The Rehab Has Commenced!

Well peeps unlike poor Amy Winehouse, I actually went to my first NHS group rehab session at University Hospital Durham today! No but seriously I did, OK so it was for my knee and not my Rock & Roll lifestyle but I was really dreading it as my op site and knee have been so painful and I was panicking a bit because I was finding it hard to fully straighten my leg so thought I was in for a right old beasting; however it was all good- phew! Oh, here's a quick & simple pic I found to show kinda what happened when my knee twisted and dislocated it tore my ACL clean in two like it shows and had a go at the medial taking a bit of my thigh bone with it but luckily enought stayed in tact that I didn't need a new one just have to let it repair and strengthen up- but you get the gist.

Anyway, this group is based in the Rehab centre gym and runs three mornings a week so that's going to be my second home for, probably, at least the next 9 months from now on in. Got to see the physio and he was really great, explained everything to me and already saw through my naughty side and told me he'd be reigning me back at every opportunity so don't be too frustrated ;-) I asked him why my knee was relatively low in pain as compared to my shin (which i thought was strange) 'oh thats where they've driled through your bone to insert the graft'.... ahhhhhh, that explains a lot of sleepless nights the last week, the tramadol doesn't even touch it, but I've been having some AMAZING dreams hahaha..... but that's another story ;-)

So he tells me that they took a living graft from my hamstrings (I now only have two on the left whereas you normal folk have 3) and inserted it into my leg within the knee to form a new ACL. To start with its quite stable and uses the bloody supply that came with it but then this dies off and it has to fend for itself and form a new graft and bed in. This is between weeks 12 and 18 so apparently I will be blissfully unaware and think I'm fit enough to go crazy again however its quite the opposite and I'm going to have to behave myself. So looks like 4-5 months before I'm allowed back outside on the bike, however good news is I can ride indoors on a static bike way before then- perhaps even in as little as 3 weeks from now!!!  So I got a cheap turbo trainer courtesy of a friend that works at a bike store and I'm ready to rock the hardtail on that so when i can get outside hopefully I've managed to claw a little fitness back and get rid of this extra padding I've developed (protection for falls right????) lol.

Anyway I just thought I'd share this with you guys as a lot of you have been asking when and what and how etc so you all know about as much as me now. Luckily I have got a nice little looting of booty off the lovely Tom at Broken Riders to cheer me up, hoody and beanie on order - next time I'm at the physio gym I will try get an action shot of a true broken rider in rehab hahaha.
PS Tom - the rider in the pink logo is very apt, even in my colours ;-)

http://brokenriders.com/

Keeping me pecker up and still smiling, I promise!! Be back soon y'all :-)