On January 20th, Inauguration Day, I slipped on ice on the top steps at my home, winding up at the bottom of the 5 steps with a complete rupture of the quadriceps tendons from the knee. On January 27th, I had surgery to repair the injury.
My younger daughter worked for a well-known physical therapy company, so it was a no brainer. Two weeks after surgery, I had my assessment therapy interview and was on my way, so I thought. My daughter called me the next day to say that their company was not on the list of “preferred providers” that my insurance company would cover. As I needed to start therapy that week, we were in a panic. My daughter called back and said that the head of her therapy department told her that if she was injured and couldn’t use their company to do the therapy, then she would go to Mary at Back in Motion.
We made the call. Although they too were book for the remainder of the week, my wife explained my predicament. Mary got on the line and said to come down at 11:30, on her break time! My wife and I arrived at Back in Motion, where I had my first encounter with Mary. Wow! What a firecracker! Mary did an assessment and showed my wife and I a safe and relatively easy way to do the initial, critical 15 degree leg bend exercises. Although Mary was already book for the next few weeks, she told Kristin to schedule me for 11:30. Again, WOW!
I came to Back in Motion with zero flexibility with my leg. Over the next four months, they worked with me on flexing my knee in small increments spelled out by the doctor. To be fair, I will say that I am not the easiest person to work with if it might cause, shall we say “PAIN”! I’m a wimp, I admit it. Of course when you are doing therapy to regain lost flexibility, there is discomfort and some pain. Mary and her staff did a fantastic job of helping me obtain my range of motion with the minimal amount of discomfort and pain. Yet, I know now why a past patient called her Mighty Mouse. She may be petite, but she knows how to use leverage effectively. I lovingly referred to her as being a medieval inquisitor with all the torture equipment and exercise I had to do. So I called her Might Mouse the Inquisitor! Four plus months later, I walked out of Back in Motion with the same range of motion in both my legs!
Wow, four plus months you’re thinking. That’s a long time. Let me put this in perspective. My 82 year old mother just had a total knee replacement last month. Fourteen days after surgery, she walked up the same steps I fell on. It took me almost four months to walk up those same steps! My surgery was much more invasive and takes months just to being able to walk again, let along walk without a limp. People with injuries such as mine are in a full, straight leg brace. For the first two weeks, you cannot bend your leg at all. The third and fourth weeks, you can bend it up to 15 degrees with help. Someone has to hold your leg above the knee and have you relax. Once you relax your leg, that person has to carefully lower your leg. The fifth and sixth weeks, you can go to 30 degrees. Not too bad. The seventh and eight weeks, you get to go to 60 degrees. Ya! Right! I didn’t think I would get to 40 degrees, let alone 60. Mary, Liza, Paul and her staff worked wonders. Then guess what? That’s right. Week nine and ten, I get to go to 90 degrees and actively engage the repaired tendons. Not a chance, Nada, Zip, Zilch, it ain’t happening. Mighty Mouse, the Inquisitor, had me yelping those weeks. She had to move me to the back rooms so as not to disturb her other patients (at least that’s the story she tells). Did I tell you I don’t handle pain well? At the end of each two week period, I had made each goal. Unbelievable! Now comes weeks eleven and twelve, 90 to 140 degrees. I told Mary that my good leg doesn’t bend that far! She checked and agreed that it didn’t. It only goes to 134 degrees. Guess what? Over the next few weeks, we got to 134 degrees. If you had asked me if I thought we would get there, I would have said someone was on drugs. Mary told me I was well ahead of schedule to be where I was. My surgeon was also impressed.
I would be very remiss if I failed to include my wife in my recovery. Mary would show us the exercises I needed to do at home, and my wife would faithfully help me two and three times a day doing them. Without her assistance, I would not have progress as fast as I did.
I had a great time at Back in Motion. Mary, Liza, Paul and the other therapists were superb as were the support staff. It was a pleasure working with them. Everyone was so supportive and encouraging. The staff never complained about the old, fat guy that always talked non-stop. They were great. The occasional bribe of candy or a fruit ring didn’t hurt either. It put a smile of their faces (but it didn’t get me a reduced sentence!) If I had to do it over again (which I hope I never have to do), I would go back to Back in Motion in a heartbeat.
Sid Doyle
