Spammers

I don't blog on a regular basis - in fact the only reason I created this blog was so that I did not have to write everyone about my recovery from knee surgery. I feel dishonest when I create a form letter and just change the greetings. I feel bad about it but there really isn't anything different that I can tell them about my knee. Despite my reservations about this blogging, I really get excited when I see a new comment about my blog. Alas they are from spammers who pretend that they like my blog. Blah. (Added later - I figured out that you can delete comments from your blog - I went ahead and deleted them. They had links to adult sites..)

Anyways, my knee is recovering. It doesn't hurt as much when the physical therapist bends the knee. I guess I never mentioned my physical therapist - Steve Mutto, RPT, Sports Therapy Associates, Burlingame, CA. He's pretty cool. I'll recommend him if you need therapy.

I've had a few disturbing days this week - you can call me if you want to know why.

Other than that - I'm not fasting this Ramadan - medical reasons - I have to build muscle to recover quicker from the surgery....

That's about it for today. Keep those comments coming....

So I can walk now

So I can walk now. It is actually quite wonderful to be able to walk. They (physical therapists) even teach you how to do it right - something that I don't think I've ever done. It goes like this - heel, toe, stretch. I still walk slowly with a limp.

According to my physical therapist - he has been trying "to get Wasiuddin to ambulate without an antalgic gait. ROM measurements are full extension to 125 degrees of flexion. Minimal swelling is noted a generalized fashion. He continues to have difficultly squatting, kneeling and going up and down stairs. Overall, he continues to progress on a consistent basis."

I saw my doctor yesterday. He seemed pleased with my progress since the last time he saw me (he wasn't pleased with my progress two weeks ago).

Did I mention I can drive ? Which means I can do my own groceries now! I can't drive very far though.

So overall, things are going well. My knee still swells up at night and is quite painful at times. Oh yes, there's that annoying creaking noise from my knee that can be heard from across the room sometimes, but apparently these are not unusual.

Update on Knee Surgery

Hey guys,

Thanks very much for the support. It really meant a lot to me - I was really scared before the surgery. My surgery was successful according to the doctor. I will know for sure Wednesday after I meet him for my post-operation appt. The surgery itself was quite scary and the aftermath was quite painful. I've been drifting in and out of vicodin-induced sleep for the past few days. Today is the first day when I have been able to make some sense.

They have hooked me up to an ice machine and to a machine that automatically bends my knee for me. Modern technology - pretty cool stuff - never seen anything like it before. I can sort of walk with crutches - I can even put some weight on my operated knees. I'm also doing some strengthening exercises.

I hope to be up to normal in about a week - that is normal without the walking. Hopefully I'll be able to walk in a few weeks. Soccer will be in 8-9 months.

A tid-bit about my doctor - Dr. Frederic Bost. He wears a huge World Series Ring. He was surgeon for the Oakland As when they were world-champs in 1989. He is really nice. I can't complain about the care I've recieved. Everyone - the surgeon, the nurses - everyone was extremely nice to me. The only thing that was a little discomforting was having to call the doctor on call (Dr. Dickinson - who by the way is the surgeon for the Golden State Warriors) three times over the weekend with questions about my knee - I felt so bad about calling him so many times. But I was worried about my knee and I guess he was on call.

One thing that was quite weird was the number of times different people asked me the same questions before the surgery. At every point in the hospital, they asked me the following questions -

"What's your last name?",
"What's your first name?",
"What's your date of birth?",
"Why are you here today?",
"What is wrong with your knee?",
"How did it happen?",
"Which knee is it?" - this was probably the most popular question.
"Are you allergic to any medication?"

My parents being here was really helpful and of course Julie was absolutely fantastic. Mika and Yusuf provided me ample comic relief. Mika has been helping me with my exercises, counting my reps. He's also been coming in every few hours to check up on me. And offering me advice on how to fix my knee - if I kick a ball really hard a certain way that he shows me then my knee will get all better.

Come visit me - it will help me get better.

I hope you are doing well,
-Wasi.