Let it be

I had to request my medical records for my right knee and have them sent to the US. The hospital couldn't figure out who I was at first because my name is entered in Korean for my insurance there. It cost W70k.

Like This

Still can't run but been biking alot and gotten my quad a lot stronger. So it's feeling good and so far the surgery is lookin like a success. I'm surprised it's taking so long for the nerves around the surgery site to recover full feeling though.

I think I was having so much pain before because my leg muscles wasted away so much while I was on crutches, so the joint was put under too much pressure. More than four months have passed now, and I can bike at a moderate speed with no pain. As the doc's instructions I've been doing leg extensions, light squats only 45 degrees deep and balance work. Along with theraband work to work up the muscles in my ankle and toes.

If you came here after searching about knee surgeries in Korea and have more questions, feel free to email me. People have been asking about it...

Play Your Part (Pt.2)

So the next step, rehab, is in some ways more important than the surgery itself. Been about 3 weeks since the surgery and I got another 3 weeks left on crutches. Still a bit swollen but the stitches were taken out last week. Almost no pain! Just a weird feeling when I raise it straight out a little below the kneecap. Like someone taking tape off my skin, only on the inside.

I had my meniscus repaired on both the medial and lateral sides. And also cartilage debridement. So I got to go in for rehab 3 times for 2 weeks then 5 days a week for 4 weeks.

The therapist checks general knee flexibility. Then it's iced for a bit and I do the arm bike (don't know the official term for it) for 15 minutes. Stretch to warm up then it's about 90 minutes of stuff all focused on the muscles around my knee.

Weighted leg raises lying down in all four directions. Pushing out with a band around the knees. Pressing in with a ball between the knees. Pressing down with a ball under the knee. Some other stuff and time flies by. Ice it again after. It feels better after I do all the rehab than before, actually.

The therapists don't speak English that great but they can use body language and I'm following along with a bunch of pro and college atheletes, mostly soccer players. It's a great environment, everyone motivated and working together to get back out there... Feels great cuz I think I made the right choice getting my knee fixed up at this place. Drop me a line if you need details for the place.

Where Is My Mind?

I had a torn meniscus in my right knee that I got fixed in a Korean hospital last week. Followed by a weeklong hospital stay where I'd be woken up at 7am, given a shot and have to try to speak Korean to the nurse while I'm still fighting off the cobwebs. I'm expecting good results from the surgery but can't really tell until I finish all the rehab. It will take a few months.

Shared a room with 5 Koreans, 4 in for getting hurt while playing a sport and one for getting hit by a taxi. Because we were all there because we were just injured, not sick, the atmosphere was better than one might think. If any of us could jump we would've been bouncing off the walls to get out of there, though.

It was my first overnight hospital stay anywhere, and I had no complaints. They did stick needles into my arms countless times but that's just a personal phobia. I felt much more confident about getting surgery done here than I did a few years ago. The medical care has probably gotten a bit better than 4 years ago and I've gotten used to life here so it made the whole hospital stay a bit better.

I'll be on crutches for a while so should have ample time for posting.