The end of the hospital stint.

One month of hospitalization is finally at an end.

My rehab is on track and even a little ahead of schedule. I have regained about 40-50% of strength in my bad leg, have a range of motion (bending) of 30° to 115°…of course there is pain and discomfort but it has lessened over time and as my leg gets stronger the pain subsides bit by bit.

I am able to climb stairs, remain in a seated position for an hour or so before the swelling gets bad, walk with one crutch (hoping to change to a walking stick) whilst putting 60% of my body weight on my bad leg and am able to do some basic exercises to help strengthen the muscles (and hopefully regain some semblance of muscle mass…..leg is well skinny!!).

I am getting dis-charged this Saturday and will be starting rehab at a clinic near my home from next week. I still don’t know how many times a week I will be doing rehab, that is up to the rehab doctor, but I hope  it will be 3 to 4 times a week. The sooner my knee repairs, the sooner I can start sports rehab which will help prepare my leg, and body, for my return to karate.

I will resume teaching from May this year, it will be a purely verbal and upper body explanation/teaching role, but my personal training will have to wait until I get the ok from my rehab doctor. Unlike my past injuries, where I went back to training while still injured, I will definitely wait for my doctor’s ok because I NEVER want to experience an injury like this EVER again!

In my overall hospital stay I lost an initial 15kg (first two weeks) from the sever allergy to medication and over the past two weeks have gained 7kg (it probably would have been more, but there was/is a sever lack of meat/protein foods in Japanese hospital meals.). The initial 15kgs was probably 10kg worth of muscle mass which I am working on getting back. (The tummy didn’t shrink as much as I would like but it shrank so there’s a win!)  

This is the last post of my hospital stay.

The next chapter will be about rehabilitation and teaching.

Part one of three is almost done....

Only a few days left and I can finally check-out of hospital.

My rehabilitation has been going well. I have lost 10kg but I have started to regain my muscle mass and my control and muscle-function in my bad leg is slowly returning.

I am able to walk on crutches whilst putting 30-60% of body weight on my bad leg. The target is to be able to put 60% and only use one crutch to support myself. I think with my current progress, I should be able to achieve this by Friday.

The swelling has mostly subsided, there is still some yellowing around my knee and a little swelling/stiffness around the inside calf muscle area.

I was given the ok to start resuming upper body training and strength training. The lay-off of my training is physically noticeable, that and the lack of protein and dairy in Japanese hospital food has affected the rate my muscles are returning.

The hospital-stint is almost over, next comes the challenge of rehabilitation. Keeping to a regular training regime without karate will be a mental challenge more-so than a physical one. But one that I hope to overcome and conquer.

My karate is waiting for me to return….and I intend to return with avengance!

3 Weeks done and dusted....

Well it’s been 3 whole weeks of good, bad, depressing and exhilarating hospitalization.

If all goes according to plan and there are no more problems, I should be outta here by next weekend! Rehab is progressing nicely, I am able to walk with crutches while applying 30% weight on my bad leg. I am having rehab everyday now, except weekends, and am able to do stretches etc. on my own as long as I keep it within reason and without pain.

My wheelchair life is over, living on crutches now. AND I am able to, finally, shower everyday!! Muscle density is still a bit of a problem, my rehab doctor is using muscle defribulators to help enhance muscle rebuilding whilst performing usual rehab exercises.

I have lost a total of 15kg in these past 3 weeks, mostly muscle mass, but the tummy has shrunk a bit so I am happy about that! I am allowed to start upper body training now, in my own time, so I am currently working on rebuilding my upper body muscle mass and strength in the afternoons. My mornings are rehab so have been asked NOT to train in the mornings.

I have become quite friendly with Tsutomu Kamohara Kancho (see previous post) and spend a good part of my free time in the afternoon talking, discussing and “geeking out” over various karate topics and differences between Japanese, Australian and European styles of training and mentalities toward martial arts. He is extremely friendly and easy to talk to, never ever does the “politics” of styles/organisations/grades ever come into conversation.

I have attached pictures of my knee as it is now, so please excuse the “white” leg! 

Day 17….Progress and Co-incidence.

Today is the best I have felt since checking into hospital today.

All allergies are taken care of, still have a sore lower back but this is taken care of by applying a heat-pack, have moved on to a standard wheel-chair instead of the one-leg stuck out chair and I have started walking rehabilitation.

I am able to bend my knee to a full 100° (105° if warmed up), still have bruising around the ankle area but this is normal. Apparently, the blood from post-op moves down the leg, settling around the ankle while hardening and bruising. It slowly dissipates over a few weeks.

Stitches have been removed, I forgot to take my phone/camera when they were removed, so photos will follow at a later date.

Swelling has almost subsided, still have a slight yellow/pink swirly colouration on my calf and when I lower my leg to a normal sitting position, my foot and lower calf swells slightly. This too will decrease over the next week….so I am told.

Now that I have all the allergies and problems under control I can get back to building my upper body mass back to where I was pre-op. I have been told to not push too hard, pilates style training is ok. Planking, hand strengthening, forearm training, back training…..basically anything from the torso up is fine, lower than that has to checked and if ok, proceed with caution so as not to impede an/or cause any secondary damage to my leg.

Am limited to stretching and “isolated” muscle training on my legs, this training has to be overseen by the rehab doctor and not to be done outside rehab unless given the ok.

I can finally see the end of my hospitalization and being able to return home.

On an unrelated note, I was making a coffee in the common room and was drawn into a conversation with a slightly older gentleman over my “jersey” (for those non-japanese accustomed, my Jacket). I was wearing my Australian Bugeido Karate jersey. He introduced himself as Tsutomu Kamohara, a Karate instructor living in France. He came to Hiroshima University Hospital to undergo complete knee reconstruction (cartilage, meniscus, tendons etc.) because they wouldn’t perform the surgery all-in-one in France. We talked about the stress karate places on knees etc. (especially Shotokan) and rehab. He even invited me to seek him out, should I ever travel to France for a holiday.
Ok, not so strange….until I “Googled” him….he is the 9^th Dan Kancho of the World Shito-ryu Shukokai Karate Union!!!

The world is large as is the number of karate-ka….but no matter how large the karate world is and regardless of style, karate-ka are “family” of sorts and we should strive to behave as such.

The blues......

So it has been 2 weeks since my hospitalization and the blues have slowly started to creep in.

Being stuck in a bed, in pain and having restricted movement for this long is a first for me. But, another reason is being away from my family.

According to my rehabilitation doctor I am on track with my rehab, however, I feel as though I should be progressing more. My body mass has severally decreased….worked hard to build myself physically and now it’s almost back to square one.

On to some good news, my rash has almost gone. Just a discolouration left, no more itchiness. My swollen calf has decreased in size dramatically, the redness has almost all gone but leg is still a funky yellow colour, bruising and pain around the ankle (which is supposed to happen….apparently) has appeared and my brace now fits correctly allowing better range of motion.

I am able to bend my knee to a full 80° (85° with a warm-up), perform unassisted leg raises and side leg raises and daily activities are becoming increasingly easier to perform.

Still no weight bearing, walking or actual usage of my repaired leg as yet (this is part of my cause of the blues I think) and below my knee cap, where the staples holing the ligament in place are, and the outside of my knee is still somewhat numb.

I am thankfully everyday for the positive words (beit by mail, phone call or in person) of encouragement and support of my beautiful wife. If not for her, hospital life would be unbearable.

My return to karate, teaching or training, seems soo far off at times. 8 to 12 months from this bed seems like a lifetime away…once I return to daily life outside of hospital, I am sure it will pass in no time.