20th Update – The Sixth Month

26th week after Knee ACI

Tomorrow marked the sixth month since my knee operation. I can walk quite steadily; even climbing a few flights of stair is now manageable, although I still use a walking stick for balance. There is no point taking any risk to strain the knee, now that I’ve come so far. I saw my Orthopaedic doctor last week – he was happy with my progress. He asked me to persevere with the weekly physiotherapy sessions for another month or two, if I can afford the time, thereafter, fortnightly. He made appointment for me to undergo another MRI in early Feb next year to check on the progress of the knee cartilage healing. If everything goes well, perhaps I can start my first jogging session after another 3 or 4 months. He gave me another 3 months’ supply of glucosamine to take. At the physiotherapy session, I can now stay almost 30 sec on the balance board. I’ve also started on a new machine – the hip-thigh abductor to strengthen the upper thigh and hip muscles.

My mother returned home after staying 5 days at SGH as the blood circulation on her left foot had improved. However, on yesterday afternoon, she suddenly felt shortness in breath with rapid heart beats. She was rushed to NUH A&E Dept. Doctor said her ECG was abnormal and suspected that she may have a heart-attack, a silent form of heart attack, as she did not feel any chest pain or discomfort. She would have to be warded in the Intensive Coronary Care Unit for 3 to 5 days. Just visited her in the evening, she appeared better after doctor gave her several injections into her stomach. For those who want to know more about heart attack, here are some links:

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_WhatIs.html

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime/index.htm

http://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/heart-disease-heart-attacks

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-attack/DS00094

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartattack.html

http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/articles/article.aspx?articleId=187

http://www.arrhythmia.com.sg/article01.htm

19th Update – Learning to Balance

24th week after Knee ACI

Continued with my weekly physiotherapy at NUH Rehab Centre. This coming Saturday’s session would be my 20th. I’ve made fairly good progress so far. I can walk quite steadily, but to prevent fall on uneven ground and steps, I still need a walking stick. I’ve continued to make steady progress in my exercise routine and have reached level 8 on most of the machines, such as cycling, leg press & leg curl. I’ve also reached 400 strokes on the rowing machine. The physio also introduced a balance board and asked me to stand on it for as long as possible without tipping the board. I’ve seen others do it without much problem, but I could hardly last 10 sec before loosing my balance. To balance, you need to get all the leg muscles working together. Surprisingly, it was quite tiring to do this.

My mother returned home from St Lukes Hospital for a week but was re-admitted to hospital for blood circulation blockage in her left foot. She was ambulating around her room on Sunday night when she suddenly felt giddy and lost feeling in her leg. I checked and found her blood pressure high and her left foot turned bluish. We immediately rushed her to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) and she was admitted to the ward. Doctor gave her blood thinning injections into her stomach and her condition improved. She has been seeing a specialist at SGH for her leg problem and the doctor has previously given us a letter to watch out for this symptom. So, I’ve resumed ‘running’ around, visiting hospitals again, sigh!