4.19.04 [5:01pm] :-: futbol is over for the spring, so today we got to run. we did 4 quads today (i think that is 2.5 - 3 miles) and the goal was 25 minutes. I got there late, and decided to try a lap without my brace on, so that first lap went well. i had some slight discomfort on the medial side of my knee but nothing serious (i ran the lap in 5:13). Like i said it was nothing serious and i finished in 22:06. so i was pleased with that. then i about died after the run because i'm so out of shape running wise, but o well, well be doing it all week.
3.5.04 [5:50pm] :-: went to see doctor holt today and got cleared to play!!! So now i'm legal!
3.4.04 [10:50pm] :-: got a custom derotatoin brace for my right knee.. now i'm set as the bionic man. i am completely indestructalbe with both braces on, nothing can break me now. HAHA HAHAHAHAH A (evil laugh).
2.25.04 [11:00pm] :-: ran the 6 mile run in 39:32.. beating the 40 minute limit, so now i have the possibility of playing in the spring. Then we had a recruit come in, so flick let me get in goal, which was awesome, thanks flick! It wasnt the best looking goalkeeping, but it sure did feel good.
1.30.04 [5:00pm] :-: Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen. So I did the cybex again, scorred over 2000 higher today with my left quad than yesterday around 44000. So i needed to get 39690. Then I worked my right leg, and scored a 40588!!! As soon as i saw the 4 i said, "Hell yeah, Thanks be to God!" now on monday i get to touch the soccer ball, and i get to do some lateral stuff. Flick told me to bring my tennis shoes and my boots, so we may go out to the field.. which would be really really cool. Then after therapy (so i worked as hard as i could and completly exhausted my legs) Then i went to run with the team.. someone told me that they ran 54 laps around the gym in the 30 min straight run that we did. I stayed with them for the first 20 or 25 minutes, but then coach told them to speed up to 80%.. and i dropped out rapidly, dontcha wonder why. So today has been a wonderful day! Thanks be to God for the all that he has given.. The Lord giveth, the Lord taketh, blessed be the Lord!
1.29.04 [6:00pm] :-: Ok, so I got snowed in this weekend at home.. or rather the mountains got snowed/iced over so we couldn't drive back to school. anyway today I did the cybex machine again, and guess what?!?!... ... ... I scored a 42000 on my left quad (3500 more than on Friday), and scored a 37500 on my right quad (3200 more than on Friday) but guess what, I needed to score a 38101 on my right quad.. so I think the term UNLUCKY applies. I’ll get it tomorrow or on Monday, and all will be good. And in case you were wondering, yes God does have a sense of humor.
1.23.04 [10:00pm] :-: I missed getting to kick a soccer ball today by 467 nektons of force. I was doing cybex, and I needed 35000, I got 34400something. So I will try again on Monday, and will get it!
1.22.04 [12:02am] :-: Lately I’ve been running some with the team, which has been about 95-98% pain free, which is really encouraging. and the TEC weekend was great, the knee did fine, I did some jogging on the trails there in an effort to get stuff in place at the right time. Also have been doing therapy and cybex mostly every day for at least an hour, then add on lifting weights for an hour every day or so, so its been good.
1.14.04 [9:30pm] :-: so in the past week I’ve started jogging and its been pain free for the most part. Today I got to run with the team which was fun, but I did too much and now my knee is sore, but o well. Flick also made me do cybex twice on my right leg, which sucked but will be good in the end. So hopefully I’ll be back on the field sometime soon.. 1.5-2 months God willing. have a blessed new year.
12.25.03 [9:07pm] :-: To you this day in the city of David is born a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Not born to everyone but you, but He is born to YOU, yes YOU. and ya know what. only in this Child is peace and salvation found. take heart and know that you are loved so much that God would enter the confines of a human body (look how fragile it is, take a bad step you tear an acl) so that He would fully know our life. Then God suffered death at my hands because He loved me and wanted for there to be a way for me to be in his presence. Not some way that was impossible, because all I am required to do is to believe that this Child is God and that He loves me for me regardless of what the world thinks. So I remind you again to remember that even when everything is wrong and acls are tearing, remember that to YOU is born this day the Savior which is Christ the Lord
12.22.03 [10:30pm] :-: went to see the doc today, and got a wonderful report. both acls are intact, meniscuses are as good as they can be, no swelling in the right knee. Am cleared for jogging/running but am advised not to run too much because the pounding on my knees isn’t good. Am advised to use the exercise bike, the pool, or the elliptical machine for running junk. also got a prescription for a brace for my right knee!!
12.15.03 [11:50pm] :-: In the morning I slipped on the wet/icy ramp outside my dorm.. luckily I fell/slipped on my left leg. Then at therapy flick told me to go jog up and down the hall. I thought he was kidding, he told me otherwise. Then I looked to mike, asking him if flick was messing with me or what. mike told me flick was not kidding. Then I kinda stood there in disbelief for a few moments, wondering if I really should believe flick and mike. so I asked flick again another time just to be sure and he told me to go jog around the gym, making big ugly circles for 10 minutes. so I went and jogged for 10 minutes, although it took me a while to get up there, and to stretch and all. unfortunately I was without my brace and my knee hurt really bad at first, then it calmed down a bit. then afterwards it hurt bad again for the rest of the night, but I think its getting to feel a bit better. anyway, that was a lot of fun!
12.9.03 [1:23am] :-: So shoot me, I haven’t updated this in a while. Yesterday I did the cybex text. I think my right knee did really well, I’m not so sure for my left knee. Whenever I bring it to full extension, or close to it, it pops a time or two because of the bones rotating over the two respected meniscuses. So flick and I are going to talk over those results tomorrow and I’ll let yall know what happens. BUT IN JANUARY I GET TO START RUNNING!!! when that happens, I’m sure there will be more updates.. right. anyway, I’m gonna work on getting some more general info about what kind of mechanisms can tear ACL(s) and the like, as well as info about what to expect if you do tear an ACL, such as swelling, pain, pre-op therapy, what to expect from surgery, what to expect from post-op, and therapy. got any questions, please e-mail me. later.
11.28.03 [1:24am] :-: No news is good news, or I think that's how the saying goes. so basically I’ve been doing therapy 5 days a week at school. I've been doing the cybex workout 3/5 days, and the regular routine on the other two days. I'm on pace to have over 75 visits to therapy this semester alone.. totaling around 150 hours. I'm also supposed to be working on getting out of my brace, so I may be out of it next week some time for a day or two, it just depends on how I feel and all. I don’t think there is anything else to report, but I’m still convinced that something is wrong with the repaired meniscus even though everyone tells me that it is fine. Only time, or a scope, will tell and I may get to start doing some volleys in therapy when I get back to school! and then get to start jogging and running when I come back from Christmas break!!! Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever!
11.16.03 [3:48pm] :-: I hate writing papers for English. anyway, only I, I guess, would put on both of my braces for fun. Earlier today, or last night, one of the two, I was wanting soooooo very badly to get to run, or jog, or something. then I had a nice conversation with myself about how that will come with time, and how this is going on for a reason even though I cant see the full scope of it. I guess I concluded that this time of not being able to play or do much will enrich the rest of my life more completely as I will have a much greater appreciation for being able to run, or play soccer, or just walking. Which I should be more grateful for at this point, that I’m able to walk (also without the brace). So, I’ll stop complaining because there is nothing to complain about, only things to look foreword to. *this is a side note.. the RED BOOK is really strange... if you are Lutheran, you'll understand what I’m talking about*. later.
11.14.03 [11:54pm] :-: TODAY IS THE ONE YEAR POST-OP ON MY LEFT KNEE!!! I AM SO EXCITED. I just figured it out at the pool boys concert tonight, so that was cool. O, by the way, the pool boys rock. the concert wasn’t so hot b/c there were a bunch of annoying middle schoolers at the church for a lock-in who were talking and running around throughout the entire thing. but the guys in the band were great guys. o, and this morning I didn’t wake up till 9:30.. class starts at 9:20.. o well, I didn’t miss anything. Then at therapy I got to do the cybex machine again, but flick upped the reps. I also practiced walking without my brace again, which was really fun, and then I also took the 10 degrees stop out of my brace so that I can work on fully extending my leg when I walk. Hey, its late... well early.. and I need to go to bed. later.
11.12.03 [1:14pm] :-: today I got to walk around for a while without my brace on. And flick told me that I don’t need to wear it anymore. in therapy, I did the same set as usual. tomorrow I get to do cybex as usual. later.
11.11.03 [2:39pm] :-: hey yall sry I haven’t updated this in about a week or so. So in therapy I’ve been using the cybex machine about every other day for the past two weeks. The machine has you sit in a chair, then your leg is strapped to this lever and you have to move it against varying levels of resistance. The motions are quick pushing and pulling motions this way you build more muscle endurance. As it is right now I’m really weak and I tire easily.. flick says that I’m at the level of a 5 yr old boy. So hopefully in a few weeks I’ll be to the teenage girl level. Other than that things seem to be going well. Although I have had some episodes of my knee locking out on me.. well just of a bunch of pressure in my knee.. this has happened on several occasions mainly when I get my knee to full extension and put pressure on it. Brady said that this is probably not serious and most likely caused by scar tissue. So that’s good news for me. I’m off to do some soccer stuff. later.
11.05.03 [12:24pm] :-: 6:50 is really early in the morning.. especially when you don’t go to bed till 1am. O well, I guess that if that is the price of therapy, I should be glad. Today I did my regular routine again, and got to lift weights in the weight room. No cybex today, I think flick said I get to use it at most every other day. On the school front, I kinda got my schedule together.. taking 18 hours.. this should be interesting.. also took a world civ test which I think I did well on, and also got back my Old testament history test which I ended up getting a 91 on, so I not disappointed about that, but not pleased either, but since I didn’t know the material as well as I should of. o well. hey, I get to hang out with acf, betsy, and heather tomorrow so that will be loads of fun. later.
11.04.03 [11:50pm] :-: Just got back from Catawba. We lost in the first round of the SAC tournament 4-0.. Yeah we didn’t do so well. Regardless today I started using the cybex machine. I have used it before with my left knee, but that was just to do a test of my knee strength. You can use the machine to either test your strength, or to do a workout. Anyway, what it does is it registers how fast and hard you are pushing and pulling the arm that is strapped to your leg. then you can compare the relative strength between both of your legs.. except that is kinda difficult if both of your knees are screwed up, so I think they are gonna just have to use the average strength to access how strong my knee/leg is. Yep, so that’s that. have a great day.
10.27.03 [11:48pm] :-: The knee is ok, although I’m still very concerned at times about my medial meniscus. However if I were really concerned I would have had the doc look at it today. But I don’t have any trouble lifting weights, or doing exercises, or doing lunges (which are much easier for me now). So that’s the knee report. Since we last talked, we had a soccer game which we won, surprise, surprise. Then went home for a TEC team meeting, and worship, then came back. Also got to play a new game.. bowling with frozen fruit which is a great alternative to getting drunk on the weekends. O, I’ve also been playing around with the idea of double majoring, but that isn’t going to work out as I’ve got enough on my plate with one major and lots of extra fun classes, soccer, and therapy. later.
10.24.03 [12:39pm] :-: What have I been up to the past four days.. you may be asking yourself right now. Probably not. On Monday I started doing lunges 25 on each leg forewords and backwards. These hurt like crazy and set me back a day. My right knee became really sore and I had trouble walking up and down stairs for a day or two, most likely due to overuse. But now its better and I am rapidly advancing, and everything in the weight room is going well. So, the Luther Aquinas conference is in town, so I’m having a great time listening to some really smart clergy and lay folks talk about church unity. and then last night the student body rolled the LR campus because homecoming is this weekend. So, I’ll try to put some of those pics up here in a little bit. have a wonderful day.
10.20.03 [2:40am] :-: Had a special treat today! Betsy came up to worship at Mt. Olive, which was great. And basically the rest of my day has been spent working on my memory book for my wonderfully fun, most awesome grand class, LRC 101 honors :) well, actually I did go have dinner at Mt. Olive and got to play with robert for a little while and got to explore Mt. Olive a bit with him which was way cool. Then went to see the "House of Yes" which was put on by the LR acting group. Now I’ve got to write an article about it for the newspaper.. needless to say that article will rot beyond belief, regardless the show was great.. I mean, I thought the acting was great yet the actual content was kinda tripped out. talk about incest, love triangles, and murder. The characters in this play would have felt right at home on the Jerry Springer show. On the knee front, nothing new to report. It feels fine and is working for me thus far, and so I thank God for the ability to walk and to stand and to just do all kinds of stuff because I have two legs that work! later.
10.18.03 [12:20am] :-: Today, went to the gym, did the leg press (2x20) at 25ish lbs on my right leg only, and about 50lbs on my left leg only. Doing that twice.. once with feet || once with feet \ /. Then I did the hamstring curls. that is going fine.. (2x20) at 24lbs on my right leg, and 50ish on my left leg. At soccer today, I saw Jess, the awesome nurse from AFFIRM who took care of me :) Anyway, I’m getting up at 6:45ish for therapy at 7am before we leave for an away game. later.
10.15.03 [2:44pm] :-: Yesterday, to my surprise, we won our game against Beaumont Abby 2-1, and played a man down for 60 minutes. That’s about all that happened, other than some cool stuff, including getting to have lunch with Olivia, and dinner with betsy. I also got to drive across the mountains (I hate trucks and slow cars in the mts.) Now, for today. Had therapy, and in the afternoon I got to learn two new things in the weight room. I did the leg press machine, starting out with very little weight and focusing on using one leg at a time. There is no pain with that right now, however some clicking and weird feeling stuff in my knees.. so I’m going to make sure I bring my cd player and headphones.. so I need to get some smaller headphones or earbuds or something like that. (I smell a wal-mart trip coming on) Then I tried to do the leg curl machine, however I was unable to complete the exercises here because of some weird pulling/clicking/odd motion feeling in my right knee. It just didn’t feel right, and I didn’t like that. I'll try again tomorrow with flick there so that he can try to figure out what is going on. I may just have to suck it up and ignore it and it may go away as my knee/leg gets stronger. and now I have to work on an English paper because it is due tomorrow, and also because I don’t have soccer tonight. later.
10.13.03 [12:08am] :-: Wow, its been a long time since I’ve updated this. in the future, please yell at me if I don’t keep this up to date. Um.. since we last talked here are some major knee developments: 1. am now doing some balancing on a trampoline in therapy. 2. not sure at the moment, O, but I did go see doctor Holt today. He tested out both of my knees, was pleased with both, however slightly concerned with some of the swelling in my right knee however was not too concerned. He also gave me an ACL protocol to take to flick for his reading pleasure. I think I may try to rekey that in and put it on this site at some point in time, however that may be a bit illegal and I’d probably have to put some sort of safeguard up in front of it, and have some sort of extra big long legal disclaimer for it. This weekend I was back home, and had a great time. It was really really good to be home. Got to worship twice at SJLC! and got to listen to One Way play Rachel Kurtz's song "Invocation" and a song written by Betsy Ward, "Covered in the Dust" Then got to worship at the Tyson House, and got to listen to John Tirro play a new song that is in the works, which was amazing. So, this weekend was wonderful, but I cant wait to come home in November to get to spend time with more and other folks. later. stephen.
10.7.03 [12:15am] :-: Today, had another scary moment when my knee kinda locked out, kinda gave way, and I heard a pop. However I believe that my knee gave way because it is just an involuntary reaction of my body. Regardless, flick said that he thinks the pop was from my femur grinding on the back of my patella. I'm still walking around fine, a slight amount of pain, however it is manageable and not too bad. Yep, that is what is going on with my knee right now. If you want to know anything else that is going on in my life, holler at me, but I need to go to bed, I’ve got therapy bright and early in the morning. later.
10.5.03 [1:10am] :-: To recap the last 24ish hours.. or time since I last slept. Um, well before that yesterday we(the soccer team) found out that our game for Saturday was postponed because of a scheduling mix-up. We thought they were coming here, and they thought we were going there. Brilliant.. yeah. Then later on Friday night, I was told about the Habitat for Humanity thing that was going down on Saturday, and I thought, "what the heck, I’m not doing anything. And hey, I need service hours." So I agreed to come along. Then my alarm goes off at 6:30am, I wake up kinda, go back to sleep knowing that my cell phone alarm is going to go off in 2 minutes. 2 minutes turns into 20, and my cell alarm turns into my RA knocking on my door. (My RA, adam, is the one who told me about the Habitat thing, and was supposed to get me if I didn't get up). So, I go to Habitat for Humanity, work on a house. We were putting in dry wall, which was fun to a degree, but also sucked because the head guy who was working there had this "I'm high and mighty builder guy. You suck, you don’t do anything right. That is wrong, redo it." So that kinda sucked, but o well.. I didn’t pay him much attention, and I got some krispy kreme doughnuts out of it, and got to help some family have a house to live in. Then came back, and had lunch at Adam's frat's house, which was fun because there were some folks there, and one of the prof's and his family were there. Then I just kinda hung out there with them for a while, got to meet Jake and some other guys.. got to listen to some spontaneous songs.. adam and jake are very musically inclined with the guitar and banjo. Then left there around 4ish, came back to the room and did some history reading. I tried to distract myself with laundry, and working on TEC stuff, and did a wonderful job of it. Then adam, robin, isaac, and amy came by to get me, as we were going to "Hickory, Dickory, Doc" The best way I can describe this place is that it is like a chucky cheese, or celebration station... yeah. We were going to play laser-tag, but it was broken, so we didn’t (o, and there were a bunch of other folks there too). Then came back and watched "Dogma" which was great. And now I’m back in my room, getting ready to read for about 30 minutes, then go to sleep for about 7ish hours before getting up to go worship God at Mt. Olive. God is good all the time!
10.2.03 [10:08pm] :-: So, what have I done for the past few days.. I've been converting Oxygen to Carbon Dioxide. Started to ride the stationary bike a few days ago. Also my knee has been hurting severily off and on. At times, it is fine and there is no pain at all. Other times I am not even able to put weight on my right foot because of the pain.. although I am able to move slightly through the pain, but as you would expect, it hurts a whole bunch. So, that aside. On Wednesday the LR soccer team traveled to Carson Newman college and lost 5-2, but that’s not important. What is important is that I got to see my mom, my dad, jake, cindy, and andrew! So that was really a whole bunch of fun, and made my day wonderful. And today, I got the package in the mail from Lost and Found, including these cassettes: "Hengh", "This is Our Perspective", and "Our Third Album." So my day will really be made when I gain access to a cassette player which will allow me to listen to those cassettes, which will be loads of fun. And now I’m feverishly studying for an Old Testament test that I have tomorrow at some point in time. later. stephen.
9.29.03 [7:55pm] :-: Saturday/Sunday went up to Shana's house. We were going to go to the fair, but it rained so we all just stayed at her house. Then on sunday we went to St. John's Cherryville to worship. This little old lady was hitting on me and glenn, it was funny. So that was way fun. Then came back and went to mt. olive for dinner, then came back to the dorms. Went to sleep after a while. Today went to therapy, and got to do some new stuff. Added some stepping up onto boxes stuff, and some very mini squats added. It also got real cold here real fast, and I think I’m getting some sort of crud but o well. Yeah, so I’m hanging out, enjoying life and all the wonderful blessings God has given to me. have a wonderful day remembering just how much God loves you!
9.27.03 [2:19pm] :-: The Nickel Creek show was awesome!!! Front row seats.. HECK YEAH! So, after soccer yesterday I headed off to w-s to pick betsy up. I only had to make 2 U turns on that leg of the trip. Then we drove off to raleigh to get laura. We made about 5 U turns because I messed the directions up :) Imagine that. So, we finally got there. O, and from larua's dorm, I got to drive betsy's car to the show, which was fun.. then got to the show (we were late, and had missed the opening acts, but that didn’t matter.. we were at the NICKEL CREEK concert!!!) So, betsy is going crazy, barly able to walk a straight line. So, we find our seats.. O, did I mention they were in the front row? Yeah, I did didn’t it :) So we get there, and it is awesome. I don’t really know any of their songs, but dang, their fingers were flying. I was impressed, and awed. After the concert we went back to laura's dorm met some of her suitemates, and had some pizza. Then betsy and I drove back to w-s (I got to drive again!!) Got to w-s, and we didn’t know where the "male-jail" was, so we found some drunk people and asked them.. they showed us where it was.. well, the least drunk one did. The male jail was a lot better than what I had expected. I had expected a church basement, but in fact it was a small room with two bunk beds, and a bathroom w/ shower and all. So that was really nice. Then this morning, I drove back to hickory, and then got to work laying out the team uniforms.. missing one pair of shorts, which isn’t got at all, so hopefully he still has them, maybe not. O well. We are playing Wingate in about an hour and a half. Speaking of which I need to get going to see if anyone needs anything. O. Knee report. Last night it was hurting fairly bad. To a point where I did not even want to walk. But this morning it has been feeling a whole bunch better, and so far today have been waling all around campus looking for coach and for the pair of missing shorts. So I’ll let you know how it feels later on. later.
9.26.03 [2:21pm] :-: So, I thought I busted my knee yesterday when I hear it pop when I took a bad step while unbraced. Michael checked it out in the morning, and said there was nothing that he was concerned about. Flick checked it out when I went in for therapy at noon, and said the same thing. While both move about the same, he said that my acl had a firm end point. Also the tests he was doing for the meniscus stuff didn’t hurt at all, so he thinks that I just popped some scar tissue. So, no biggie there. SO, YEAH, toady was good. Today I walked to all my classes, and didn’t drive at all yet! This is the first day ever that I have done this, so yea, rah, yippeeeeeeee!! And after soccer today, I’m driving down to cary for the Nickel Creek concert, which is going to rock. Yep, LR really clears out on the weekend which sucks to a cretin degree, but is kinda nice. Gives you some quite time to do stuff and rest. later.
9.25.03 [10:43pm] :-: Just got back from listening to Billy Collins read a bunch of his poems. Started out kinda slow, but got better. Some were really funny. Anyway. So, today what did I do. Went to math class, we are now solving systems of equations, which I did as a sophomore, so I read a book for English during that class. Then went to a convo where this guy talked about how to deal with stress, and he incorporated martial arts stuff into it.. Very interactive, so that was cool, other than the fact that I didn’t get to finish reading my book. Then went to English, and had a quiz over the stuff I didn’t read, but I had read most of it, so I was ok. Then I came back to the dorm at some point, o, after soccer. Washed my brace, and had to let it air dry, so it wasn’t on my knee. So I was unbraced and took a kinda weird step, and heard and felt a pop in my knee. Not a ligament pop, but more like a bone hitting, or grinding along a meniscus. So tomorrow bright and early I’m going to get flick to evaluate my knee for me. Right now the guys are throwing a football around in the hall with lots of energy.. I think they just broke something. So yeah. O, I’m going to the Nickel Creek concert tomorrow in Cary! it is going to be awesome. later.
9.23.03 [8:17pm] :-: Ok, funny story about the game yesterday. Well, the trip. The game sucked. we played like dog poop. Yeah, so we didn’t play well, and what makes it worse is that the other team was no good whatsoever. We should have beaten them, but for whatever reason we didn’t. Alright, funny story. On the way down to Mt. Olive (east of Hickory) we got there in 3 hours and 15 minutes, give or take a few. So that was really good. On the way back we stopped for subway, then the bus driver took a wrong turn.. in mt. olive. and instead of turning around and correcting the problem immediately, he spent the next 2 hours trying to correct. We ended up driving from Mt. Olive, to Pembroke, to somewhere about 8 miles from the N. and S. Carolina border, then drove back to Hickory on all these small roads. It really sucked, and took us 5 hours and 45 minutes to get home, and finally arrived at 1 in the morning. So that was my fun monody. On the upside, I didn’t have to go to my LRC honors class (UUGGHH!!!) Today, the 23rd. Ummm, had a math test which wasn’t too difficult, but I didn’t study, and I don’t care at all about that class (but should I? I did this stuff in 8th grade?!?) Then just kinda hung out till English, which I was not late for today, Almost a first! Then went to watch the women's soccer game where they beat Akron-sp 2-0, then we had practice. I gave my crutches to Travis because the ones he has are nowhere near level. One handle is about half an inch higher than the other. I'll have to post a pic of them. Regardless, I have them now because I don’t need them at all!!! Now I’m telling yall about today at LR. Also had therapy earlier today, didn’t do anything new same ol' same ol'. But I’m ticked off because the stuff I ordered from Lost and Found still isn’t here... I guess that it takes a while for them to process stuff here at LR, and to put a note in my mailbox about it. So hopefully by Friday it'll be here, if not.. Ohhh, wont be good. I've talked long enough. Later. stephen.
9.22.03 [12:16am] :-: Getting ready to go to bed. I am still really enjoying this thing called walking. Now Flick has me using one crutch, just for safety, but I am walking around the dorm without them just fine. Got some pain in my knee, but not hugely significant at this moment in time. Bob is having surgery today, so keep him in your prayers, also keep his doctors, nurses, and everyone else who makes the operation possible in your prayers. Ok, I’m off to bed. see ya when I see ya, O, there are some new pics up, so check them out. later.
9.20.03 [10:49pm] :-: Parents were in this weekend! Had a great time, thanks for coming all the way over and for everything. *read: Thanks for coming, thanks for all the stuff you got me, thanks for all the food and cash!!!* Anyway, on a more serious note I guess.. We beat Limestone college 4-1! The bad part though was that 2 of our guys went down bad. One most likely with a ruptured meniscus, and the other with some sort of broken thing in his foot. So the first pair of crutches went to our first guy.. My pair of crutches went to the second guy, and now I am doing a forced test run of my knee. Granted I’m supposed to be walking now, I just haven’t recently.. I've been using my crutches to a cretin extent. So now I’ll figure out if I real need them or not. So far, so good, no huge pain, giving way, or anything of that nature. Yep, LR is great. Pray for Bob on Monday, he's having surgery. And keep all the folks here in your prayers as they get busted up, and recover and all. later. stephen.
9.18.03 [4:47am] :-: I just can't get over this whole walking thing. It is SOOO much fun! Cant talk long, I’m off to therapy, then classes. Have a wonderful day! later.
9.18.03 [2:30am] :-: Ok, finally got mostly done with my English paper. I HATE (and suck at) ENGLISH! UUGGHH. O well. Today (yesterday.. the time since I last went to sleep) the soccer team beat Tusculum-sp College. They were ranked number 11 I think nationally, or something like that. We beat them 1-0.. although had we finished a few wonderful chances it could have been easily 3-0.. although had they finished some of their chances they could have had at least 2. Regardless, this was a HUGE win b/c last year they beat us something like 11-0. On the knee front: Still don’t lots of therapy, 5 times a week. Have now added 5 lbs ankle weights to most of my stuff, also added calf raises. My knee gets sore when I walk on it without crutches for a while, but just walking around the dorm room doesn’t seem to bother it too terribly much. Tomorrow I’m going to get flick or someone else to do a gentle Lockmans (I think that is the name of the test) test on me, to test my ACL again, just to be sure it is still good.. Although I know that it is, and I have no real reason to suspect that it is messed up, I guess I just want to know because I’m getting all this pain from my medical area, but nothing from my ACL area ( I guess I should just shut up and be grateful for what I’ve got). I need to sleep before I get up in about 5 hours for therapy. later.
9.16.03 [11:50pm] :-: Today was monica's birthday, so we all got up early and went to the caf for breakfast, then tonight her family, matts family, and friends from around the area came into town to go out to dinner. It was good. On the knee front, I’m experiencing small to moderate pain intermediately. I believe it is caused by my increase activity with my knee. Hopefully my meniscus healed correctly.. I need to get another MRI done to check on it. The pain is mostly centered on my medial meniscus (where the repair was done) Anyway, Flick started me on weights yesterday for most of my exercises.. just a 5 lb ankle weight. So I’m still using my crutches some, but am trying to walk mostly.. I think I’m doing about 80% weight bearing. O, something way cool. I walked up some steps without my crutches today! they were baby steps, but it was still really awesome. Also keep bob in your prayers as he is going into surgery on Monday for a torn ACL, and possibly other stuff. Thanks so much. Have a wonderful day remembering who you are, and whose you are!
9.14.03 [2:11pm] :-: Just got back from the Pembrook game. We ended up losing to a side of completely foreign players 4-1. It was the first goal they had given up all year long! They had played 4 games before we came over. The center ref sucked majorly. I mean, I’m used to horrible refs because I'm from Knoxville, TN however this guy took the cake. All the other team had to do to get a call was to yell, and fall to the ground. And then he began to give cards to our players.. I think we came out with about 8 players with a yellow, and our coach got a straight red for asking what one of our players, a captain *completely undeserved* got a yellow for! The ref didn't even give him a warning yellow or anything, just straight red. It was really bad. Regardless, I had a good time walking around and hanging out with the team. Now I’m going to go to bed b/c I’m getting up in 7 hrs to worship, then do a bunch more homework. later.
9.12.03 [6:12pm] :-: Walking is so incredibly fun! Today during therapy flick told me to go say hello to coach.. so I walked out the door, down the hall, walked down another hall, got on the elevator, walked down another hall, into the entryway for the gym, then into the coach's hallway, then into coach's office. I said "hey coach, flick is letting me walk without crutches!" He was amazed and thought it was really cool. Then I walked back to therapy where flick asked me where I had been, why did it take you so long? I told you not to fall down and hurt yourself! I just sent mike out to find you! Did you take a nap or something!? (you have to remember that this is flick talking, not a normal person, so this was all in good fun) That’s the big news for today.. O, also the knee is feeling a lot better.. not as much pain when I walk foreword without crutches, so I’m way jazzed about that. If you ever tear your ACLs, you can do this too, it is really funny. When someone asks you what you did to your knee, reply, "I tore my ACLSSSS" They get confused and ask "both!?" anyway, its really funny, you should try it some time. Yep, so I’m going to try to find some food.. probably some goldfish/pop tart/munchies because the caf is closed for today :( and I’m hungry, and I’m too lazy to drive somewhere and I’m going to go see heather in some performance tonight at 7. so I’ll let you know how that goes. have a wonderful weekend! later!
9.11.03 [11:26pm] :-: Walking kicks @$$. It was great. Well, I don’t think you could call it walking so much as partial weight bearing. Today at therapy I did get to walk some, however my leg is still very very weak, as I haven’t used it for the past six weeks, and my knee wasn't entirely stable, but it still works. So, here is the deal. I can move side to side easily (relatively) without crutches. I can move foreword and backwards with help from my crutches, so I’m not totally dependant on them any longer, but they will still be around for a few weeks. Tonight I went with folks to the candle-lit 9-11 service. it was good. Today, went to classes, went to wal-mart, had soccer practice. So, all in all it was a good day. later.
9.5.03 [11:14pm] :-: My thought for today... How cool will it be to be able to decide to get something on the other side of the room, then be able to walk there and back without exerting a huge amount of energy by hopping (or by having the thought of "is this trip really worth it, or could I do this a bit later when I need to do something else over there?" That will be cool. Keep Betsy's family in your prayers as they celebrate life and the Easter story. So, today I had classes.. world civ wont be as bad as I had originally thought. I had a class that is almost identical to it in high school with gallo, and feel well prepared for it. Then I had Old testament history stuff with moretz. Next semester I need to take more theology/Bible classes (also that way I don’t have to take other stuff I don’t want to take!) Then had some therapy, then went to soccer practice and had a good time. We play presbiterian college tomorrow at 2pm. Hopefully the boys will have a good outing and will prevail. also hope for no injuries. Then I just kinda hung out for the rest of the day doing homework and more or less just messing around. Remember that you have been (and are) loved with an everlasting love from which you can NEVER be separated!
OTM TEC :-: WAS AWESOME! 35 folks made the weekend which was just totally amazing! People who say God is not alive, or at work in this world need to shut up, and look at the facts. 2 weeks before the weekend 9 folks were signed up. by the weekend there were 35! Nothing but the facts. anyway, besides that, they were all able to have a great weekend. My table in particular, WUZLUV, were awesome, and grew close as a group, and grew closer to Christ, which was a huge blessing to be a part of. So, in the words of a very insightful song... "TEC, Yeah, its Fun!" glyasdi. stephen.
9.4.03 [10:17pm] :-: HEY I'm Back. So sorry about the absence, but the IT folks here at school decided to turn the network off (thanks a lot). Lets see, in the past weeks at school, things have been going very well. I'm going to therapy 5 times a week, and I may get to start to walk some next week!!! (I’m 5 wks post op now). I've also been hanging out at the soccer field with the team, shagging balls, trying to carry some stuff around, but mostly have just been hanging out. Lets see here, I need a section about TEC, so I’ll do that here in a bit, or just did it, or something like that. Look for it. Lets see here, today I had some classes.. Finite math (I did this kind of stuff in 8th grade) I'd sleep or skip if there wasn't an attendance policy (that is probably why they have one). Then later in the day I had honors English. it was good, except I forgot to do the assignment.. real smooth especially considering that it was the first one given to us. however dr. bailey (I had his wife for freshman English in high school *its a small small small small world*) was really cool about it, and is letting me e-mail it to him tbtG! Then tonight we had a lame pep rally/bonfire thing. and now I’m here working on homework *cough cough* talking with other folks, updating some website stuff. Talk to you later. stephen.
OTM TEC :-: WAS AWESOME! 35 folks made the weekend which was just totally amazing! People who say God is not alive, or at work in this world need to shut up, and look at the facts. 2 weeks before the weekend 9 folks were signed up. by the weekend there were 35! Nothing but the facts. anyway, besides that, they were all able to have a great weekend. My table in particular, WUZLUV, were awesome, and grew close as a group, and grew closer to Christ, which was a huge blessing to be a part of. So, in the words of a very insightful song... "TEC, Yeah, its Fun!" glyasdi. stephen.
8.24.03 [11:59pm] :-: Today was great. Started off with worship at St. Andrews Lutheran in Hickory. It is on campus. The service was way old school, completely out of the Green book. Which is not bad, just different. Then had lunch, and got to see and talk to HEATHER!!! which was way cool. Then got to see this group do skits about college life, relationships, alcohol, and parties. It was interesting. Then went out to the honor's program director's house for dessert. Then went out to the dollar movies with the freshmen class, saw bruce almighty. And now I’m back here in the dorm talking with my roommate (who is really cool by the way, and has a good head on his shoulders) and also to claire in tx. yall have a great day. glyasdi.
8.23.03 [6:45pm] :-: Hey yall! I’m here at LR, having a good time. Today, my group went to the salvation army to volunteer. When we got there, I don’t think they were expecting us... The guy who was in charge started looking for things for us to do. So about 6 folks began sweeping the floor. A few others helped unload cars, other folks helped take items from the back into the store. Then we began sorting a huge pile of books. So, that was fun. Then came back to campus, and I decided that it was time I tried to drive some. So, hopped (ha ha, I literally did) into the car, and wouldn't you know. My right knee was able to bend out of the way, and I got my left foot over. So I can now drive again THANKS BE TO GOD!!! So, I drove around campus for a little while then went back to my room and rested for a while. Then later, went out for another drive, scouting campus out for parking spots for when classes start next week. Then I parked and watched the women's soccer team play for a while. They look good, they have some speed, and talent. So that is good. Now, I’ve just got to hook up with the men's soccer team, I think they have sunday off. I'll try to find them on Monday. I just got back from dinner, that was held over by the football field. Had a good time over there talking with folks. So all is going well. have a great day! glyasdi. stephen.
8.22.03 [11:20pm] :-: LR is awesome. I'm having a wonderful time, lots of folks know me (nice thing about crutches) but I don’t know them. So random folks will say "Stephen, you need help with that?" and I’ll tell them that I’ve got it, but thanks, and have no clue who they are. Anyway.. the trainers here are really cool, and I’m getting in with them so that is really cool. So far here at school, we have basically been doing orientation, and it is a whole lot like camp. O, there is another crip here. Her name is Jessica. She said that she already had torn both her ACLs, and recently messed her knee (one of em, I forgot which one) again playing basketball. Anyway, she said she is having an MRI on tuesday, so keep Jessica in your prayers. The room, and roommate are all cool, and everything is good. O, funny thing. At LR, if you do anything bad, you get fined. Strange example.. If you don't get out of the building within 5 minutes of the fire alarm going off, you get fined $50. That is one example. Anyway, I’m going to head off to bed b/c I’m tired from crutching across campus. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to the caf from my dorm. But all will be good in the end Because Jesus Loves YOU! later.
8.21.03 [11:05pm] :-: I'm in Hickory, having a great time. meanwhile.. I got up at 6:30ish to go to therapy. Did cold therapy/e-stem; co-contractions; russian off the table; russian quad sets; foot slides (table, and mirror); hip abductions; straight leg raises; cold therapy/e-stem/the boot; was sent on my way. Then went home and packed up... hope I got everything. Started off at noon, got to hickory around 3:30. Checked-in at the hotel, went to get a cell phone for me!!! e-mail me if you want my number. Then went by LR to talk to the trainer, Michael Flicker. Also got to talk to coach bobby for a few minutes. Also got to meet some folks today, Freddie-sp a basketball player who is originally from Germany, he is really tall, I felt short.. Betsy, now I know what you feel like on a regular basis (sry, that was kinda mean), have fun in salem. Then we hooked up with christy who directed us out to this bar-b-q place that was way way out in the middle of nowhere. It was almost like we were going to camp loy white (for hih tec). Then had a good time there with other incoming freshman who are in the honor's program. I met this one guy named jimmy (I think) he was cool, and meagan (not sure how she spells it) she was very cool. The people who owned the place had some line dancing going, and then some clogging, I believe, and that was very good. That’s about it, then we came back to the hotel, and started heading to bed. O, how can I forget. Today, I basically finished working on manuals, and will e-mail them off to the proper authorities when I get moved in tomorrow. Also get to go to see flick (michael flicker LR soccer trainer) at 7:45 in the morning). Thank you for all your prayers, keep em coming, and keep praying for everyone else. glyasdi. stephen.
8.20.03 [11:59pm] :-: Hey everybody! Today, I got to go to the dentist. No cavities, they said my teeth looked great. Also said I need to get my wisdom teeth out eventually, but no rush on it. Then went to therapy, and did the usual. E-stem/cold therapy; co-contractions; russian off the table; russian quad sets; worked on range of motion with sliding my foot back and fourth with a towel under it 4x10; then went to mirror, and did 3x15, I think; then did 3x15 hip abductions; 3x15 semi-straight leg lifts; e-stem/cold therapy/boot; then got wrapped up, and sent home. when I got home, I was planning on packing for college, as I leave tomorrow... but was greeted with the fact that my dad had opened a virus on his computer. So I got to spend the next 4 hours getting his computer cleaned up, and working again (which sucked). Do you think I should send him a bill for $200? let me know chensdf@msn.com. Then went to get some more stuff for school, and to eat dinner at Litton's with cindy, spec, kira, and craig. That was a great deal of fun, food was great! Then came home, and started majorly packing.. well, my parents started packing all my stuff up. It sucks a bunch, when your parents are going through all of your stuff and asking you what you want to keep, what you want to take.. Luckily I don’t do drugs or else I would be busted by now. Well, I did drugs, but they were prescribed by my doctor after surgery. O yeah! yesterday I got my hands on the surgery report from my doctors. I hope to have that posted here within the next few days as it is really cool. Pray for me as I head off to LR tomorrow. Also keep my family (biological, and church) in your prayers. Ok, as long as we are praying, remember all the other freshmen, and other folks, and claudia, and anyone else who is not functioning at 100%. Keep the TEC weekend, TECites, and Team in your prayers as we prepare for Labor day. That’s it for the moment, but will add "BLAH" for hollie. later.
8.19.03 [11:46pm] :-: went to therapy today. Got slightly chewed out for not icing my knee enough. then started off with the cold therapy/e-stem thing. Then did the first measurements of my knee.. 105 degrees flexion and -19 degrees extension. Then did co-contractions, then did russian e-stem off the table, then quad sets with russian e-stem. Then worked on range of motion by sliding my foot back and fourth 4x10 with a towel under my foot. Then went and did the slide your foot up and down the mirror. Then did cold therapy/e-stem/the boot. Then got my range of motion measured again. This time I was at 115 degrees flexion, and -12 degrees extension. I'm not supposed to be doing much more than that because when you go much further than that, you slide along the meniscus, which can damage it while it is healing. Then I did some sideling hip abductions. Then I got kicked out. Then cindy took me to watch kira's soccer games. The team looked a whole lot better than they did the last time I saw them. The main keepers in warm up still sucked royally, luckily I didn’t see them for very long. They also have another freshman keeper who looks to be good (COACH, PLAY HER MORE!!!) Kira played well, so that was good. Also, Hope, one of kira's friend's mom got results back from a test that were really really good. so I celebrate that along with everyone else. also continue to keep claudia in your prayers, as well as all the freshmen that have moved in, and all those moving in soon. So, I’m here working on manuals... zzz ... ooh, sry. anyway, I’m on Rise Day of the outside manual. Only got kitchen and Spiritual Directors to go!!! maybe I’ll be finished around 5am. But I’ve got to get up around 8 to go to the dentist. O well. I guess I wont get them all done. later.
8.18.03 [1:55pm] :-: 6:30am is really _______ing early. But it was worth it, and I think I may get to bed by midnight tonight! Ok, so therapy went very well. John is pleased with how my knee is doing, and all is looking great! So, got up way early, went to therapy, did e-stem/cold therapy for starters. Then got the co-contractions thing going. Then did russian off the side of the table, except they forgot to turn off the hamstring e-stem current, so the muscles in my leg were trying to pull my knee in opposite directions which made it interesting. Then did e-stem quad sets. Then John came over, and I think he messed with my knee for a little bit. Then had me work on my range of motion by sliding my foot on the table with a towel under it. range of motion measured at 115 degrees!!! Then did some more range of motion stuff sliding my foot up and down a mirror on the wall while lying on my back. Then did semi-straight-leg leg lifts, and side lying hip abductions. Then did 4 way stuff. Next, did the e-stem/cold therapy/boot thing. Then I got kicked out around 10am, and have been at home messing around for a while. O, John also took off the steri strips, so I can now get a pic of my knee w/o anything else in the way. I'll try to post one here real soon. later.
8.17.03 [11.59pm] :-: ok, so its not 11:59 when I wrote this, it is 12:49am, so sue me. I get to get up at 6;30 to go to therapy, to see John one last time before I head off to college! O Boy, one last good torment. Yippee. Today, I got to worship God which rocked, although I sat on the front pew, and almost fell over each time we stood up, or sat down.. I guess I had a little too much communion wine. O well, just being a good Lutheran. Then got to go to the TEC meeting, got to give my talk. That went really well. Then I went over to cindy's to do one of my favorite past times, work on TEC manuals. Most countries spend their free time watching futbol (soccer). Americans watch baseball. I work on TEC manuals. Lost my train of thought, so I’ll go to bed. later.
8.16.03 [11:45pm] :-: OK, bad news on the knee front. My right knee is feeling very good, so unfortunately I’ve caught myself using it to push light things around my room (trash can a few in, and other things). I've also caught myself pushing off of it slightly to readjust myself while sitting on my bed. This aint good. hopefully I can stop before I do any real damage to my meniscus, and hopefully I haven’t done anything bad yet. *sigh* Well, just got back from seeing the movie "american wedding" it was good, was funny. And as lianne said, or more or less said, it has a good underlying theme of togetherness, and getting through problems. Or something like that. Don't take young children to see this movie. Don't take middle schoolers to see this movie. Don't take freshmen in high school to see this movie. later.
8.16.03 [12:35pm] :-: Well, being crippled sucks, but some things are fun.. kinda. Mom is going through all my clothes trying to pick out what I need to take to college. So, I’m sitting here on my bed, as I can't run away, and am suffering through it. And am basically making fun of all the "cute" shirts and things she thinks are just so nice. HA. o well, for those of you who were worried that I wouldn't be ready for college. Be assured that my mom is taking care of me. Ok, here is a good one. hey stephen, try this jacket on.. (its from about 5 years ago) ok, put it on, and the sleeves are at least 4 in too short. ok, now for mom's quote. "I am taking such good care of you, I bring you foot, ice.." o well, she wandered off. Anyway, hope yall are having as much fun as I am. later.
8.15.03 [11:59pm] :-: What's up? I'm sitting here watching God's and Generals. It has some good parts, but it is very drawn out, and has some boring parts, and is loooooooong. Anyway, today, I went to therapy. First they checked me out, my quad strength is "poor", my range of motion or at least the flexion is very good, I think, somewhere between 90 and 100 degrees I believe. Then got the cold therapy/e-stem thing going. Did the co contraction thing, russian off the table, russian quad sets. Then they did ultrasound on my shin/ankle area b/c its been pissing me off lately.. most likely because I’m overusing that muscle to hold my foot up. So now I’m supposed to use my quad to hold my leg up, although I think I was supposed to do this from the beginning. o well. Then they gave me the boot, with e-stem, and cold therapy. Then kicked me out. So yeah, its been kinda a boring day, but I’m just glad to be here. ugh, this movie is long. Hey I’ll holler at you tomorrow. later.
8.14.03 [11:45pm] :-: Hey, I finished reading the book the ancient italian prophet Malachi. He had some good stuff to say about divorce, God's love, the final judgment, how the Israelites were screwing God over with their sacrifices. That sort of good stuff. Anyway... heard from laura today, said she got to school fine and dandy (YEAH!) O, I might get to go to a lost and found concert in september, either in bristol va, or in greenville sc. that would be awesome. and I might, probably will, get to go to the nickel creek concert in cary nc, which will rock. Lets see here, what else, o yeah, therapy. Today, roco reprimanded me for not icing enough, and I told her that I had woken up 2 hrs earlier (noonish). Did cold therapy/e-stem, co-contractions russian e-stem, russian off the table, russian quad sets. Roco mobilized my kneecap, didn’t hurt too bad. Measured my range of motion, bendage at 93 degrees, and flexion at -12 degrees. So that is really good. Then I got the boot/e-stem/cold therapy. Then I got kicked out around 4:30ish, and mom came to get me, and took me out to watch a soccer game. I was sitting in the car, and had a cow watching the team warm up. Their keepers SUCK!!! I don’t think they have heard of fundamentals, or have ever been taught. Catching skills were way lacking, as were throwing skills. I have better footwork, on crutches, than they do with 2 good knees. when you dive or collapse to your sides, you should never ever end up on your back, and never have your knees pulled up to your chest. Also, I don’t think they have ever been taught how to come off their line, either that or they really just love to stand in the middle of their goal on their line and cut 0% of the angle which just makes shot stopping a (female dog). So I stayed to watch the game. Kira played well for the time she was in, although she was on the opposite side of the field so it was kinda hard to see. Then cindy gave me a ride home, but first stopped off to see bill and fam from the czech republic. Really cool folks who are missionaries over there. That was fun, then came home, and now am typing this out. So I’m going to start heading to bed, and will talk to yall tomorrow. later.
8.14.03 [1:30am] :-: Going to bed, but first.. woke up, relinquished the camera, went with mom to west high, sat in the parking lot for a while, went to see holt, got the stitches out. Went to church, worked on my talk on amy's couch for a while. Amy drove me to therapy (thank you amy!) got picked up by mom, taken home. Craig drove me out to Big Ed's for pizza with claire, cindy, spec, kira, and us. We had a great time. Claire, have a great time in TX, learn lots, see ya in 2 weeks. Laura, we'll be praying for you and your parents as you head to NC. All will go well, best of luck to you. Everyone, remember how much God Loves you. Yes you, especially the losers! God loves you and calls you by name because you are his. Go in peace, serve the LORD! tbtG!
8.13.03 [8:25pm] :-: Now that I’ve got the standard stuff out of the way... Q: How do you REALLY piss a college freshman webdesigner/crip/computer guy off? A: On the day he is going in to get his stitches out(which he has to get up early for anyway), be there to wake him up, and tell him that you need the camera all day. UUGGHH!!!!!!! Not a very bright idea, when the same person also designs, and maintains(very poorly.. hmm wonder why) your website. It just aint smart. Ok, now that I’m a little less pissed sitting in the parking lot of good old West High School (yes, it is the best) I’m going to go so I don't eat up all the battery.. although I’ve still got about 90% left. O, later tonight I get to go to Big Ed's, and have therapy before that, so I’ll let you know how everything goes. later. stephen.
8.13.03 [8:20pm] :-: Ok, first about therapy yesterday. Luckily John wasn't there... anyway, I did the usual, e-stem and cold therapy, russian 2x, the boot (bp was 110/70.. man, I’ve been way stressed for the past few days) So all went well. Then as I said before, John wasn't there, so Roco mobilized my kneecap. And o boy, it didn't hurt even 1/10 like it does when John does it. I guess that is all I need to tell you about therapy yesterday. Went to BS, had a good time with everyone, but amy kicked us out at 8 or so, which was waaaayy early esp since we are used to staying till 10:30 or 11, but I guess since school has started that is a good idea.
8.12.03 [1:10pm] :-: Hey, I got bored and decided to write something. Ok, maybe not bored, but I got done ripping some cds and jake is in my room playing Rollercoaster Tycoon. His strategy rots and he is slightly annoying when he plays because I am required to basically tell him how to do everything. On the other hand, he does do a good job of getting stuff for me, so I think I’ll keep him. Yeah, so I think I am going to go to therapy here when my dad gets home to watch jake, then on to BS -last time for most of us to be together before claire and laura leave for college :( So that’s that, I’ll try to get them at therapy today to take my blood pressure before and after John works on me (shudder). Wish me luck, pray for me. Also there is a girl from AFFIRM named Claudia who really really needs your prayers. Please pray for her, her family, her doctors, and everyone involved. Thank you very much. Talk to you later. stephen.
8.11.03 [10:40pm] :-: Having your kneecap mobilized hurts like HELL! ARRRGG, the only one who got any joy out of it was John, evil therapist guru. I seriously do not know why people pay money to be tortured like that. Anyway, as you may have guessed, I went to therapy today. Got the regular, ice e-stem combo, then did russian e-stem with a rolled up pillow under my knee. Then let me think... O, how can I forget, then John came over and played with my kneecap OUCH! Then when john left me, I thought he was done, and the torment would stop. But he comes back with gloves on, and I ask him what they were for. He replies.. "So I can get a better grip." And he was right. The second round hurt even more than the first. O well. Then after my knee had a chance to recover, I did russian e-stem again, this time working on my range of motion, with my knee hanging off the table. O yeah, right before the knee off table russian e-stem, John then proceeded to test my range of motion. This also hurt really bad. However I think I measured at about 100 degrees, which is good. Then did the russian e-stem knee hanging off table thing. Then did the boot, blood pressure was at 110/70 which is really high for me, usually it is between 40 and 60, but you can imagine why it was so high.. hmm, John? Then did the boot thing, had a bunch of water come out from my knee area.. not sure why probably condensation from the ice pack and the cold therapy unit... but it was a lot of water. Then got wrapped up to go home. So that was fun. Then I got to go have dinner with acf and some of the seniors, which was lots of fun. our waitress gave Jesse hell for having a record. anyway, I’m burning cds right now, and getting ready to go to bed.. yeah right. anyway, ttyl. stephen.
8.10.03 [11:59pm] :-: Hey everyone! Had a great day today. Got to worship God which was great. Also got to show the TAG powerpoint to a packed fellowship hall, everyone loved it and that totally rocked. Then I got to hear betsy play "Covered in the Dust", everyone also loved it a whole whole bunch. So that was really cool. Then I went out to the store with my dad to get some CD-Rs, and when I went to get out of the car, well let me back up. When I get out of a car, first off I’m in the back seat. So I pull my crutches out and lean them up against the car. Then I slide out a bit, and then lift myself up with the handle inside the car, and the top of the door. Then I swing my legs out while lifting myself still higher by pressing against the top of the door, and the roof of the car. So I’m sitting there suspended in mid air outside the store, and my dad accidentally knocks my crutches over, so they fall under me and almost squired-sp me. Anyway, luckily I was able to hold myself up in the air for a bit longer, looking like a moron of course. Anyway, finally got it sorted out and I crutched into the store, got my CD-Rs and went home. It was interesting. Also have to give a shout out to all the kind folks who help me out, and spoil me all the time by getting stuff for me and helping me out. Thank you so much. later. stephen.
8.9.03 [11:50pm] :-: Hi ya everybody! Lets see, I just about freaked out because I was going to go to bed (yeah right) and I had one of my pills left for the day, an antibiotic. anyway I’m supposed to take 4 a day, one every 4 hours. So I’m getting ready to go to bed and I take one more pill and see that I have one left, and I start to freak out. But then I realize that I’ve only been awake for 12 hours so since there are only 3 4 hour time periods, so I’m good. Except for the fact that I just now as I am typing this out realize that there are actually 4 opportunities for me to take my meds. 1. when I woke up, 2. 4 hours later, 3. 8 hours later, and 4. 12 hours later right before I go to bed. So I now know that I skipped one during the day sometime. O well, I’ll take it in the morning, and all will be good. That said, I need to get going to bed so I can wake up bright and early to go to worship, and set up for the presentations between services, which is going to kick some major rear end. Ok, rest well, ttyl. stephen.
8.9.03 [1:15am] :-: Hey I’m supposed to be working on my talk for TEC.... I'll get back to it in a min or two. But first an interesting thought. Here it is ~ Do you realize how hard it is to take off a sock when you are standing on the foot that is wearing the sock you are trying to remove? Try it. Put a sock on one of your feet. Only one foot, makes this a lot easier to explain. Ok, sock on one foot, good. Now stand on that one foot. If you touch the other foot down, you forfeit your knee to me (HA HA HA!!!) for when I need a new one in a few years. Ok, now try to remove the sock that is on your foot........ Ok, so it wasn't that hard, but I bet you put your other foot down at least once. If so, please mail your knee packed in ice to me. If you did manage to get your sock off without touching down, pat yourself on the back. ttyl. stephen.
8.8.03 [5:55pm] :-: Just got back from therapy today. It was fun... (that reminds me of a song, but I will save that for another time) Doing the same stuff.. well almost. Did the ice/e-stem to start off with. Then did the russian thing except had a rolled up pillow under my knee and I was pushing down on it. Then I did some stuff with a rubber tube attached to my ankle, which was great for my calf. Then I got the boot with cold therapy on the top of my knee, and a stinking cold icepack below my knee. Then they kicked my out. But the funny thing was.. well not so funny, but just humorous. The guy next to me was I guess in his 50s, I’m not sure exactly. anyway he was 2 months post op on total knee replacement of his right knee (fun, do I see this in my future, O BOY!!) So the therapists are working on his range of motion. They are trying to get his flexion (I think that was what it was, the bendage) to 120 degrees. So they were working and working, and this guy, bless his soul, sounded like he was halfway having a baby, or something like that. it was crazy. His knee just didn’t want to bend, but they kept on trying to get it to bend. They put this one big guy, whose name is Pat, on his shoulders, holding his shoulders rather, and had one of the ladies pushing on his knee. Then when they went to take the measurements, one lady would sit on his foot, and the other one would measure it. And imagine, he is paying them to mess with him like that. anyway, just wanted to share the story. O, also did mission of hope today. went up to Bell County Elementary/Middle School up in Bell County KY. Had a great time passing out backpacks to the kids. Also really enjoyed getting to talk with some of them. yep. "God is good" (all the time) "All the time" (God is good). Thanks bye.
8.7.03 [9:45pm] :-: Hey everyone. Thoughts on today. Um, have switched from my reg painkillers to advil. that seems to be working so far. anyway went to therapy today, did the same stuff as yesterday, e-stem cold therapy, boot, russian, side leg raises. Well I’ve got to be up and at church by 7 in the morning, so I need to be heading to bed. later.
8.6.03 [11:59pm] :-: I'm really getting to like this late last second thing. Anyway, I woke up with a killer headache this morning b/c I woke up around noon and hadn't taken any pain killers for about 16 hours. The headache didn’t go away until around 3pm or so, so that really sucked. Also went to therapy, did the usual, and today they started me on some side leg raises. I don't like them all that much, but its new and different, so what they heck. Then claire picked me up from therapy and drove me over to cindy's to work on comps, did that (speaking of which I need to work on mine some more, thanks for reminding me). Then my mom came and got me, and brought me home. yeah, so that’s about it, didn't do too much today. Just thankful to be alive and living in God's wonderful world! later.
8.5.03 [11:59pm] :-: Ok, really last second. MY LAPTOP CAME TODAY!!! So as you can imagine I’ve been busy working on/with it. Today I went to therapy again. Got unwrapped, cold therapy and e-stem for 20 min (great nap!) Then I think one of the young ladies that worked there massaged the back of my knee to work some fluid out. That was great! It feels really good. anyway then I got the "Boot", and later did some more e-stem with the "russian" thing. Got kicked out, and didn't have a ride, so I waited in the lobby of the building for about 45 min until craig got there to pick me up and take me to B.S. Went to mellow mushroom and got to play with my new toy, the laptop, because the restaurant has a wireless network, so I hopped online and had a blast. Drove over to ACF's house did BS for a while, and she sent us home at 11. Got home and have just been messing around with the laptop and have been working on my right leg some. I really need to call the folks at LR tomorrow. Hopefully I will wake up and do that before they all go home. ok, enough from me. I'm going to bed. glyasdi. stephen.
8.4.03 [5:40pm] :-: Hey! I got to go to therapy today. It was fun. Thankfully they unwrapped my knee and got rid of all the excess padding and gauze. After they unwrapped it, they cleaned off the few spots of blood and antiseptic soap stuff that was still there. Surprisingly the wounds were very clean and were not caked in blood like they were with my left knee. Anyhoo, then I got some e-stem and cold therapy. Then I think John "jimmied" with my knee. That hurt fairly bad. Then I got the Boot! Took my blood pressure. I think the first time it was 110/40, and the second time it was 110/50. or something like that. Anyway they then gave me the boot, which is kinda like a tube balloon typedealie. Anyway it works to move fluid from your foot to your ankle to your calf to your knee, and then beyond. It is way cool. Then John did some measurements on my knee, and then I got to do the "Russian" e-stem thing. I got to sit on the edge of the table, and they zapped my knee and I did quad set/leg raises. It was fun *hey that reminds me of a song... again*. Then I got my knee/leg wrapped back up, and then I went on home. Hey its time for dinner, I’ll talk to you later.
8.3.03 [11:55pm] :-: Just sneaking an entry in at the last second, he he he. So today, I had the privilege of going to worship. This is a good thing, however as Lutherans tend to stand and sit and kneel (ouch) a bunch during the service, it’s almost as if we can't make our minds up about which posture we should take. Anyway, this isn't so great for a crip who can't bend his knee worth a flip. So, I had fun in worship, and then had a blast at the TEC meeting. All is shaping up for OTM TEC #4 (go God, go jesse, go pam. *rest of the team, you also are doing a marvelous job, however there is not enough room here to mention you. You know who you are* Well done). O, I’ve got some stupid crutch tricks.. where I can be crutching foreword, and then spin around while continuing to move foreword... Good news is that I haven't fallen yet! Also, at 1pm tomorrow I get to go to therapy and get my bandages off. They will then continue to torture me for a while, so please pray for me a whole bunch. But I’ll get some pics of the knee and get them posted. You should enjoy them :) I guess that is about it, I need to read the good book. later.
8.3.03 [12:55am] :-: Ok, I guess I should do another entry before I go to bed... Yes mom I know I was supposed to go to bed like 3 hrs ago, but I’m not used to going to bed that early. That said, I’m feeling very good. Got lots of energy (as long as I’m not having to deal with Jacob for extended periods of time). The knee has felt great today tbtG! Also, a bunch of folks from the youth group came over tonight, so I got to go downstairs and hang out with them. We made a banner for church which rocks, we wrote some notes to other folks in the congregation inviting them to hear about what the youth has been up to this summer. Got to listen to two great songs... "Covered in the dust of my rabbi" by Betsy (it is so completely amazing. wow), and the TEC is fun song by Craig and Jesse (great song, gets the idea of TEC being fun across, can't miss it). I think that is about it, so I should go to sleep as I get to go to worship in the morning :) yippee! later.
8.2.03 [3:00pm] :-: Yep, my bed is so much better than my parents. No back pain anymore, so I’m glad about that. Only now, I think the AC is off up here or something like that b/c I’m burning up. O well. Knee pain is at a minimum. Also when I get up to crutch around it no longer feels like all of my insides are pouring out through the incision in my knee, which is very good. So yeah, I’m feeling good, got more or less a good night of sleep. I didn't hear the neighbor down the street at 1am. That may have also been due to the fact that I was playing music on my comp almost all night long. So today I’ve just been hanging out (yeah like I’d be doing anything else). Got to play some age of empires and pharaoh with jacob. That was fun. I think that is it, or all that is new. I'll be around.
8.1.03 [2:00am] :-: Today has gone well. My grandparents came over to visit for a little while, and I got to show them the TAG powerpoint that I had made. Also got some phone calls from folks checking in on me, which was way cool. And I also got some get well soon type cards. My grandma in Indiana said, "Thank goodness you don't have a third knee (ACL) to wreck." So all is going well. Also it’s storming fairly badly outside right now, as it has been doing on and off for the past few days, which makes having to be in bed not so bad. O, also today I crutched out of my parents bedroom! And also my knee was feeling a bit better when I get up to crutch around. It doesn't feel like all the fluid is building up in my knee when I move around lately. This may also be due to me not propping my foot up constantly, but o well. Hey the battery on the laptop is getting ready to die, so I need to go. Hopefully I’ll be upstairs in my room tonight. later.
8.1.03 [8:15am] :-: Hey, all is going well so far. Minimal pain in my knee, but my back is killing me, because I’m in my parent’s bedroom, and I’m not used to their soft bed. So that is the only thing that really sucks so far. O, also last night this guy down the street who has a motorcycle decided to drive by the house about 3 times revving his engine, then I guess he pulled into his driveway and sat there revving his engine for the next 5-10 minutes. I was almost asleep when he did that at 1am, so that pissed me off. O well. Yeah, the knee is feeling great, relatively and I haven't sprung any leaks yet. Also, I feel a whole lot better and more coherent this time than I did with my left one... I think it is because I don't have the "good stuff". However the stuff I do have for pain meds does the job very very well. OK, well I’m going to go crutch around a bit and I’ll be back later. O, I think I might move upstairs, back to my room today. That would be awesome. later.
7.31.03 [4:45pm] :-: so it sitting here in bed. Craig was being nice, and brought down a world cup tape... but the vcr isn’t plugged into the tv, so he said that he would plug it in when he gets back. OK, thanks. I'm fairly coherent right now, I’m on minimal drugs and not in any real pain. So that is good. O, and I’m also able to get up and crutch around some, and so far have not bumped my bandages off the holes in my knee. So no leaks yet, for which I am happy. So yeah, I’m doing well, the docs did a great job, YEAH GOD!
7.31.03 [1:00pmish] :-: docs said- "it was a complete acl, he did it again!" doc bealer- 4-7%that tear one acl, tear the other acl afterwards one meniscus was torn but just a real little tear, and he was able to just trim it. the other meniscus was torn, and he spent a whole big bunch of time on it. In hopes of being able to save that meniscus (thank you). However we won’t know for 4-5 months if the meniscus is going to survive (that part of it). so if there is pain and swelling, they are going to have to go in arthroscopicly and remove it :)they did a patella tendon graft to repair the acl. showed lots of pics that acf and dad almost fainted over ha ha ha. b/c of the meniscus they are trying to save, I’ll have to stay off of it longer, to give it a better chance of healing. I'm allowed to do touch down (give em6) weight. for 4 weeks, not weight bearing when I go off to college. going to see john on Monday at one o boy. the anesthesiologist-sp bet a coke to one of the other nurses that I would hurl before I left. HA HA HA, she is now out a coke. O, and doctor holt prescribed the "good stuff" for me. I'm thinking youth group fundraiser. ok, so I’m just lying in bed resting. kinda cripped up.
7.31.03 [5:31am] :-: Man, this is early. I think I got about 15 min of sleep last night. I was in bed with the lights out ready to fall asleep by 12:55... but couldn't fall asleep. O well, I’ll be too drugged and nasty feeling to stay awake for most of the rest of today. So I can sleep then. Pray for everyone involved in today's surgery, that it will go well, and that the docs will fix what is busted. Ok, well I’ve got to go get ready to get cut on, talk to you when I don't feel nasty anymore, and I can get up the steps.
7.30.03 [11:33pm] :-: Hey, I’m playing Age of Empires right now, its fun. Hey that reminds me of a song, a song about TEC. and TEC, yeah its fun. you should attend, attend a weekend. cause TEC, yeah its Fun. Anyway, I’m not allowed to eat anything from midnight on so I reckon I should go to bed here sometime soon. Cause I’ve got to be up by 5:30 to be at the hospital by 6:15 for 7:00 or 7:30 surgery. So please be praying for me, and my doctors, and nurses, and other folks who make surgery possible. Talk to you later.
7.30.03 [some time early in the morning] :-: Hi, welcome. I just opened this site the day before my surgery. Yeah, I know way to plan ahead. anyway I’ll try to post stuff here daily or at least weekly about my progress and things of that nature. Maybe I can get ahold of the MRI report (that was hilarious from my Left knee) and some of the dictations that my doctor did as they are also funny. Remember that nothing can separate you from the love of God. Not even 2 torn ACLs within a 9 month span :)