So it's been a while since I've written a post, Brooke has written the last three I think and I've enjoyed reading what she has to say about Aly and looking at all the pictures of her crafts that I've seen her make these past few weeks. But this post is more about what's been going on in our lives the last 2 weeks or so. Firstly I had ACL surgery last Friday, August 16th. For those of you who don't know what ACL surgery is, Wikipedia does a good job at explaining that here. The decision to have ACL reconstruction done was not an overnight thing, I have been thinking about doing this for many years, and I've lived with a torn ACL for about 7 years. Finally this year with the reality of becoming a parent at the cusp we decided that it would be best to do this surgery before Aly was born because it would be too difficult afterward. The entire week leading up to the surgery I was incredibly nervous and the same thing the day of. I was nervous about a lot of things, mostly about the post op period, which has proven to be very tough. However Brooke has been such an amazing wife and has taken such good care of me these last 10 days that I don't know how I'll ever repay her care and love and kindness. I'm just going to break down the days in a few sentences.

Here's a picture of me right before surgery.

At this point I've already been hooked up to an IV but haven't been given any drugs yet and though my face tells a different story, I am quite nervous, shaking, teeth chattering nervous. Brooke however told me that I had nothing to worry about and that everything was going to be ok, the doc also chimed in and said I had nothing to worry about so long as they weren't nervous. The last thing I remember after this picture was Brooke leaving, them laying me down and putting me on oxygen and then I was awake, leg braced feeling a bit groggy and getting fed crackers and water. Brooke later told me that before that memory I had already spoken to quite a number of people, including my surgeon, my parents, and brother but I have no recollection of this whatsoever. I was allowed to go home maybe 45 minutes after waking up. The day of wasn't too bad, I had a femoral nerve block that helped with the pain and had lots of people come visit me all day which was nice to have the company. Day two was rough, I woke up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain and of course Brooke was up with me, I was up every hour either in pain or in need of help to use the bathroom. I spent most of day two and three in a pretty intense amount of pain. Day four was better but at this point I still wasn't getting much sleep, on the fourth day I had my first post op visit with Dr. Schell, my surgeon. He took the front stitches out and covered them with Steri-strips (which have since fallen off). He said my knee looked good and the swelling was going down pretty well. Day six I attempted to sleep in my bed with no avail and ended back on the couch and had a pretty restless night as well, however the pain by this point had decreased greatly. Day six I went to see the physical therapist for the first time, and almost died of exhaustion on my way there (apparently you're not suppose to use only your upper body when using crutches). The session lasted about 45 minutes and she gave me some exercises to do and told me I needed to start putting weight on my leg, and so I did, and it took me 30 minutes to walk a block and a half. This is perhaps the most frustrating thing in the world to me. To not have the full use of my leg and to walk at a normal pace. I thank God that I have two working legs normally and can't wait to get back to my normal self. During the whole walk back, Brooke was so encouraging and loving and motivating as she has been through this entire process. She has truly shown me some of the greatest love I've ever been witness to. She has put herself last and has selflessly served me day and night, whether she is tired or not. She has been such a great picture of the Gospel this week that it blows my mind. The Proverbs say, "He who finds a good wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD." I can honestly say, without a doubt, that I have found a good wife and thank God for her every single day of my life. This experience has brought us closer and has shown me what the love of my wife is capable of. So I sit here writing this 10 days post op still in some minor pain and discomfort but happy that I know my wife will always be here to help me when I can't do things on my own. No wonder a marriage is a picture of Christ and the church. Christ came and redeemed us when we were helpless.

-Ron

ACL Surgery