Charlie Lavin

Before Surgery ASK!! Before your Operation, you will have a 'Pre operation assesment' at the hospital where you meet with your surgeon, doctors and HCA's to prepare you. They know all about the operation, so take the time to ask and put your mind at rest. Prepare an overnight bag just in case- Even if they say you will be discharged the same day, as you never know what might happen. Don't google and YouTube pictures of what your operation will look like, as you will only scare yourself.  Adapt for time after surgery, to save you the stress after. So make sure you give your work/school enough notice so they can sort out things for your time off and it's not sprung on you or them. Make sure somebody is there to look after you (This is dependant on surgery). If you're losing any kind of independence, then make sure somebody is there to help you out. Treat yourself! Buy some new slippers, a blanket or a robe? The more comfortable you are whilst in hospital,

So 22nd November is the 3 week mark since my operation! I was told by the hospital that I am able to take my brace off at 3 weeks and learn to walk with my crutches without it. Below are some pictures of what my scars look like at this time. As you can see I had 3 incisions, which have left 3 rather gruesome scars. I included the comparison to my other leg, so you can see how much it has swelled and hopefully you can imagine what it will finally look like. Tuesday 22nd November 2016 So this is the first time my leg has been unsupported after surgery, which is rather scary! I haven't trusted my knee for the past 7 years, as I was constantly in fear it would give way and cause me to fall. This has made me very anxious about bearing weight, as I still can't really trust that my knee is fixed. - I'm so thankful for the operation and deep down I know that it will benefit my life, but right now it's rather difficult to see that.- I rested for most of the day, a

A couple of weeks ago, I had a MPFL reconstruction on my left knee, as my knee cap was miles away from where it should be. This would cause me to have partial dislocations from the age of 11 and as I grew up, it got a lot worse and more painful. So finally, the doctors agreed that surgery would be my best option. The basic summary of the operation was that they would take a ligament from my hamstring and construct it to my knee to ensure my knee doesn't slip out of place. It wasn't an overly complicated surgery and was only 3 hours long, but recovery wouldn't be easy at all. Day 1- So on Tuesday 1st November, I had to arrive at the hospital at 7:30am and wait around until I was called through for surgery. I was their youngest patient and because of this my mum was allowed to stay with me until the doctor was free to see me. I had my operation scheduled for 10:30am, which is so lucky as I could have been hanging around all day! I saw various professionals who told me