Knee surgery/leg immobilizer and finding comfort?

[gybe!]

Bit of an odd one here…
I got tboned on Saturday by a POS that ran a red light doing 60; resulted in a shattered knee cap, broken tibia, acl damage, concussion, and plenty of other fun. Had my first surgery to repair the knee and tibia on Sunday, got discharged Monday night and am now home with the steel plates in my leg and fully dressed in a leg immobilizer.
My question is for any others that have gone through this; any tips for finding a comfortable way to just exist? Any must haves or secrets you uncovered you can clue me in on? I can never seem to find the right angle for supporting my leg and also back at the same time and it’s been a frustrating first few hours at home!


All in, I’m beyond pissed at the situation. My forever car, an ‘89 bmw M3 is totalled. Have to cancel my vacation to Mexico in two weeks. I can’t do like 90% of this things I had planned over the next 3 months as I’m not going to be bearing any weight until then.
I am very lucky to be alive, but I’m on to the just angry at the situation feeling. Especially over that car!

 

[Monkey Man]

Sorry to hear about this mate.

Hey, at least there's that silver lining that you've already "realised" - you're lucky to be alive. Hang in there man.

 

[CoolGuitarGear]

This may sound odd, but exercise the opposite leg... not just hobbling around, but actual training (one legged squats, even if only partials, will work... or a leg extension machine if you have access). Now, this will not help with pain, per se, but training one limb hard has a modest transfer effect on the other, which means faster recovery. This was documented more than once, with people who had a broken arm or leg. Some muscle stimulus in the injured limb can mean less pain sooner, rather than later, since an increase in function/strength = reduced pain levels in an injury. That's about all I can say, since I'm not working with you directly and cannot steer you better.

 

[Monkey Man]

That's about all I can say, since I'm not working with you directly and cannot steer you better.

Sound advice 'though, bud; agree 100%.