6 days post op

 Ok so I love my surgeon...not in that way- I am married and so he is but really I love his bedside manner, attentiveness and is spirit.  I cruised in this AM feeling pretty good, After a pretty good walk with the dogs and a good icing session I headed over and was seen at 9:01 for a 9:00 appointment.  Again, why I love this Dr.  No waiting.  He took off the steri strips and was pleased with the incisions.  Sutures are inside.  Minor bruising and swollen but not all that much.  Few drops of blood but all in all they are healing.

I walk without a limp and can fully extend my knee- all good!   He recapped that part of my knees are of a 14yo ( which he is shocked considering the stress I put on my knees.  He has 15 pictures of  inside my knee.  So very cool!  

This is the torn meniscus.  (LEFT)   The frayed part is the tear, the part on the right, nice and smooth is how cartilage should look, He cleaned up where he could and saved 70% of the meniscus, which I need to be running ( in 4 weeks) 

This is the underside of my knee cap - sort of looks like shag carpet-all that roughness is what grinds and crunches.  He shaved/cleaned that up the best he could.  

I will spare you the gross, so gross pictures of the cyst. Which was the size of an apricot.... and yes I have photos.  Absolutely discusting and no wonder my hamstring hurt. The cyst was rooted in the joint and grew from there- UGH. 

Any way all looks good.  I am cleared to swim on Monday (Happy Birthday to me) and next Friday I can spin inside.   If it was not for the cyst I could spin now but he is worried any synovial fluid released will go down the same path and re-create the cyst.  So...7 days.  Then easy and see how it goes.  Each week I can do more.  As for riding outside, a few weeks. Hill are out and if I feel pain it is best to stop ASAP and that is hard to do when I am a few miles form home.

4 weeks next appt and then I get to run!! 10 min x 5 days... a start.  My hope was to be running by 12/1 and now it looks like I will be running by 11/17.  Baby steps...

For now... walking is good, bending is good but so is elevation and ice. So I am still camped on the couch when working. 

Today I had a BIG day.... Dr appt, coffee with Dad and K and then lunch at Veg Grill with Les.   See triathletes don't "do lunch" we swim, bike, run and have coffee or do dinner. But with 2 injured girls (although Les swam and pool ran) we have time to meet at the mall for lunch.  It was so.... fun but weird.  We both commented on how much longer the days are without training.  Ugh...soon, soon I hope to have that problem of not enough hours in the day.

All in all I feel pretty good and pleased. I am on the road to recovery.. just need to hold onto patience.