All clear to ski or snowboard!
And Dr. Lavelle doesn't need to see me again!

He noted that my muscles are coming back very nicely and that the ligament feels rock solid. I asked if I can ski on our company trip to Villars, and he said that there was no reason why not. His advice was as follows:

* Strengthen the muscles as much as I can in the next month before I go, because the muscles around my kneecap still aren't helping it track perfectly (though it's far better now than it was even two months ago).

* Wear my neoprene/velcro brace while skiing, just for extra security (both physical and emotional).

* Take some anti-inflammatories with me, because the knee will probably complain and swell a little bit.

* At the end of the evening, put an ice pack on the knee to reduce any swelling.

Other than that, he said that everything should be fine, and that I should feel free to make an appointment with him if I have any further problems, but that for now we can leave it open-ended.

I can't believe it's only been 8 months since my ACL reconstruction surgery and I'm 90% back to normal. Lots of people seem to have a harder time with the surgery than that. I did put in quite a lot of hard work to get here, though, and even now I am constantly pushing my flexibility further.

Things that still aren't normal: I still have a slight limp when I stand up after sitting down for a long time, I favor my leg when I go to sit on the floor or anything else that requires extreme bending, walking down stairs is still a little bit uneven, and I haven't managed to sit evenly on my heels yet (but I really haven't been trying--I think I could have got that back already if I had been taking my yoga more seriously over the Christmas period).

These things will all go, and even if they don't, I can live with them (but I'm positive they will).