Jason Recovering Well from ACL Reconstruction Surgery

Jas have been recovering at home for more than a week now and progress is good.

Last Sat, we went back to the Dr clinic and his dressing were removed. Dr put some sort of medical glue over the keyhole wounds and the glue will drop off in good time, on it own.

Jas has also been using the Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machine for his knee therapy; flexing from 0 to 100 degrees.

He has also started physiotherapy treament, twice a week for 2-3 months.


He is off painkiller but still on crutches and using the cold gel to reduce the remaining swelling on the leg.

Knee Surgery - ACL Reconstruction

Jason came home with a bandaged knee after twisting it in a street soccer competition.

He said that he was running very fast, stopped and turned sideways suddenly, he heard a 'pop' sound like when you crack your knuckles.

Luckily, he got some cold ice water in a plastic bag to apply on his inured knee and stopped playing immediately.

The MRI scan showed a torn ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) and this ligament prevents the knee joint from slipping forward, no wonder Jas was complaining that while there were no pain and swelling, he felt something loose when he walked.

Jas was wearing a knee guard and using a walking stick until his surgery was done.

The Dr ( Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon) examined Jas legs and we were all give a very good talk on the knee joint and the ligaments. HE even did not look at the MRI but by stretching his injured leg in various directions, he was able to conclude the possible problem which was confirmed by the MRI.

We discussed the options and decided on taking his hamstring tendon to replaced the damaged ACL through keyhole surgery, scheduled for last Sat afternoon.

Jas will be on crutches for 2-3 weeks and then go for physiotherapy session for 3-6 months. HE should not be playing any sports for a year to ensure full recovery.

The surgery was a success and he stayed in the hospital for 3 days to get over the pain and learned how to use the crutches ( eg. walking and climbing the stairs as we live in a double storey terrace house ).

Today, Jas is still recovering at home with his crutches, exercise on the CPM machine and also using an ice wrap to manage the swelling on the leg.

The good news is that he is only using 1 painkiller drug instead of 3 when in the hospital.

Luckily, he is on 6 weeks end of 1st semester holidays.

Happy Birthday, Mummy Poh

We celebrated Mummy Poh birthday last month and here are a couple of photos :

Jason appears taller in the photo as he was trying out his new dress shoes, bought that evening, and his puffy hair gave him some added height too....!

Happy Birthday to you, Mummy....!

Happy Teacher's Day - 1 September 2011

Happy Teacher's Day to all the teachers .......!

Teaching is indeed a very noble profession and they are the ones that are guiding our children to be responsible and contributing to our societies in the future.

I noticed how a teacher can influence the students; eg I still remember during his primary school days, Jason came home one day and told me that eating too much MacDonald fries is bad for health according to his teacher. While he has not stopped eating fries but it definitely has an impact on him.

Generally, Jason looks up to all his teachers but there are a few not so good teachers that he told me about. Luckily, these few are from the old generation where they are never wrong and the rule the class with an iron fist.

I have the privilege of teaching in Temasek Poly for a year and I really enjoy my time there. I still keep in touch with a few students through Facebook, mainly.

There is always this one student that have been sending me a Happy Teacher's Day greetings for the past few years. In fact, I just received his greeting through sms just now.

I am glad that I have made a difference to him and hopefully, a few other students too.

It is not easy when you have difficult students but it is very satisfying when you can feel that you are making some contribution or a difference to the students.

So teachers out there, I salute you and keep up the good work!

David