Therapy and the first two weeks

After the initial few days are done and you accept the fact that therapy is a part of life, it's really not all that bad. Here's the thing, though... you have do to exactly what they tell you to do. Don't push too hard, but don't get lazy. If you need to do exercises three times a week, then do them. It doesn't matter how bad it hurts. There were times I would've rather cut off a finger than do my exercises, but you just have to.

At about the 1 week mark, I had already broken 90 degrees on my bend and could start to get a good quad flex. A few more therapy sessions later, and I was at a 128 degree bend. I was thrilled to death. I only have about 10-15 degrees left to get to a full bend! That's not to say I'm almost recovered, but at least I can bend my leg.

I've graduated to just one crutch and can walk with my brace unlocked. It gets a little wobbily from time to time, but as long as I focus on my steps and don't try to walk over too much of an un-even surface, I'm pretty good. I've conquered stairs (albeit VERY slowly), and already sat through my first Pirates game post-op. Things are progressing rapidly now. I just have to keep at my rehab, keep at my exercises at home, keep it elevated, and keep it cold. If I can stick to that, I think the next couple of weeks should fly by.

Oh, the bruising...

So one thing nobody tells you about is how badly your leg bruises. And I'm not just talking about around your knee. The whole leg. Check it out...

That doesn't even start showing up until maybe 3 days post-op. It starts to fade a few days later, and by 2 weeks there's hardly any trace of it left. Since they aren't trauma-bruises, they don't actually hurt. It just looks horrific.

Days 2 & 3

The next two days are pretty much the identical to each other. I spent the days feeling great one minute and crappy the next. I had to do my workouts 3 times a day and let me tell you, they're not fun. One of the most important exercises is to flex your quad muscle (the thigh muscle right on top). It's UNBELIEVABLY hard to flex that muscle, but absolutely critical to continue to use it. Otherwise it tends to shut down and the road to recovery becomes even longer. As painful as it is, it's key to just push through it. Pop a pain-pill, bite onto a towel, and push through.

The other thing to expect is a fever. I've been hanging around a 99-100 degree temperature for about 2 days now. I called the doctor and they said it's completely normal, and they expect that to happen. As long as it doesn't go above 101.5 and the knee doesn't turn "angry red", everything's still normal. I have to say, I'm very anxious to shake the fever.

I'm getting to the point where I can bear all of my weight on my leg for brief moments. I fatigue easily, but I'm already seeing the benefits of working hard on my exercises and trying to stay active. I'm hoping to be rid of these crutches within a couple of weeks.

Sleeping is difficult still because I hate sleeping on my back. I've moved into the bedroom now because I'm starting to cramp up on the couch. It's the little things you never expect that make this a crappy experience. But as I said in a previous post, I couldn't have done anything without my fiance. She's had about 10 hours of sleep in the last 3 nights because she's constantly making sure everything is okay with me. Having someone there for you is seriously half the battle.

I'll try to update more regularly now. The last few days have gone by so quickly, and hanging out on my computer is seriously the last thing I wanted to do. If you're checking up to see how I'm doing... I'm doing great and thanks for checking up on me! For anyone reading this in anticipation of what's to come... I won't lie, the first few days suck. However you keep getting better each day. And always remember, it's just a knee. There are people out there with real problems, real health issues. You can do it, just stay focused. Until next time...

Day 1

So after getting through my first night, it was already time for rehab. The doctor had told my fiance to schedule my PT first thing in the morning so that I would have a spot. I was in shock that I was supposed to go so quickly, but at 11:30am, just 17 hours post-op, I was off and running. They removed all of the dressings and I got to see how it all looked. All things considered, it wasn't bad at all. The knee cap was very swollen and the stitching on the front of the knee was pretty ugly, but honestly it could've been a lot worse.

Here's a cleaned up version of what you can expect.

Could be worse, right? My thoughts exactly. So anyhow, they started me on range of motion activities immediately. I'm not going to lie, they suck. Bring tears to your eyes and wish you weren't going through this hell type of sucking. However, you can tell it's the first step towards getting back to normal again. I pushed myself to my limits, but refused to overdo it. The PTists really encouraged me but kept me from hurting myself. At the end, they gave me electrode-therapy and let me tell you, it was wonderful. After about an hour or so, I was on my way home again with a book of exercises to do at home and an at-home electrode-therapy machine (pretty cool, right?).

The rest of the day was spent on my couch, sleeping and watching movies. I could hardly move and had to keep taking pain meds. It was sort of a blur of a day, but all things considered it could have been worse.

Post-Op - The first night

So above is what my situation looked like. They attached the brace over top of all the dressings. The tube coming out of the bottom is actually an ice machine. The tube attaches to a simple box that looks like a Coleman Cooler, and it pumps 50 degree water to a pad that surrounds my knee to keep the swelling down. It's really cool, actually. The slipper is because all that cold water keeps my foot cold, also.

The first night was a bit rough. Because my throat was still hurting, I was drinking a LOT of liquids. All of it had to come out sometime, though, so I woke up about every 4 hours to pee. I used that as a chance to take pain pills as well. That kept everything pretty manageable.

For anyone going through this, make sure you have someone you can really depend on by your side on that first night. My fiance took care of EVERYTHING for me, and I honestly don't think I could've survived that experience without her. Between refilling the ice machine, helping me get to the bathroom, making sure I was comfortable, and keeping me pumped full of pain meds, I think she got a total of about 8 minutes of sleep that night. I'd really like to thank her!

Surgery Day

Yuck. I can think of an infinite amout of things I'd rather do than have surgery. Once I got to the hospital at noon, they rushed me back to the "preparation room" where I got changed into my very fashionable hospital gown and socks. From there, I had a parade of nurses coming in asking my name, which knee was being operated on, and if I needed anything. They set the IV and I was ready to go. I was very thirsty, very hungry, and very annoyed. I wasn't allowed to eat after midnight prior to my surgery, and it 4:15pm before I went back for the operation (it was supposed to happen at 2pm). All I wanted was a glass of water and a cheeseburger, but that wasn't happening. Finally, the nurse came into my room and it was time for me to say my goodbyes to my fiance. The nurse gave me a "cocktail" to relax me, and after about 10 seconds I was flying high. I remember getting to the operating room, asking the doctor how he was feeling and having them shave my leg. By that time, they were having me breate deeply and I was out like a light. Although I was out cold during the operation, I can give you the brief rundown of what happened. They made a 3-4 inch incision in the front of my knee to remove the middle 1/3 of my patellar tendon. From there, they made two very small holes in the side of my knee and drilled through some bone to get to the inside. One hole was for the camera, the other for the dirty work. They screwed the two pieces of bone that attached to the patellar tendon to the inside of my knee and there you have it... a new ACL. They also sewed up a partial tear of my meniscus, but said it wasn't anything major at all. After all was said and done, I was out of surgery at around 6:10pm. Post-op, I slept like a baby for about 2 hours. Around 8, I woke up confused and as thirsty as I've ever been. The anesthesiologists put a tube down my throat filled with funny-gas to keep me asleep throughout the procedure. The removal of that hurt the hell out of my throat. The combination of that and the lack of water intake for almost 24 hours had me a bit cranky and in the mood for a drink. It took about 20 or so minutes of struggling, but I finally got my eyes open and started talking. After the first couple of drinks, my focus turned to my knee. I couldn't move my leg and boy-oh-boy did it hurt. I told the nurses and they started pumping me full of pain pills. Over the next hour, they served me toast, jello, and a Pepsi. My fiance was allowed to join me, and I began the process of checking out. By 9pm, it was time to go home. The last chore was getting myself on crutches to the bathroom and peeing. The nurse said that doing so was my "ticket out of there", so I did it without hesitating. Before I knew it I was in the car and on my way home. A few more pain pills and I was out like a light at home, new ACL and all.

Tomorrow's the day

Well, tomorrow I begin my journey towards getting back into sports. The hospital called me earlier and gave me a 2pm surgery time and ran through about a million questions (no, I've clearly never had any organ transplants). Now that the day and time are set in stone, I'm definitely getting nervous for everything. I've never had surgery before, so this is going to be a crazy process for me. I'm sure I won't be able to post anything tomorrow, so I'll see you post-op.

2 and a half weeks

Had my appointment with my Dr. on Friday last week. I got my brace (that thing is a beast), we decided that they'll be using my petella tendon for the surgery, got some general info, and then went in for blood work at UPMC Passavant. The closer I get to this surgery, the more nervous I am about it. Just hoping to make a quick recovery and not be one of those people that takes 3 years to recover.

1 month to go...

So today is exactly one month before my surgery is set to take place. I have an appointment next Friday with my Dr. to discuss surgical options and get some blood work done. I'm looking forward to the appointment, just to ease some anxieties I have about this whole process.

My knee actually feels pretty good. I keep tweaking it doing random things and it swells a little, but nothing too bad. I'm able to run on an eliptical and do an exercise bike, but when I run on a treadmill or on pavement my knee swells up a bit. I'm still trying to get myself into great shape before my surgery, but we'll see how that works out.

The Diagnosis

About 2 weeks after the injury, I stopped doing better. I couldn't squat clear to the ground without extreme pain and there was some definite instability in my knee. The pain centered on the outside of my knee, so I thought for sure I had injured my meniscus (because I'm an expert on the matter... right?).

4 weeks afterwards, I decided I had better check it out. The doctor's assistant pretty much beat the hell out of me at the appointment, and then Dr. Brian Jewell came in to examine me. He said he thought I had injured my meniscus and "tweaked" my ACL, but that the MRI would show for sure.

For the record.... MRI's are the worst. 45 minutes of laying on my back motionless are not my idea of a good time. Also, don't schedule them at 6:30am. Just a horrible idea all around.

So a few days after the MRI, Dr. Jewell confirmed what I had totally disregarded as a possibility. The ACL in my right knee was gone. Despite the fact that my knee had hardly swelled and I was able to continue skiing for a short time, I had, in fact, completely torn it.

My options were simple: 1) Get it surgically repaired, rehab like a maniac and move on with my life or 2) Rehab my knee in the short term and decide at a later date.

After much deliberation, I decided that getting back to basketball and skiing were very important. I also have a wedding coming up and I wanted to be in better condition for my honeymoon than I'm currently in with an injured knee.

May 27, 2010, I will be going under the knife. They figure that by October 9 (my wedding day), I'll be able to enjoy my wedding and, more importantly, my honeymoon without many limitations on what I can do. I can't play basketball or jump out of a plane, but then again I wasn't planning on that to begin with.

I have an appointment on May 7 to get my blood work done, get fitted for a post-op brace, and discuss some surgical options. In the meantime, I'm hitting the diet and exercise like a maniac. There's no better trick to a speedy recovery than good health and fitness beforehand. Here's hoping that holds true.

The Injury

I'm new to skiing, but I've been an athlete my whole life. My first time out, I picked it up very quickly and had a blast. In early March I organized a ski trip to Seven Springs, PA, for a day in the snow. The conditions were abnormally soft and rather difficult on the thighs, but I handled the first run pretty well.

On the 2nd run of the day I fell awkwardly and felt the dreaded "pop" in my knee. There was never really any pain, but I knew that something was wrong. After laying in the snow for about a minute, I got myself to my feet and got my skis under me. As I tried to reach my friends, who were patiently waiting for me, I fell about 5 more times. My knee was weak, shaky, and not very happy that I was still skiing. By the time I got to the bottom of the hill, most of the weakness had gone. I knew something was wrong, but I was very far from the lodge.

After skiing back towards the lodge over the next hour, I didn't fall again. I definitely babied my right leg, but was able to ski without much difficulty. When I got back to the lodge and got my skis off, though, I tightened up like a drum and could barely walk. I immediately got ice on it and called it a day.

Due to the lack of swelling and the low amount of pain (relatively speaking), I figured I had sprained me knee. I continued to walk and, after about a week, got myself back into the gym and on the treadmill. All seemed well....