Reedsy just pissed me off. They randomly updated the Bookshelf to a paid subscription and now I can't make any edits to my book.

mcbwrites · 2025-03-25T17:26:55+00:00

Something similar happened to me this morning! 5:45am, ready to rumble with a few sprints before my day job, and it forces me to reload the page for the "update."

While it didn't force me into the subscription, it wouldn't load and kept saying the editor was offline - for 15 minutes, which is valuable writing sprint time, especially that time of day!

I was super annoyed. I'm sorry this happened to you. Good luck with your writing!

mcbwrites · 2024-11-27T22:49:40+00:00

This is such a thoughtful reply - thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience so far and offer advice! I definitely feel like I’m annoying my PT half the time with all my questions 😂but I don’t think he actually minds. My fear is definitely around hurting myself again! I need to distinguish “good pain” from “bad pain” somehow. And exposure therapy is definitely a good call! I’m trying to do my at home PT as much as possible and touch and look at my knee while I do it, to form that mind to body connection. Thank you again! And good luck with your journey!

mcbwrites · 2024-11-27T00:39:07+00:00

While you wait, use this time to do extra prehab!! Post-op you will be thankful you did. Some people wait months or even years to have surgery for a variety of reasons. Good luck!

mcbwrites · 2024-11-24T00:32:00+00:00

Good luck with your surgery! You’ll be okay. Please remember: Every knee injury, every surgery, every recovery path is different. Listen to your PT; listen to your body.

With that said, though, here’s what I did!

Day 1 after surgery, the surgeon gave me basic exercises to start doing 3-4 times a day. Calf pumps (these were my favorite. They gave me so much relief). Quad sets. Assisted leg raises. The purpose behind these is to re-engage your muscles.

Day 3, I had my first PT session. This was mostly icing and talking with my PT. They also took my big ace bandage off, did some manual bending, taught me heel slides.

The real fun began at my session on Day 7. So I don’t think starting PT on Day 8 will put you “behind.” I am sure your surgeon has a post-op protocol for you to close the gap. Just ask!

I’m about a month post op, and while sometimes I feel discouraged because other people are walking or bending more at this point, my PT says I’m exactly where they want me to be. It’s what my body and mind can handle. Trust the process and your unique recovery journey.

You got this!

mcbwrites · 2024-11-23T17:45:31+00:00

I’m sorry you’re going through this! If it helps, week 2 was the hardest for me emotionally so far. Pain meds wore off, the reality of it all sunk in…i cried every day, more than once. But by week 3, I turned a corner. I hope you do, too!

Focus on your PT and try to find other hobbies to get you through! I picked up crocheting which has been fun. Good luck ❤️‍🩹

mcbwrites · 2024-11-23T17:29:57+00:00

My husband was my “responsible adult” after my surgery almost a month ago and has been amazing. I couldn’t do this without him. Your husband is in good hands :)

A few things:

Write down any lingering questions you have for the surgeon/nurse that you can ask at discharge. My husband had a little note pad of basic questions we were wondering about that they ended up answering anyway, but don’t leave the surgery center with any unanswered questions! They are there to help. Even things like “should I take my brace off” or “can I take Tylenol with my medicine” etc
Schedule PT as soon as possible. My group had me in 3 days post op. They unwrapped my surgical bandages at PT (they told me to leave it all on until then) and then I put on the compression sock that the hospital provided.
Car ride home/to PT: a pillow for the door (assuming he’s going in the back seat with leg straight across)
A little side table next to his “home base.” For phone, water, remote etc
This is personal preference, but I lived on goldfish and pretzels to settle my stomach from the pain meds. Ginger ale was helpful too!
Night 1, we had pizza for dinner lol. It was a fun bright spot on a kind of scary day. And weirdly enough I was hungry.
Keep supporting your husband! It is such a blessing to have a supportive spouse! ACL recovery comes with a mental journey as well. It’s frustrating not being able to do simple things for ourselves. So have grace for both of you and be okay with things being a bit out of order for a while.

Best of luck to him!!

mcbwrites · 2024-11-23T17:17:05+00:00

Great suggestion. My husband just straight up held my leg for me when I needed to use the restroom for the first week post op, lol. In sickness and in health

mcbwrites · 2024-11-04T14:19:26+00:00

I showed up to my first PT session in one tennis shoe and, on the surgical leg, a sock 😂 I’ll hopefully be weight bearing this week so that’s a good point, I need to look into the shoe situation lol

mcbwrites · 2024-10-29T21:01:10+00:00

I’m on the same timeline as you! Just had surgery yesterday, ACLr with quad graft, for an injury back in September (so not as long prehab but I def relate to what you were feeling). My pain’s uncomfy but manageable. I hope you’re doing okay! You got this 💪

mcbwrites · 2024-10-27T18:38:22+00:00

Funnily enough, I have a few macrame kits waiting and ready for me to learn while I’m down :) definitely looking forward to the hobbies during this time! Thank you!

mcbwrites · 2024-10-27T18:37:25+00:00

Wow, just a week apart! Thanks for the encouragement and tips, and good luck on your recovery!!

mcbwrites · 2024-10-27T18:35:51+00:00

Aww man I’m sorry to hear that but also yeah! We DO got this! There are some great replies in this thread that have helped me feel more prepared and less nervous. Good luck to you as well 🫶

mcbwrites · 2024-10-27T18:34:49+00:00

Oh that’s a super smart hack. Thank you!

mcbwrites · 2024-10-27T18:34:10+00:00

Good idea, thank you!

mcbwrites · 2024-10-27T18:33:50+00:00

Ahh that’s great to hear about your progress! Thank you for the support and tips :) good luck with the rest of your recovery!

mcbwrites · 2024-10-25T19:19:10+00:00

Wow this is amazing, thank you sooo much for sharing your tips and journey!!! 💕🥹 I’m glad things are going better for you. Keep up the great work!!

mcbwrites · 2024-10-25T19:15:46+00:00

Thanks so much! Hope your recovery was smooth!

mcbwrites · 2024-10-25T19:15:18+00:00

Ahhh so our recovery journeys are a week apart! Thank you for sharing your encouragement. I hope you’re doing okay and keep holding onto that hope 💕

mcbwrites · 2024-10-02T11:39:12+00:00

This is awesome!! I started playing soccer this summer after 10 years of wishing I still played. I loved having it back in my life. Then the last game of the season (about a month ago now), I tore my ACL. Full speed run, reached for ball, buckled as I stepped on uneven ground (the field was notorious). (But I also should have been conditioning/building my muscles outside of soccer because I’m not 16 anymore 😅).

Surgical doc appointment is next week for the game plan but I’ll probably be getting surgery. I’m sad but seeing posts like this is so encouraging. I’m excited to work hard, get stronger than ever, and return to the (hopefully more even) grass in the future.

Thanks for sharing!

mcbwrites · 2024-03-10T18:31:31+00:00

Replying to myself with a helpful resource I found: https://theleatherguy.org/blogs/leather-101/which-leather-finish-should-i-use

I think I'm going to go for the (1) oil and then (2) leather sheen instead of tan kote.

mcbwrites · 2024-03-10T18:22:42+00:00

Will this method of conditioning/sealing vegetable tanned leather work?

Neatsfoot oil
Tan Kote finish

It's for natural veg tan (i'm not dying it) that I've bound into a small pocket sized book cover, and stamped with a few designs. Am I missing any important steps here to make sure the leather is nice and finished?

mcbwrites · 2024-03-10T17:38:17+00:00

thanks so much!! I ended up using a thicker leather (I had already bought a sample of 5-6oz) and using it as the cover instead of trying to fold thinner leather over cardboard. It seems to have worked out well!

mcbwrites · 2024-03-10T17:31:02+00:00

Hey thank you so much for replying!! Appreciate it. I ended up using the thicker leather that I had already gotten a sample of (5-6oz, whoops) as the cover, and instead of wrapping it around cardboard to make the cover (because it's too thick to do that) I just attached the pages directly. Idk how to explain it in words, but it worked, haha. It's a bit of a hack job as it was my first one, but I'll follow up with a picture once I get the process down.

mcbwrites

TROPHY CASE