar today has a note: "Officially allowed to use public transportation." I have been riding the bus to work since we moved into our house on Friday June 27th, but I've always managed to get a seat. I've taken the tube into London once but was lucky enough to get a seat then too.

My knee remained sore and achy until about July the 8th, which was the first day at physiotherapy since June 25th that I felt like I had made any progress at all. In fact, I had a couple of tearful sessions on July 1st and 3rd, which I didn't mention here. But by the time July 8th rolled around, I had moved through the plateau phase that Julie had told me I was in on July 3rd, after two weeks of no real progress!

We've still been doing the same basic exercises: pushing the back of the kneecap down as far as possible, to flatten out the knee, bend the knee then pushing it straight using an elastic strap as resistance, balancing on a thing that looks like an under-inflated ball, and riding a bike at the end of the session. Julie has also been having me lie on my stomach while allowing my knee to straighten out flat to the ground, then helping me bend my knee as far as possible toward my back.

Today Julie was on vacation, so I had Jan as a replacement. Jan looks kind of like Carol Vorderman, and is very sweet. She got me to do basically the same exercises and noted that my bend is back to about 85% or 90% normal. Then she got me on my hands and knees and tried to get me to lift my heel. Nothing. I think we've identified my next major problem: I might be able to bend my leg, but it doesn't matter because my hamstrings are too weak to lift my leg.

She also had me stand with my bad knee on a step while lowering my good leg to the floor--basically, taking a downward step, which is something I'm not having too much luck with when I go down stairs. I was cheating with that one by hitching my hip, so she made me stand facing a bar with my good leg off the ground, trying to bend and straighten my bad leg--effectively lifting my entire weight with my bad leg. Let me just say: that is extremely hard work at the moment.

Happily, my extension is consistently good right now. I still have some work to do if I want the full hyperextension that the other leg has, but I can now consistently achieve 0 degrees after warming up and stretching out.

I guess that's not too bad for 7 weeks post-surgery!

Quick note: I looked at my bruise again this morning. It has faded to a very light brown shadow. I don't think you would notice it unless you knew to look for it.

Since Tuesday was 5 weeks since my surgery, it seems like the bruise has been there for a long time, but I suppose it was probably pretty deep.

I complained to Julie about the pain in my knee, and she said that it was probably my kneecap. Sure enough, when she manipulated it more forcefully, she was able to reconstruct the exact feeling of pain that I get when I'm going down stairs.

The problem is that my muscles are weak and my whole knee is unhappy with the fact that I've just had surgery. All I can do to make the pain and swelling go away is to exercise and strengthen the muscles--which, of course, causes pain and swelling.

She made me lie on my stomach and try to stretch my leg out straight. I haven't been doing that because I was worried that I shouldn't, but she said it's an important exercise, so I should do it now. I should also put a towel or something under my thigh to increase the amount of stretch.

In addition to that, I should be getting Jon to hold onto the stretchy band while it's looped around my ankle, so that I can do the exercise where I try to pull my leg back against the tension.

She said that the lack of progress this week could be due to my move, since I haven't had the time or inclination to do the targetted knee exercises. The walking and stair-climbing apparently wasn't enough!