November 7, 2005 was a feel happy day. I walked into the physical therapists office and got the nice fan fair about being off crutches. Spent a little time talking about how I am doing off the crutches. Said how my calf seems to be bothering me more than my knee itself. The pads on my foot were also bothering me after the walk to work. Karen figures it is just because of lack of use (kinda what I figured also).

The session was spent working on balancing exercises and calf rises. Just as an example of how weak the calf is I could do 40 calf raises with the right leg without issue, I could only get 16 with a lot of strain with the left. The good and bad of being off the crutches; Good: the session went very fast, there was not a ton I could do and Bad: the session went very fast because my leg is so weak.

For this week my exercise regimen includes biking for 20 minutes. To build up the calf and thighs I will be dong calf lifts, mini squats and bridges (lay on your back and raise you hips into the air trying to put most of your weight on the left leg). To improve my gait I am walking backwards, knee bends (using tension from a rubber band) and walking on the tread mill. For balance I am standing on one leg (left leg) and tossing a ball with one of my boys.