Well, this is turning into a much longer series than I anticipated.  I feel sorry for my husband, who’s had to be on housework duty as well as everything else for longer than he hoped, too!

Friday (day 21): Feeling surprisingly good today, despite the cold and rain.  I haven’t taken paracetamol for a few days now, but I’m still on the ibuprofen: getting a bit fed up of it, especially as I can feel my stomach is not enjoying the experience.

Manage my longest walk and my longest outing since the hen do, and feel energised by it, rather than shattered.  The fact that it was to McDonald’s doesn’t count!

Despite my worries, I can see that the physio exercises are beginning to have an effect: I can feel they are too.  I feel much more steady on my feet, and I haven’t had my knee threaten to give way for a few days.

Sunday (day 23): After managing going out for dinner last night, I also cope with an excursion for coffee and cake … using only one crutch!  Woo!  At long last, my thigh muscles can cope with lifting and bending my leg.  I still don’t have full movement, and walking is slow, but I’m the closest I’ve been to it since the operation.

Monday (day 24): Given yesterday’s success, we venture out to the shops, and I manage about 15 minutes of slowly wandering around (we did have a few items to get, so it wasn’t just random).  It does soon start to ache and swell, but the swelling is neither as much nor as fast as it was.  Overall, it is still slightly rugby-ball in shape, but it is, slowly, shrinking.  The bruising is still going, too; though I’m sure as one fades, another comes out!

Wednesday (day 26): Although my knee is feeling stronger, it’s feeling oddly stiff and achy today.  I have upped the repetitions on all bar one of my seven knee exercises though, so that could be part of it.  I’m still doing my exercises three times a day, and I can see and feel my muscles strengthening to the extent that if I’m pottering around the house for short distances, I don’t bother with a crutch at all.

I seem to have a quite solid lump of something above my kneecap where it meets my thigh, which is most prominent when I bend my leg.  I’m not sure what this is, but it wasn’t as obvious while my knee was so swollen.  The difference in circumference is now under or around 2cm most of the time.

Thursday (day 27): I go back to the doctor’s to ask about anti-inflammatories.  Although the ibuprofen has had some effect, it hasn’t really had a great impact, so the doctor prescribes me some naproxen instead.  He also gives me another week off work.  I’m not looking forward to telling my boss that – feel quite a prune, as initially I thought I’d be off two weeks at the most!  Still, I can’t argue with him: I still struggle to stand, walk or have my leg bent for more than about half an hour before it starts swelling.  True, the swelling is reducing, but it still happens.

At physio later, the physiotherapist is really pleased with my progress … the day of being without crutches is nigh!  YAAAAAAAAAAAY!  I also get another couple of exercises – but given the improvement I’ve seen, I’m enthusiastic about doing them rather than annoyed I’ve got more.

Got to admit, I’m going to be so glad when I’m back up to full strength.  I’m actually itching to get back on the Wii Fit!  I’ve put on 4lbs (2kg) in my month of limited mobility, despite trying not to stuff my face whenever I got bored or hungry.

By the way, if you’re going to see someone who’s sat on their bum unable to move much, ask them if they’d like chocolate or something else as a treat.  Not that I disliked having chocolate – I mean, I ate it and enjoyed it  – but there did come a point where I wished people brought things like healthy quick-cook meals (to help Dave out) or just flowers instead.   But then I felt mean for being ungrateful!