Gentlemen, We Can Rebuild Him: Part 4 (Week 3)

Week 3 was a good week for Richter Kid!  I went back to work and resumed my regular career life, although for now, from the view of a wheelchair.  I had barely gotten in the door before the peanut gallery hollered out, "From Ironman to Ironside!"  So, bingo, there's the new nickname for the time being.  For those of you too young to remember, Ironside was a tv show your dad watched in the '70's starring some ace detective in a wheelchair....

So, this letter came in.......



 I guess it's in case TSA gives me any grief through airport security.  Man, I wonder, is a doctor's note really necessary?  Maybe so......

And I'm on the move at Physical Therapy!  There's not a whole lot we can do since I can't load the knee, but getting my flexibility back has been the focus.  In the three PT visits within the last week alone I've gone from bending my knee a max angle of 106 degrees, then 116 degrees, and on Friday, 128 degrees!

Outstanding!  I'm in the 128 degree club!  I couldn't help but research what else out there can handle 128.....

Woohoo!  Death Valley!

 Woohoo!  A Fiat 128!

 Woohoo!  A Tupolev Tu-128!

Woohoo!  My right knee!  And the scar is healing well too.....

In fact, the knee is progressing so well at PT they decided to cut my visits by 50% until I am load-bearing again in 5-7 weeks.  That's so awesome.

And now for some incredibly technical scientific stuff.  Below is a shot showing the comparison of my left leg to my "new" right leg.  I drew a straight line from the center of each thigh to the center of each knee, and then from there to the center of each ankle and to the center of each foot.  You can see the result of the osteotomy as the line passing through the knee on the right leg is almost completely straight but that there is about a 5 degree angle of bowleggedness on my left leg.  Unfortunately, you can also see the right leg is atrophying a bit already, most evident in the calf and the inside of my lower quad.  It's also a little purple all the time.

In the interest of science I think it's always important to collect as much data as you can so for comparison, below is a shot of my cat, Goose's, legs.  Looks like he has some asymmetry himself to deal with but he seems to get along quite fine and can dart from one end of the house to the other without any reason whatsoever.  And that, ultimately, is what we're going for isn't it?

As a parting shot, I wanted to gush about my wonderfully supportive wife.  She knows how much it means to me to get out there and move, so she surprised me today with a little chalkboard plaque of my finish time PR at Ironman Florida 2012 to remind me where I've been and where I hope to build from again one day.......