Surgery set
The date for my ACL reconstruction has been set for May 9. Now that there's some finality to it, I'm starting to get a little bit anxious.
For one, the fact it's any type of surgery has me nervous. I haven't had surgery since my wisdom teeth removal eight years ago, and my appendectomy 14 years ago. The fact that it's surgery on such an important joint of my body has me more nervous.
The recovery is a pretty big stressor for me as well. I was told that if things go well with the surgery and recovery, I'll have about 20 years before the knee starts becoming arthrtic and giving me problems. That's a lot of pressure regardless, but the fact this is going to be a long-term issue isn't exactly comforting. Plus it's a 6-12 month recovery process.
Then there's the whole distance from home thing. If this had happened even last year, I could go home and get my family to help me out and get me to where I need to go. Now, I have to call in about a dozen favors: people to get me to Spokane and back several times, people to cover work for me while I recover, etc. And of course this is happening during the busiest time of the year.
I've also learned about some interesting devices I will experience during this process. During the surgery, they will insert a pain pump into my knee. It's just want it sounds like: it's a small pump that will pump pain medication ito my knee for the first few days. Also, I'd never heard of a cold therapy unit before this: it's a wrap that's attached to a cooler that provides constant cold therapy to your knee for about eight hours at a time. That's much more convenient than an ice pack, but it's also much more expensive: over $100, and insurance doesn't cover it. Decisions, decisions.
I think I'll be more at peace once it gets closer, and it shouldn't be too bad in the end. But it's the first time I've had something this big, and it's the first time I've had something like this so far away from home. It's tough growing up.
Physical therapy
Today was my first day of physical therapy as I prepare for surgery. It was actually quite the pleasant experience.
I got there about 7:00 a.m. and filled out some paperwork. I was actually caught off guard because the facility was playing a religious music station and there were Bibles on the table. (Note: I'm not saying it's wrong; it just felt out of place for Washington, especially since I haven't seen this is any of the other Rockwood offices I've visited up here.)
I got back to meet Nicole, my therapist, at about 7:20 a.m. She was very pleasant and comforting. We talked about my injury and went over the MRI results (apparently there's PCL damage too...the Triple Crown of ligament damage). She did some initial examinations, and it was amazing how quickly she picked up on things wrong.
To recap: when I met with the first two doctors, they said they couldn't notice if anything was wrong, didn't see any swelling, and couldn't notice any instability. Mind you, this was despite me stating I couldn't bend my knee, having significant swelling noticed by everyone except the doctor, and having a giant dimple/dent on the knee that was not there previously.
Nicole started out with the Lachman Test. This is where someone applies pressure to the back of the knee while feeling the shin. The idea is to feel for movement in the tibia and check the stability of the ligament. After 10 seconds, she said, "Yeah, your ACL is definitely gone."
Another test: "The PCL is mostly in tact, probably just a sprain."
Another test: "Hmmm...seems like there is something wrong with the MCL."
One more test: "I'm guessing most of your problems right are being caused by the loose cartilage. Once that's cleaned out, that will definitely help long-term."
Then there were quick measurements: I'm missing about six degrees of motion when bending the knee and about two degrees when straightening it, which isn't too bad. She then discovered my right knee is about an inch bigger than the left knee due to the swelling.
A note to the original doctor: I'm guessing you can pick up on these problems if you actually examine the joint. Try putting the laptop down next time.
Once that was done, we did a few quick exercises. One included a series of leg lifts to strengthen the hamstring. Parts of it were tough, but I got through it. The other one consisted of pedaling a stool around the room. This one caught me off guard, actually. I love to pedal around the office when I can, mainly because I'm lazy. Doing it today was painful and next to impossible.
I also made a bad assumption: I always assumed physical therapy was a "no pain, no gain" sort of thing. Despite the fact my knee was throbbing from pedaling, I didn't say anything and kept going. After a minute of this, I found out how wrong I was:
Nicole: "Did you feel any pain?"
Me: "Yeah. Quite a bit, actually."
Nicole: "You need to tell me if you're feeling pain, because these exercises aren't supposed to hurt. If they do and you keep going, you're causing more damage. There will be a few 'suck it up and keep going' exercises during the rehab, but I'll tell you in advance. This isn't one of them."
Whoops! Glad to know the rehab process won't be all pain.
After that, my knee was iced down and hooked up to some electrodes to stimulate the knee. It felt kind of funny, but it wasn't bad at all. I certainly wish I had the elevation pillows they have in the office. They were perfect, but ridiculously expensive. ($90 for a pillow? I feel bad for these people for having to spend the money to get them.)
At about 8:30, I wrapped up and got out of there. The rest of the weekend will consist of ice and small exercises. If I want to get this surgery done sooner than later, I need to work at it.
An uphill battle
I realize I've done quite a bit of complaining about the last several weeks, but I decided I needed an outlet to express my frustrations, hesitations, and anxiety. Then I realized I had a blog I hadn't touched in a long time.
Here's the quick back story: a group of folks from work went to Sky High Sports, a giant trampoline warehouse in downtown Spokane. Seeing as I didn't get to do a lot of trampoline jumping as a kid, I was really excited about it. Plus these trampolines are spring-loaded, which means higher jumping. Sounds like fun.
The day we were scheduled to go, I decided to look at the website one more time out of curiosity, mainly to see if there was a waiver or restrictions. That's where I came across the waiver, which led off with this gem:
I acknowledge that my participation in SKY HIGH SPORTS trampoline games entail known and unknown risks that could result in physical or emotional injury, paralysis, death, or damage to myself, to property or to third parties. I understand that such risks simply cannot be eliminated without jeopardizing the essential qualities of the activity.
In other words, this can be safe or it can be fun. It can't be both. Seeing that made me worry about my left ankle, which has had problems for years now. But seriously, it's a bunch of trampolines. How crazy could it get?
About an hour into the excitement, everyone started taking funny jumping pictures. Not wanting to be left out, I started doing my own jumps. Hey everyone, look at me! That's when I decided to do my best David Lee Roth impression and do my best rock star jump. It was pretty awesome...until the landing.
Pop. It felt as if my kneecap had been jarred out of place and then back in. It felt so horrible that it made me sick to my stomach.
My first reaction was to laugh. I had stated earlier in the week, after much debate over who/how many people would get hurt, "If anyone is going to suffer a catastrophic injury, it's going to be me." The fact I had gotten hurt was just too amusing to me, until I realized I was in a great deal of pain. I figured I'd be able to walk it off and I'd be good in a few days. However, when I got up and started that task, my leg felt like it was going to collapse on me, so I decided I needed to go to the ER.
The initial diagnosis was a sprain. I was told to put on a giant brace, rest 1-2 weeks, and follow up with the doctor if it didn't feel better. Even though my leg was wobbly, it wasn't horrible. But when I woke up the next morning, I gathered something was seriously wrong. Straightening the leg completely was difficult, but bending it was impossible. I was supposed to be sitting on an airplane in two days to fly to Seattle, but sitting up at all was not happening. The pain was excruciating.
I decided I needed to go ahead and get on my doctor's schedule. Since I had never been to my primary doctor out here, I was considered a "new patient," which meant I had very few options for appointments. When I tried to schedule one when I had double pink eye, I was told I had to wait 10 days. Luckily, it only took six days this time, and my main goal was to get to an orthopedist and get an MRI. I'm not a doctor, but I knew something was seriously wrong.
I got the MRI done a few days after the appointment and got the results the following week. By this point, I was starting to move around better and could bend my knee, so I was floored when I got the results: bruised kneecap, sprained MCL, torn knee cartilage and a completely torn ACL.
A follow-up appointment the following week confirmed the initial diagnosis, and it was determined I needed reconstructive knee surgery. If I were an 80-year-old man who sat at home all day, I could get away without it. But I'm a 27-year-old man who works on a college campus that requires frequent walking and occasional heavy lifting, plus I need two good knees to start working out again to lose the weight I've gained since I moved out here (and then some).
The attention-hog in me was amused when I first got hurt, because I figured I'd get some sympathy for a bit. But then I started reading and thinking: I'm 3,000 miles away from my family, and my girlfriend is on the other side of the state. I have one wedding in June that I can no longer attend, not to mention my brother's wedding in July that I'll barely (knock on wood) be able to make. Recovery from this is 6-12 months. Jogging is at least three months away, as if I needed another reason to not exercise. Add all that to the weakened patella, the screws that will be in my leg, the co-pays for surgery, follow-up, and physical therapy, and it suddenly doesn't seem that funny anymore.
I'm planning on using this blog to write about my thoughts and feelings leading up to the ACL reconstruction, the rehab, and anything else that comes to mind. Whether that takes us through the end of the year or halfway into 2012 is yet to be seen.
However, one thing's for sure: we can rebuild him. We have the technology.