The Lagging Leg Chronicle

This is not a huge update… not a Hawaii-sized post… but it makes me happy in a wonderful, floating way. I’ve been worried about my right leg — the lagging leg — since I woke up from the surgery and noticed the asymmetry. While I could kick with my left leg before I left the hospital and could feel both legs equally, my right leg didn’t have any movement for months… no twitches, no response. In March last year a muscle in my quad started listening. But, still, I wasn’t able to move any part of my leg. I wasn’t able to hold the small contractions for very long and they couldn’t fight gravity. But: two months ago my right hip flexor started taking off in strength. I noticed a weekly difference in how high I could lift my knee. And now, just this week, I was finally able to do little kicks. I can sit and use my right quad to swing the lower part of my leg. Hooray! If this trend continues I will soon be able to lock off my right knee while walking and standing. I will no longer need the awkward heavy knee brace stuck in a straight-leg position. Transitions from using the chair to walking will be easy… will be instant. How crazy.. how incredibly slow and creeping this healing process has been. Every day I feel closer to my legs moving themselves. I am experimenting with how I shift positions and get dressed. Things feel so easy.

One thought on “The Lagging Leg Chronicle

  1. Janet

    This is great news! Nerves heal very slowly and not in a predictable manner, as you have seen first hand. The small victories! Congrats.

    Reply

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