Recovering fast after knee surgery.
Two miles away from the half-marathon finish line, Celeste Edenloff felt pain in her left knee. She was forced to walk the rest of the race. That was in September of 2021. Fast forward several months, Celeste is up early, prepped, and rolling into a surgical unit at Alomere Health to have her torn meniscus repaired.
With same-day surgery, Celeste soon found herself at home later that afternoon. She would soon realize just how much she took mobility for granted.
Being an active person, using crutches, a walker, and a wheelchair is a major frustration. “I’m not going to lie, being immobile is difficult,” admits Celeste. “I have the help of a loving husband—what would someone do if they lived by themselves?” Celeste’s physical therapist, Scott Syverson, PT, DPT, recommends inviting a friend or family member to live with the recovering patient to help with laundry, cooking, and other chores. “Some of the critical things we do in pre-op sessions is identify care support, practice using the crutches, and confirm that all of the stairs in the patient’s home have railings.”
Because Celeste wrote stories about the recent opioid addiction crisis for the Echo Press, she was determined to limit her use. She was surprised that she didn’t need them by day three. “It’s a real concern. We recommend having your recovery partner keep a log of pain medication use and setting alerts on your phone to ensure taking the right amount,” says Scott.
Now that Celeste is in the groove of doing her exercises twice a day and meeting with Scott once a week, she is looking forward to her next race. “I just signed up for my 250th race in May—and it’s approved by my doctor!” Scott smiles and says, “She is going to be great!”
May 26, 2023 Update
“My husband and I just ran the Fargo 5K AND the 10K last weekend. We did the 5K Friday night and the 10K Saturday morning. I ran the whole 5K, but did a run/walk combo for the 10K. And now that I know I can do it, our race calendar is starting to fill up and it feels so good!”—Celeste Edenloff
