It's officially been a year.

For those of you that don't know,

I got in a car accident exactly one year ago today.

12/06/10

"Everything happens for a reason."

This past year has been crazy. I never imagined that something like this would ever happen to me but it has. I started off being very angry and upset. I couldn't understand why this had to happen to me. Now, I'm thankful. I'm so much happier and stronger now.

1 car accident.

1 ambulance ride.

1 emergency room visit.

(Which was absolutely terrible. They didn't do a very good job at anything and only made things worse.)

Minor injuries:

I had a few really bad seat belt burns; one on my neck, and then one on each side of my stomach. One of my rings that I was wearing, went through my elbow. And I had a bruised lung.

Serious injuries:

On my right leg; I broke my ankle in three places, shattered my fibula, broke my knee, tore my ACL, and tore my meniscus. On my left knee; I tore my ACL, PCL, LCL, MCL, and meniscus. Possibly some other things too. I'm not even entirely sure what all I've torn or broken. So this is what I understand from all of it.

4 surgeries.

First one was December 20th, 2010.

Second one was February 28th, 2011.

Third one was August 26th, 2011.

And my fourth, and LAST surgery was December 2nd, 2011.

I have over 17 screws and other metal objects in my legs now.

13 scars.

All various lengths and widths, between both legs.

Can't even tell you how long I spent in the hospital between the ER and all the surgeries.

1 wheelchair for 5 months.

1 walker for 1 month.

1 pair of crutches; 2 times for 1 month each.

1 ankle boot.

5 different knee braces.

It feels like I've been to a million doctor's appointments at Orthopedic Performance Institute. My orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Christopher Phelps, is fantastic! He's taken really good care of my legs. All of my surgeries have gone really well and he's made all of this a lot easier for me. He's a big part of why I'm able to walk again. Can't thank him enough for all he's done. If you need any orthopedic surgeries done, I highly suggest going to him.

Most of my time has been spent doing physical therapy at Texas Physical Therapy Specialists in Stone Oak. Which has probably been my favorite part about all of this. My physical therapist: Jennifer Christie; the techs: Anessa, Carlos, and Quentin; the two awesome ladies at the front desk: Rebekah and Kathy; and all of the interns and other physical therapists that have helped me through all of this. They are the greatest people ever and they are the other big reason of why I'm able to walk. I seriously don't know what I would do without them. I can't even begin to know how to thank them for everything. I have so much love for every single one of them.

Family:

I love my family so much. They've been helping me through all of this so much. I would be no where without them. Wheeling me around, taking me to and from doctor's appointments and physical therapy, paying for my medical bills, etc. I'm so lucky to have a family that loves me as much as they do. They've had to put up with a lot of not-so-awesome things over this past year, and they just did everything without even thinking twice. How awesome is that? Even the really gross things, which I would mention, but more than a few of you would be seriously disturbed. I'll leave the icky things out. Just know, I have such an awesome and loving family.

Friends:

I don't think that I thank my friends enough. For everything. Calling, texting, coming over, picking me up, taking me to lunch or dinner, bringing me flowers or other random little gifts, or anything else that they do. Just showing me that they care has been enough to get me through this. They are my second family. I think I have the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for. There has been the not-so-awesome times, but somehow, we've managed to get through them and our friendships have become greater. I would name names but I might forget one and then I would feel horrible. Just know that I love all of you. Very, very much. Y'all are the greatest!

Xoxo.

LAST surgery.



Yesterday was my last of 4 surgeries. My surgery was supposed to be a reconstruction to my left ACL & PCL. I was more nervous for this surgery than I have for any of the others. A part of me was scared that once I was under and my doctor was looking inside my knee, he'd find something else wrong. Luckily, that was not the case at all.

Before surgery:

I got to the hospital around 5:10am, which I thought was a little early because my surgery wasn't until 7:30am. Then I had to sign my life away, which sadly, I'm used to by now. Admitting didn't take too long because all of my information is already in the computer. Once all of that was taken care of, then took me to the pre-op room that I was assigned. I was kinda on edge already because it was really early, I was tired, and I was getting more and more scared as the time went on. Not to mention that my nurse had NO clue how to put in an IV in my hand. She stuck the needle in the vein in my hand and then wiggled it around, which left a huge knot in my hand. I was convinced that my day was not going to be a good one. Again, I was wrong. Another nurse came in and took over, and she was fantastic!

When my doctor came in and explained to me, again, what he was going to do, he said he might not have to do my PCL. I asked him how long it would be before I could put weight on my leg if he had to do both, my ACL & PCL, and he said 6 weeks. Which is so far away. If he only had to do my ACL, it would be 3 days. HUGE difference. I was praying the whole time that once he opened up my knee, my PCL would be a lot sturdier than he originally thought and he wouldn't have to fix it.

Finally, my anesthesiologist came in. That was the part I was most concerned about. The first two surgeries, the anesthesia didn't really have an effect on me after I woke up. But the surgery before this one, I was really sick. And the main reason I couldn't leave the hospital was because I was so sick. It made me absolutely miserable. So I asked him if there was any way that I could get some other form of anesthesia. He said that he would give me anti-nausea medicine before surgery and right afterwards. He also said that he would give me a nerve block in my leg so that it would be numb and I wouldn't need a bunch of norco's. Which I thought was a fantastic idea because I can't stand norco's. They make me really sick, too.

After surgery:

I woke up in recovery and to my surprise, I felt fantastic. No sickness at all. I was wide awake and very alert. My first concern was finding out if he had done my ACL & PCL or just my ACL. I asked the nurse, and she said he did both. My heart sank. Then she read over the anesthesiologist report and he had only written down that my ACL was done. So I was hopeful for good news. Then I saw my doctor, and he told me that once he got inside my knee, my PCL was intact and a lot stronger than he had thought. Therefore, he only reconstructed my ACL. This was the BEST news I could have ever gotten. I was so excited and giddy!

Then they wheeled my bed to the post-op room so that I could see my parents. And they were surprised at how awesome I felt and looked. They were really glad that I wasn't sick. The nurse said before I left, all I had to do was eat, drink, and pee. Simple enough, right? So, I ate a cup of jello and drank some apple juice. A normal person would have then got up to pee, but I wasn't ready to stand up and use my crutches just yet. So I decided to take a little nap. Looking back, I should have just got up, peed and then left. But oh well, right when I woke up, I got that over with and then finally got to leave the hospital.

When I got home, I even stuffed my face with some BBQ. Which was weird because usually after surgery, I only want soup and jello. But since I was feeling so great, I decided to go for the good stuff. It was so yummy. I couldn't even believe how much I ate. Then I went back to bed and took naps on and off.

Today, I'm not feeling as great as I did yesterday, but I'm still doing pretty good. Tomorrow, I get to take off all my bandage and clean my new wounds. I'm excited to see what they look like, too. And Monday, I get to put standing weight on my leg. I can't wait!

Also, 3 days until it's officially been a year since my car accident. Can't believe it's already almost been a year....

Xoxo.

4 days....

It seems like I've been starting all my past few blog posts off with some version of "I keep meaning to write on this...." or "I keep forgetting....". Either way, if you like my blog, my apologies for not writing more often.

Where, oh where shall I begin?

I'll start off by saying that my LAST surgery will be on December 2nd! Only 4 days away. I can't believe that this will finally be the end of my surgeries because of my car accident. Makes me a little nervous too. You'd think that this one being my 4th one, I'd be a pro at it by now. Sadly, I am not. I thought this one would be a piece of cake, but as it's getting closer and closer, I'm getting a little sick to my stomach. Just nerves. Luckily, that will pass. On this surgery, my surgeon will be fixing my ACL & PCL on my left knee. I was only hoping for just an ACL fix, but unfortunately, he'll be doing both. Which will be a little harder on me than the last surgery but definitely not the worst one I've had. So I'm very thankful for that.

December 6th is coming up so soon, 8 days to be exact. I can't believe it's almost been a year since my car accident. My life has changed in so many different ways. It's crazy to think how drastically things can change within just a short few minutes. I'd like to think that my car accident was somehow a blessing in disguise. I'm happier and stronger than I've ever been, and I'm very thankful for that.

Physical therapy has really been kicking my butt. Which I oddly enough, I love. My legs have never been stronger! One legged squats, I own you! I can't wait for this next surgery so that my physical therapy can only get more intense and I can finally be on the last part of my recovery. I'm really sad that I'm not going to be able to go back to therapy until 2 weeks after my surgery, but when I get back, I'll be very well rested and ready to get things done!

Xoxo.

Better and better.

So much has happened in these past couple of weeks! I keep promising myself that I'm going to update this more and I always seem to forget. Possibly because I don't use my computer very much anymore.

Let's see....

Where shall I begin?

We'll start with physical therapy. I'm so glad to be going back there and getting stronger a little more with each passing day. I love when I actually start seeing a difference in my legs. Makes me feel really accomplished! And I'm sure that I've mentioned this before, but my physical therapist is amazing! And everyone that works there is too. I can never even begin to thank them for everything that they've done for me over the past 10 months. Without them, I wouldn't be walking today or even as strong as I am now. I appreciate them more than words can even begin to describe.

I had my 5 week follow up with the doctor today and everything went extremely well! My new ACL is holding up great, just as it should. He said that he's very happy with all of the progress that I've made. My bending is really great but I need to work on my leg extension more. I see him again in 5 weeks and my next and FINAL surgery should be the first week of December! Not as soon as I wanted it, but my right knee needs to be as strong as possible before I go under and get the left knee done. The next few weeks, I'm going to really have to step my game up! And I'm more than willing to do so!

That's all for now. I'm going to try and write more. And I hope that I really will! Today was a great, happy day and I hope everyone else's was full of happiness too!

Xoxo.

Just a little update.

So much has happened since my last post! I'll try and fill in as much as I can think of.

My surgery on the 26th went very, very well. I got a little sick afterwards but that was only because of the anesthesia. Anywho, from my understanding, my surgeon took out a piece of my hamstring to reconstruct my ACL. And unfortunately, during that surgery he decided that he was going to go ahead and do the surgery on my other knee too. Which will be the same surgery. I was hoping that I wasn't going to need it, but it turns out that I do.

Great thing about this surgery though, no wheelchair! I had to crutch my way out of the hospital. And three days after surgery, I was already putting weight on it! Now, I'm already walking on it. I'm excited! If my leg was a little stronger, I wouldn't need the crutches but I'm using them until I can actually hold myself back up.

I saw the doctor on Thursday; everything is going great and healing very nicely! My new, reconstructed ACL is holding up very well. I'm so happy that it's doing so well! As soon as all the swelling in my leg goes down, I can start wearing my ACL brace, the one wear I can actually bend and walk around, again instead of this straight leg brace! He said that I need to work on my leg extension, bending, and getting my quad muscle stronger. Which should be a piece of cake! I see the doctor again in 5 weeks to see how strong I am, and if it's strong enough, we'll schedule my next surgery!

Not really relevant news, but I got a new handicap pass too! Yay! This one expires in March of 2012. Now I won't have to walk/crutch across the parking lot anymore!

Yesterday, Friday, I started going to physical therapy again! I was so excited! I had a really good first session back! I really missed going there. Now I get to start going three times a week again! I can't wait to start getting stronger and stronger.

"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."

- Mohandas Gandhi

Xoxo.