Category Archives: ACL recovery

Jul11

My first hike!  Treking out and back on Eagle Creek.

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My first hike!  Treking out and back on Eagle Creek.
My first hike!  Treking out and back on Eagle Creek.
Friday, 02-June-2017
 It’s been a while since I broke my knee and damaged the ACL.
Honestly, that’s kind of long to say… let’s just start saying that I  broke my leg.  That’s quicker, and gives a pretty good overview of what happened.  Saves some time, you know?
And since life is being so busy and crazy, saving time is pretty good.  Why, you might ask?  Well, because I was cleared to start hiking again!!!
I’m not cleared to go too crazy though… so while I can go for a long-ish hike, I can’t go steep or treacherous, as far as terrain goes.  What to hike, what to hike…  Eagle Creek?  One of the most popular trails in the Gorge?  Simple, variable length, and full of people to come save me if I need to be carried out?  I think that fits the bill.
Parking would still be an issue though, since Eagle Creek is one of the most popular routes.  Sarah and I anticipated that though, so we headed out from Hood River early in the morning.  Technically we didn’t have to worry, since I’ve still got the handicapped sticker for the car… but I’d feel pretty weird parking in a handicapped spot, pulling out the backpack and hiking poles, and then charging in for a 7 mile hike.  Seems a bit disengenuous, you know?
So we

got up early, found a parking spot in a lovely bit of shade, and headed in.  Just Sarah and I, unfortunately… Ollie was dis-invited this time, since the trail has extremely steep sides (but a really nice trail), and I couldn’t hold the leash (broken, you know), and Sarah (very understandably) didn’t want to be dragged along by an over-energetic puppy the entire time.  Which meant that we could take our time, and set a pretty solid pace for ourselves as we traipsed into the woods.

The hike was kind of long and kind of boring.
I mean, I’d love to say that it was glorious, and full of birds and sunshine and donuts filled with spring cheer.  But, ya know, there’s a reason that I’m a rock climber, and not a hiker.  Hiking is kind of boring.  Even in the Columbia River Gorge, even walking along a cliffside above a river.  It’s good exercise though, so we stuck it out and enjoyed ourselves as best we could.
Both Sarah and I were a bit frayed from the week, so we split ways about halfway through, at Punchbowl Falls.  It’s a beautiful spot for lunch, so Sarah stayed and took a slow walk back while I pushed on ahead for a ways, trying to get my full goal of 7 miles in.  Which I did… but again, would’ve preferred to be climbing.
Then I turned around, hiked back, we met up, and headed back toward the house to the rescue of a very appreciative puppy.
What, too quick of an ending?  Well, the hike itself went really well: my knee held up really well, even with the descent into and ascent out of the Punchbowl.  Going down the trail was a bit challenging, but with Sarah helping out and my poles stabilizing me, there wasn’t really any issue.  The real challenge was pure endurance – I was so out of shape, that even this nearly-level trail was a solid challenge for me.  But that’s what we get in shape though, right?  Constant hiking, getting tired, and pushing ourselves?
It was a good push, and a very good start to my return to adventure in the great outdoors!
Jul7

ACL Recovery: Weeks 8 and 9, and 9 addendum

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ACL recovery, week 8 (24-Apr-2017)
Hi all!  I’m feeling good!  I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m actually feeling kind of good!
This last week has been remarkable progress; Since Ed (my physical therapist) told me to stop using my brace and start weaning myself off the crutches, I’ve gained a lot of strength and stability in my knee.  It still locks out on me every once in a while (from weakness, not from ACL damage), but I’m able to walk and move around significantly better than any time since the accident.  I still limp a bit… but it’s a lot less noticeable now.  And I need to spend less mental energy focusing on how to walk, which is really awesome.
With that strength and stability, I’ve started doing walks during lunch!  After the accident my phone was tracking between 600 and 1500 steps per day, max… Yesterday, I tracked over 8500 steps.  I’m going to keep taking it semi-easy, but continuing to ramp up the walking and mobility is the name of the game for now, at least until next Monday when I get the next round of X-rays and Lockman testing.
Aside from all that… life’s moving on.  My and Sarah’s moods and outlook are steadily getting better now that I can actually move around, help take care of the house and just take care of myself.  I can’t drive the Mustang yet… though I’ve been cleared by the Physical Therapist to drive it.  The problem isn’t safety now; it’s strength.  Mustang’s have a very heavy clutch, and I’m just not physically strong enough to depress it safely yet.  So – more workouts.  More squats.
And being able to help Sarah around the house more has been really helpful to my mood as well; Everything’s a bit more positive around the house, even with all the rain we’ve been getting here in the gorge.
ACL Recovery, week 9 (30-Apr-2017)

A new Sunday, a new elevation. 16,400 ft this week… They’re really cranking it up this time. But it’s a fun challenge… Even if I can’t do more than 10min at a time on the arm bike.

But I’m working on it, and actually working my leg this time , which is a pretty huge change. Ed, my Physical Therapist, has me doing strengthening exercises now, though they’re being a bit hampered by this one small section of extension that’s being really annoyingly painful. It’s not a bit range, but it’s right in the range that I need to go up and down stairs, which makes it imperative that I work through it.
Aside from that, no real news. I still (knock on wood) haven’t had it give out on me, so we’re still tracking pretty well. Tonorrow we’ll see Dr. O’Shea, so there will be some more definitive information, in terms of X-Rays and new displacement tests. Here’s hoping that it’s good news!
And with that, I’ll sign off. I’ll send an update tomorrow after the appointment!
Love to all,
-Ben
ACL Recovery, week 9 addendum (sent 01-May-2017)

Well, that appointment wasn’t super helpful.

I mean, it was, to a point.  We learned that the bones are knitting back together pretty well, and the swelling is going down.  But the displacement test showed that my ACL is still stretched… and it may have even gotten a little bit worse since the first time O’Shea tested it.
But I haven’t had it buckle on me.  And it’s feeling better as time goes on, becoming more stable and more capable of what I need it to do.  Dr O’Shea even mentioned that, as my quads get stronger, the muscles actually unload the stress from the joints… meaning that the stronger I get, the less painful things will be and the more stable the knee becomes.
So we’re still in a holding pattern.  None of the doctors are recommending surgery right now, but none of them are ruling it out, either.
So we wait, and keep testing it.  Right now, the plan calls for Sarah and I to go camping next weekend, try out some light hiking.  Push me a bit, and see how I can handle uneven and tiring terrain.  And I’ll keep hitting the gym throughout the week, working to bring my strength back up.
Past that… we’ll see what we see.
– Ben
Jul5

Bill and Greta visit Hood River!

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Bill and Greta visit Hood River!
May 19, 21 & 21st, 2017
Sarah’s parents came to visit this weekend!
I didn’t have surgery on Thursday, either!  So… two pretty awesome things, right?
When Bill and Greta first mentioned that they were coming out, we weren’t quite sure as to the surgery… everything was still in the air, and all we knew was that my ACL was damaged, and that I’d probably be all kinds of drugged up when they got here.  When we pushed the surgery back, and I was able to walk, it opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us.
Which, obviously, start with a good breakfast.
On Friday, we were in Portland.
Wait, that’s not the beginning.  The beginning happens on Thursday evening, when Sarah, Ollie and I arrived to the airport late (technically early, but they’d gotten an earlier flight.  So now late.  But was early.  But still late), and had an adventure trying to find our way through the rental lot.  It honestly went pretty well, and seeing Ollie freak out over seeing Bill and Greta was definitely worth the stress and challenges of tracking them down.
Then home, a quick nightcap, and sleeping.
So that we could wake up… and have a good breakfast!  At our favorite dog-friendly spot called Tin Shed; we ate probably a bit too much, and Ollie was even given like… five pieces of bacon, over all.  Which makes for a pretty good day in Ollie-land.
Then; Cannon beach.  It wasn’t my first visit since the accident, so I knew that I’d be able to safely walk on the sand; but it was still a nice workout for me.  Everyone else seemed to have a pretty solid time as well; we walked close to 5 miles on that sand, back and forth and around through the waves.
The evening took a classy turn with dinner, taking a nice change in pace from having sandy beach food for lunch to getting dressed up and having a fancy dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Columbia River.
Saturday started with a good breakfast too, but this time we made it ourselves, as a way to start the morning off slowly before doing… even more walking!  Specifically, two trails across the river on the Washington side, called Catherine Creek and Coyote Wall.
Catherine Creek turned out to be a bit of an easy stroll… in fact, it was fully paved and barely over a mile long.  It was pretty though, and gave us some amazing views and photo ops, which made up for the less-than-extreme workout that we got.  Coyote wall, on the other hand, kicked us back after just under a mile.  It was noticeably more intense, and a lot more rugged, and had some pretty significant elevation gain… at least for someone just learning how to walk again.  I mean, Ollie could have sprinted it in roughly 20min, if we’d let her, but…
Since it had gotten pretty hot by then, we made a bee-line for the waterfront.  We’d made plans for dinner with Sarah’s cousins, but still had a few hours to kill before we were slated to be at their house… so we relaxed.  Had some pizza, walked along the water, watched a wind surfing competition (Hood River, right?), and even took a quick nap at the house.
Then Enchiladas!  Enchiladas for dinner, with Quesadilla and salsa and beers, hanging out with Jeff & Maggie and family.  Even got a game of Gubs, in… which is clearly the key part to any evening.
Sunday!  A slightly sad day, since it’s the last one that Bill and Greta would be in town, but we made do by having a pretty excellent day of adventure and sightseeing.
And by sightseeing, I obviously mean more walking around, and a trip down to Parkdale to eat pulled pork and get amazing views of the mountains!
Walking around was a hike down Indian Creek trail – I thought I’d been down to the end of it, but Sarah led us down a turn I hadn’t noticed before, which led to a whole new leg of the trail!  Then out to Apple Valley BBQ, another place I hadn’t been to before… do you ever notice that you never really explore your home town, until people come to visit?  It’s kind of crazy, but also makes a bit of sense.  Especially this time: this would be the last time Bill and Greta would visit us in Hood River (probably, since my contract is almost up), so we had to get all the adventure in now, while we could.
The rest of the evenings was relaxation O’clock – Halibut steaks on the grill, watching Moana, and stretching out on the back porch while the sun lasted.