Off the Cuff Jacqueline Ross

Off the Cuff with Jacqueline Ross – September 2023

By Jacqueline Ross

Greetings, Humans

It’s wild that September is coming to a close. It feels like it lasted about 2 hours!  Anywho, as some of you may know and those that aren’t aware, I had a partial knee replacement 3 weeks ago. Needless to say, after ACL surgery and my knee locking up, defects on my femur being patched up, massive amounts of adhesions and scar tissue being removed, my knee now bends! As I took my first step in the hospital with my walker, I thought my knee cap was going to come out the back of my leg! It is so weird to feel the flexion in my knee; as I’ve been used to being immobilized in a brace with crutches and swinging my leg from my hip for the past 13 months.  “Operation Strength Rebuild” to my quad and calf and learning how to walk again is underway!

No one can prepare you for how to deal with pain or how your road to recovery is going to be.  

In all reality, how could they? People may have advice to offer and guidance to give, but no one has traveled the same path or had the exact same thing happen to them.  We are all unique in our own ways and in the unfolding of our journey. The last three weeks have been another eye opener for me with my intangible friend, ‘Pain.’ This type of pain must be a third cousin to the regular pain; never have I ever endured this type of agony in my life. We know what that means…more character building ahead! 

As I endure this pain and navigate my road to recovery, I am once again reminded about the importance of self discipline, patience, and to always show up and give my best efforts to the day — regardless of what I may “feel like.”  Feelings are fleeting and my mind has to be stronger than them…for my range of motion and strength depend on it!  

We learn the most through our hardship and losses.  Once again, it all depends on our attitude and how we choose to view whatever adversity we are facing. This challenge that I now face gives me the opportunity to rebuild my entire leg and be stronger and better than I’ve ever been. What a blessing! 

I’ll close us out with a few golden nuggets I’ve learned over the last 3 weeks.

It’s about progression, not perfection.  Some things in life we have to outlast and get through. 

Under construction,

Jacqueline