Knee Surgery, Recovery and What Comes Next

Just over a month ago, I wrote a blog about my journey with my knee so far. I’d re-damaged my ligament and was unsure about whether or not I’d need surgery and how long the recovery process would be.

Surgery and the NHS

Since then, it’s all been a bit of a whirlwind, but I honestly can’t praise the NHS enough for how quickly I’ve been seen to and sorted. Within the space of 2 months I have had an X-Ray, MRI and had my surgery. I have heard some horror stories about the NHS, but I’ve never really experienced it for myself, with this being my first period of time spent in hospital. When I first injured my knee back in 2019 I was told it would be fine with rest and would heal itself. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case and I’ve suffered with it since. The consultant down here in Cornwall identified the issues straight away and knew some of it stemmed from my original injury. He wanted to get me in for surgery as soon as possible to try and ensure the best possible chance for full recovery.

Part of me feels that all of this happening whilst down South has been a blessing. Living in a less populated area where there isn’t quite as much pressure on the NHS I feel has benefited me in terms of being seen and operated on so fast. Speaking to friends based in cities such as London and Manchester, they have had to wait months just for initial consultations and scans.

There may have been some breakdowns in communication between what was happening and keeping me fully informed and also, as I was on the trauma list, my surgery wasn’t booked until the last minute and was liable to change. This made it difficult for me to manage my life and work and was pretty stressful, but thankfully my work did absolutely everything they could to support me. All this being said, I am still so grateful for the NHS and not having to worry about spending a fortune on scans and surgery.

Recovery

I’d initially been told that I would be in a full leg brace for 6 weeks and would be unable to bear weight on my left leg for quite some time. I was mentally really struggling with prospect of being out for so long and stuck at home. I was worried about how I was going to fill my time and how to not get lost in my own head. Once again, this is an example of why it’s not worth worrying about things that may never happen! Though easier said than done.

When I came around after surgery and was told I didn’t need a brace and could put as much weight on my leg as felt comfortable, I cried. I think this was partly the drugs, partly relief and partly worry that it meant I needed a second surgery. Having originally been told I would most likely need partial ACL reconstruction, I was confused when they hadn’t touched my ACL and I’d asked to speak t the surgeon, but unfortunately they were already back in surgery. Not having the ACL surgery has meant that my recovery time has dropped massively and I’ve only been signed off work for 3 weeks.

After coming back from the hospital I was able to get up and down the stairs easily. The next day I went out for coffee with one of the girls and spent my day in the cafe catching up on emails and prepping blogs. I was amazed at how good I felt and how much movement I had. Unfortunately, this was short lived and that evening the anesthetic started to wear off. That night I barely slept because of the pain and I spent the next two days in bed sleeping and binge watching desperate housewives. I was sad, frustrated and feeling extremely sorry for myself.

In the scheme of things, it was still a positive. It was a much better situation than it could have been. But I’d let myself fall into this false sense of security and believed I was fine..when actually it was just the drugs. By day 4, my friend came over and dragged me out of bed and made me just sit on my front step in the sun for 10 minutes, and it did me the world of good. We talked, I cried and I felt a million times better.

What Comes Next…

I’m still not 100% sure of my recovery time and what physio I’ll need, but I’m just over a week on from surgery and I’m getting my sutures out and have my follow up appointment booked for the end of July. I will hopefully get my referral through for physio soon. I’ve already managed a short, flat walk out on my crutches to go see the Poppy fields at Polly Joke!

I’d mentally prepared myself for missing out on summer due to how serious they’d said the op could be, so it’s a huge relief that I can now do as originally planned and try to make the most of both working and exploring. I still haven’t decided what I’m going to do come autumn, but there’s plenty of time to figure that out.

There has been a slight spanner in the works though, as I just received a copy of a letter from the hospital to my Dr’s, where they stated that it would just be the meniscus reconstruction and bone removal, however I ‘may well need delayed ACL reconstruction’. It would have been great if I’d known this before the op and had a chance to ask questions about the likelihood of needed a second operation, but I guess it’ll just have to wait until my follow up. For now, I’m just going to focus on recovering and getting back to doing as much as I can.

I’m so grateful for the amazing community I have around me, ferrying me to and from hospital without question, taking me to appointments, doing my shopping, turning up at my door to force me out of bed. I am so so lucky to be surrounded by such wonderful people.

Being stuck at home unable to do the things you want, really makes you wish you’d grabbed all the opportunities you could. So I’ve decided I need to stop making excuses and just do the things I want to do. Life if too short to sit around waiting for things to happen or for it to be ‘the right time’.

Happy Adventuring! x