Road to Recovery - Phase 1:

The first follow-up after consultation was PAT - Pre Admission Testing.
It took me around 4-5 hours for the whole process.

They briefed me about anaesthasia and the the whole opetation process. They questioned me abt drug allurgys, past sickness, etc.

They had my height n weight checked. ERgh! Blood pressure checked too. I was supposed to go for a blood test but the surgeon said I didnt have to coz Im still young. Hrmm I wonder why young people dont need the blood test.

The most interesting test was to measure how loose my left ligament was. They had this machine called Arthrometer. I was fascinated about the machine. REally2.





Personally I think they shouldve used this instead of physical assesment waaaay before even MRI. Physical assesment is kinda funny I think coz the doctor has to sit on my feet n keep pulling the lower leg to feel the "looseness". It looks funny coz it seems like the doc is trying hard to break my limb away. They had to do it for each visit, despite MRI has already proven I have a torn ACL.

The machine works in a way that a force level is exerted, and then the machine will measure the degree of separation between the lower leg and the upper leg. If the separation is high, it means the knee is loose.

The control is of course, my perfect healthy right leg. For the same level of force, she will test both legs and the degree of separation is compared.

For a force number of 15, my right knee moved 2 degree and my left moved 11 degree. For a force number of 30, my right knee moved 5 degree and the left moved 18 degree!
The doctor was shaking her head and telling me how terrible my left knee is, and thus, really encouraged me to go on with the ACL recostruction.

Next was the muscle test. They brought me to physio rehab centre. It was really embarrasing coz i got a male therapist. He had to make me kick, jump, squad, etc to check my legs muscles' strength. Oh pls pls pls i hope to get me a female therapist next time round.

Over at the centre, I saw others who were exercising their legs. I saw scars on their knee. For that instant moment, im sure all of them had the same case as me.

I saw this girl. She's young. She was also exercising her leg. I could tell perhaps she was already there for months after operation. Coz her legs looked fine doing all the work-out, except for the scars that were still clearly visible. I smiled at her but she looked away looking sad.

I couldnt help but to wonder why. Will everyone after operation feel sad n down? Sad for their current unstable condition? Coz I have a feeling I will.

Im sure I will feel very upset with my leg.