About Day 1 PT, 5 days post ACL reconstruction & meniscus repair

As of today, I am at day 6 after ACL reconstructive surgery. I injured my knee December 20th, 2013. My new ACL is a patella tendon autograft. Its considered the gold standard...I guess we will see after I start kicking again.
Here are some before and after photos of what is going on inside my knee (Figure 1). A picture of my leg is also posted (Figure 2).

Figure 1. Before and after "intraOperative" photos.

Figure 2. Right knee.

My first PT session was yesterday January 29th, 2014. The PT started me off laying down on my back doing heel slides and straight leg raises. Sat up and let my leg dangle at a 90 degree angle. Last thing was laying face down, knees hanging down off the table. In that position I hooked my left (good leg) around my right leg and slowly did a hamstring curl.

The hardest part about doing all of it is that the knee feels like its going to implode or explode. The surgeon and PT say that, that is normal and the knee is actually going to be alright. Its all mental.

I hate doing leg raises. I feel like I cant. I hate feeling like I CAN'T do something more so I will try as hard as possible to raise it until I CAN. I can feel my knee cap tighten up and hurt. It feels like its going to break. But I can get my leg up if I put everything Ive got into it. Its like that moment in Kill Bill when The Bride is paralyzed and is telling herself out loud to wiggle her big toe...http://youtu.be/vHl24Kjp5Vs.

If the surgeon and the PT are telling me that I can then its all in my damn head. So today, and everyday, until my next PT appointment, I am going to get that damn leg raising.

First post

I haven't kept a blog in years. Looking back, the one thing I should have been more careful documenting was my muay thai training. I always tell new students that they should record their progress. After nearly 4 years of training, I'll start now.

I thought last year was the hardest year because I had to slow down training for nearly 4 months due to a concussion and a relapse. Not moving and not developing is living death to me so even on days when I felt like my head was going to explode, I'll continue pushing.

So, I found out yesterday that I tore my acl and my meniscus. The injury happened before christmas. I'm going to get everything reconstructed and its going to take several months to get back to full training. I probably wont be able to compete until next year. Unlike the people I work with, close friends, my mom, & maybe even the people I train with, I do not see this as a sign to quit and try a different "hobby". I love training to be the best at what I do and I see the setback as another challenge to reach my goals.

I saw this quote somewhere: "Giving up on your goal because of one setback is like slashing your other three tires because you got a flat." Like, one of my favorite blogger & muay thai fighter would say, "Dont act like a b#tch" -Ross. If one part of the body cant function 100% in training, then develop the other damn parts! I used to question this before because people always look at me at the gym and think Im crazy for training with injuries. When I saw pictures of my favorite fighter Miriam Nakamoto training after her surgery, I knew for sure that always moving forward is the right thing to do...and all these other people are wrong!

The best thing someone told me yesterday was that, "Things can only slow you down. Nothing can stop you but you." Im ready for another challenge and Ill embrace the pain and obstacles yet to come.