Learning to walk again

A little less than two weeks later, I'm guessing some people are probably wondering what ever happened to me after I got hurt. If not, well, just don't tell me, so then I'll think you have been.
I was in my giant, hideous blue cast for about a week, but after about 5 days I stopped using crutches and was putting some pressure on my left leg. Putting pressure on it wasn't painful, but I was starting to get restless from my giant cast. I decided to go to the doctor early to see if they could give me a smaller brace. My wish was granted the next day, and my other brace was a lot smaller. The nurse who gave me my brace asked if I would be interested in seeing the doctor earlier than my scheduled appointment. Of course, I said yes. I ended up getting to meet with my doctor the next day, and she checked my knee thoroughly. The main thing I was scared of was bending my knee. I had tried once, and didn't get very far before excruciating pain hit.  Of course, the first thing my doctor did was try to bend my knee. That was possibly scarier than my whole ER experience right after the injury happened. The fact that I was on a high dose of Percocet in the ER, so everything seemed fine, is beside the point. The doctor was able to bend my knee to more than a 90 degree angle, which I was shocked at. After checking to make sure I got my knee back into place correctly after dislocating it, she said she thinks I sprained my MCL, which is a large ligament on the right side of my knee. She said all my other ligaments and tendons around my knee are super strong, which is very encouraging to hear. The main problem, however, she thinks is in my meniscus, which is right under my knee cap itself. This is something that really cannot be fixed or healed over time like my MCL. This means that the increased risk of re-injuring my knee will always be there, unless I get surgery done.
After all of this news, the doctor said she no longer wanted me to use the brace at all, unless I found it necessary. She said I need to be using my leg normally, and that what has been injured is done, and will heal in time. I go back on May 4 for another follow up appointment, which she might then tell me to proceed with physical therapy or something, depending on how well I have been recovering this week.
In the past two days, it has been quite the adventure trying to learn to walk again. After having my knee/leg completely immobile for ten days, it was a little stiff. It also feels very vulnerable and at risk, so that stresses me out. I can pretty much walk normally now with only occasional pain. There is still swelling, but I am taking noninflammatory for it. I still can't do stairs very well, especially down; it is way too painful. I'm working on walking up stairs today, and will see if I can do that well in the next couple days. It's just little steps each day in this long recovery process. Going up stairs should be something I can get the hang of somewhat quickly, but going down might be a while.
Again, I cannot thank everyone enough for all of their prayers, support, and encouragement over the past couple weeks. God has been teaching me SO much through this difficult adventure.

Now  that we have all that health stuff taken care of, I'll post again soon with everything else that God has been doing in my life. Job beginnings, school coming to an end, friendships, provisions, hard times, and things to be thankful for.

For the Love of Sports...

If you know me, you know I pretty much live for being active. I take advantage of any and every opportunity I get to go outside, run around, play frisbee, volleyball, or any other active sport. This month, it's been indoor soccer. I joined my buddy's intramural team, and though I wasn't too into it the first game, I ended up really enjoying it. Our team did quite well, and was undefeated going in to the championship game last night. 

Being a girl who grew up with all boy cousins and lots of brothers, I don't like to be treated like a girl when it comes to sports. I want to be good and capable. (Yes, I can be competitive sometimes :P) Anyway. Last night those things kinda shined through and showed me the hazard side to this athletic part of my personality. During the last five minutes or so of our championship game, I was trying to get the soccer ball away from an opponent, and my leg moved a little under his in the process. He didn't know my leg was there, and abruptly moved his leg. Consequently, my leg went with his, dislocating my left knee super bad. I immediately straightened it, but was in serious pain. I grabbed my knee right away and shouted that it had dislocated. My friend Jarred was instantly at my side, picking me up off the court. Again, for those of you who know me, I have a pretty high pain tolerance, and hardly ever cry. The fact that I was immediately in a lot of pain, immobile, and crying, said a lot. I got some ice and advil, but the pain was still pretty severe. This had happened before to my right knee, but once I popped it back into place, I was good to go. The fact that I was still in so much pain told me that this was a lot worse. Jarred and Alec helped me down from the gym to my dorm, where Alisa and Eleanor were waiting for me. I made it to my room, but soon knew I needed to go to the ER. My RA Jen and Alisa sacrificed their night to take me. 

We got to the ER and the nurse could immediately tell I was in a lot of pain. She gave me "four stars", which I don't know what that means exactly, but it resulted in me getting back and cared for immediately. After some strong pain meds, making new friends with all the nurses and doctors I met, and a few X-rays, they told me I had not torn any major ligaments, or fractured any bones. I am extremely lucky this was the case. Nevertheless, I'm still injured badly. I have a giant, hideous leg stabilizer and crutches. I will hopefully just be on the crutches for a few days, and then slowly be able to hobble around on my own. It is too early to tell exactly what is stretched, damaged, or sprained right now. I go to a follow up appointment on May 4 when they will be able to hopefully tell me the answer to that mystery, and tell me what the next step in the healing process is, whether physical therapy, or something different. 

In the last 20 hours, I have felt more loved and blessed and cared for than I ever could have imagined. Alec and Aaron brought me a Slurpee and spend some time with me in the ER last night, which I really appreciated. Alisa and Jen stayed up late with me, and everyone else in my hall is constantly checking up on me. I am so blessed and thankful for all my friends who have showed so much love and taken such good care of me. Hannah taking me to get my prescription today, Alec taking me to the doctor, all the encouragement cards and candies...prayers, phone calls and texts. 

So now, for all of you who have heard about my injury, seen my hideous brace and crutches, or seen a comment on Facebook, you now know my epic battle story. 

Please continue to pray that I heal quickly and that nothing major is wrong; that it will heal quickly. Also that I will be willing to accept the fact that I need to take it easy, and that I can't be the independent person I naturally am. That it's okay to let people help and take care of me. =)

Today, I saw a quote on my friends phone that said, "I'm not telling you it is going to be easy, I'm telling you it's going to be worth it." Hopefully, somehow that is true for me in this situation. I'll be openly trying to find out what God is/will teach me through all this.