lvenojump

They had me jogging about 2 months post op (I HATE to run).. now I find myself looking forward to that part of my trip to the gym the most now!!! Every doc and PT is different. They might clear you to be back in the gym earlier than me; I have "double joints" (aka hypermobility) in my knees so regaining the stability and control took longer than someone who's legs "Bend and flex" normal wouldn't have. I can move my leg as well as my good one now. (because of the hypermobility I can even still hyperextend it.. not that is always a good thing!! I was coming up out of the drugs post op and the first thing that I asked the docs was if my 2 legs would have the same degrees of flexation; I didn't want an unmatched set. They took extra care to make sure that while setting my ACL graft that the legs both moved in the same fashion...) My leg was cooked about 15 degree all the time prior to surgery and I had to work HARD on getting that flexation back; lots and lots of stretching. Standing in one place was the hardest thing for me; I did all my xmas shopping power walking, if i missed it on the first pass I'd circle again and come back for it! I still can't kneel very well on that knee. I think that is the final frontier for it. I'm snagging the BF's rig to pack it this weekend to give my fingers some workout; this will be the test for me on if its "healed" enough to pack his rig! I made the mistake of not pushing my PT for clearance for the gym. He made the assumption since I'm a single mom and work full time (and not if fighter shape) that I didn't belong to a gym. I made the assumption that he would tell me whe nit was clear to do xyz regardless of if it was in my lifestyle or not. So it was at the 16 wk review that I asked him about the gym and he gave me the thumbs up. He said that he would have cleared me right around the 3 month mark if he had known. Yeah I was really sick of the pain by the time I had surgery: May to Sept is too long!!! But the pain after surgery was worse.... It gets better though. It really does! I hardly have any pain now; mostly a stiffness (new england winters BLOW) and one thing that developed from all this is this "popping" or "cracking" of the joint (like cracking your knuckles). My joints all crack my whole life; but never my knees. Now my left does and the right doesn't; its a byproduct of scar tissue, double jointedness, and all around "angry body syndrome": its pissed at me for frapping off the mock up!!!! : ) "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare

I had hamstring graft ACL reconstruct on 9.24.07. The recovery period had me scared quite a bit also going in... the first week for me was a series of drugs.sleep.rehab.ice machine.drugs.more drugs.a little food.rehab. and repeat. My PT and my docs were literally fist fighting over my recovery methodology in terms of when to use the brace and when to use crutches; I was a tad annoyed; but the figured it out (I was the first referral from my surg. to my pt so they hadn't ironed all these little things out). I can remember on the first day post-op feeling like there was no way I was ever going to be able to do xyz again; and now 4 months later I am almost 100% back. I was cleared to be able to fly in the wind tunnel and happily flung myself in skyventurenh and enjoyed it greatly! I will hopefully be cleared to go back to skydiving in early to mid May (late May at the latest) and can't wait. You see, I tore my ACL off the mock up. How sexy right!!!! Well, that is the fall that was the straw that broke the camel's back. I had a hard landing a few weeks earlier and then was practicing an exit off the mock up and my knee just shattered underneath me; oh did I mention too that I am only an AFF student; yeah not happy to have sat out the rest of the season (I tore my ACL on memorial day but didn't have a full diagnosis until early August). So my words of wisdom for you are: design a bag/carrier system to use for the first few weeks to carry things around the house. I bought this great covered tumbler glass at target that had a loop in the top. I could hook my finger thru it and still be able to use my full hand on my crutches. Stock yourself with meals that are quick and easy to make and that you can carry easiy with one hand. I was cleared to drive after 2 wks; but I drive an automatic and surgery was on my left knee. Take each day at a day and focus on PT and doing the in home exercises. I kept my head in the game; even when I was so certain that I would never be able to be fully normal again by just telling myself that PT and the gym workouts were all a part of AFF for me. No strong knee. no jumps. Good luck!!! If there is anything I didn't hit on that you want to know how it was for me; please feel free to pm me and I'll chat with you! Lauren "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare

I'm not as techy as others, but here is the google earth bookmark for the coordinates from this posting. Out thoughts are with all of you during these rough times. Blue Skies. Lauren *** "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare

Thanks!!! I hope to get some more shots of the jumper's this season and expand my collection of killer shots... More importantly to get my a## off student status asap and flying free!!!! I think I will love flying camera in the future... L. "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare

I am just a lowly student, which means me and my camera can spend plenty of time on final approach and landings. The attached shot is one of my favorites to date. I love the focus on the jumpah's face! Lauren "That Girl" "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare

Cyn- I have been living at the tunnel since november and am starting AFF this May. Selwyn, Derek, Jim, Shawn, All of these guys can help you if you give them your learning objective up front. The crew at the tunnel are amazing. They are like family to me. If you are out and about and want to soak up some time at a DZ Pep, Ma is only a few minutes down the road (www.skyjump.com) and I will be flying at one of those 2 spots that weekend!!! That Girl "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare

http://www.skydiveelsinore.com/jumpstart/index.html If you give the Elsinore crew a shout out for what you want to use it for, I am sure they won't mind.. since it is up on the big bad superhighway of "colaborative" sharing on the internet..... As an AFF student I have cycled thru their flash tutorials several times already.. my favorite is the malfunctions one! "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare

TOTALLY!!!! A great man I know once told me (before I shucked the whuffo title and started jumping) that skydiving costs you $300 dollars your first jump and half your money the rest of your life!!!! [ "My soul is in the sky" - Shakespeare