Hi, we are new to this group. I am helping my daughter through her recovery. She had ACL surgery two weeks ago. She is already getting depressed. She is reading your posts with me in hopes that you can offer up some positive vibes and advice. I have joined support groups before and found them informative and inspiring. She started PT last week, has a brace and is using crutches. Her post-op is this Thursday. I keep telling her to do her PT exercises daily to strengthen her leg and get that knee to bend. Some of her friends told her that recovery can be up to 6- 9 months or more. That’s what started the depression. I can see it in her face. She is tough and was very active, so this is a biggie for her. Any advice for this newbie ?
She absolutely can get through this!!! My daughter is 18 and a women’s college soccer goalkeeper. She is 4 weeks PO from her second ACL/meniscus surgery. She tore her left knee in August of 2018 and her right knee on 9/27 of this year. The average time for full clearance is about 9 months. It is a long hard recovery but she can do it. My daughter was in the best shape of her life and stronger than ever for the year in between. She was recruited for college and played all over the country before COVID. Set small goals and celebrate them. Every milestone counts.
PT is vital. This isn’t a surgery you can recover from without it…especially early on. That being said,
There will be bad days. Sometimes several in a row. She needs to know it’s ok to grieve the next year of her life. It’s ok to ba angry and sad and frustrated and jealous…as long as she doesn’t let those feelings take over.
When my daughter starts feeling overwhelmed because she’s got such a long way to go, I have her focus on right now and the next 15 minutes.
There are a million little silver linings along the way and she will start to notice them. Good luck!
There are a couple groups for parents of kids with ACL injuries…
Pediatric ACL Support Group and Parents of the ACL Recovery Group…don’t quote me on the exact names but if you search those you will find them both.