I really have no idea why I never posted about Brian’s ACL surgery last April. But now seems like an appropriate time given that he was finally cleared for soccer again 2 weeks ago (and played in his first pick-up game 2 days after the got the news he’d been waiting for)! He originally snapped his ACL (and tore his meniscus in the same knee) around February last year. It was really really heart breaking for him to find out that he needed surgery. He’s also HORRIBLE with needles and didn’t like the idea of going under the knife at all (we had a pretty disturbing experience during surgery prep when they had to insert the IV drip…poor guy!).

Before the big day, I spent at least a month researching various ways to help him after surgery and during recovery. I think all in all, it wasn’t nearly as bad as we had anticipated, although he did have to work hard and go through a lot of pain to get his knee strengthened again.

Everyone helped keep daddy company during his first weeks. He started out mostly upstairs (after the initial surgery meds wore off and he could safely scoot backwards up the stairs). We set up a recliner near the TV in the sitting room where he could watch movies and be comfortable. I think this picture of Brian and Logan hanging out was taken a few days into recovery when he was able to take the brace off for short periods of time. One of the best ideas I found for him was a pair of those “rip off” basketball warm-up pants with snaps down the outside of each leg. It meant that he could still be warm, but that he could get the brace on his knee and then easily snap the pants back up (or rather, I could snap them for him)

Daddy and Brady hanging out on the couch downstairs with the ice circulator (that blue cooler thing in the corner). I spent a lot of time buying ice and filling it up a few times every day. There is a tube that runs from the back of the cooler that ends in a knee wrap. You plug it in, and it circulates nice COLD water over the knee area. Brian slept with this thing running through the night for the first 3 days.

Kona appointed herself as daddy’s healing companion. She would find him and curl up next to his legs no matter where he went. That big brace on his leg was the first of 2, the second being smaller and more mobile, that Brian lived in for at least a month if not more. After that, he wore the smaller brace when he had to be on his feet.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t fully healed by the time warm weather rolled around, he didn’t let his bum knee get in the way of playing outside and throwing passes to the boys. This summer, he’ll be able to stand up and run around!!

The first night Brian went to play soccer again, Logan BEGGED to go with him. Unfortunately, the games are at 9:30pm on Fridays! We said it just wasn’t a good idea. He cried and cried…it was pretty upsetting. You would have thought Brian was going to go play in the World Cup instead of a pick-up game with old dudes. He even made him this sign featuring Lionel Messi…who is only slightly better than daddy in Logan’s eyes.