So, I have been a little MIA for the past week...
Last Saturday, I fell while skiing and tore my ACL. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a super active mom and an ACL is needed for most everything I love in life. I was in a state of mourning for about 6 days. My youngest son told me I needed to come up with some new hobbies and that crying can't be one of them!
On day 6, I got my MRI results and saw that there wasn't a tear but that the ACL was totally severed - gone. I feel like that got me over the hump into acceptance that the first surgery of my life was imminent. I have scheduled it for February 4th and started "pre-hab" to prep my knee for surgery by working on my quad, hamstring, calf and glutes.
People, I'm scared $hitless over this surgery and equally scared at the prospect of not having it.
I've been looking into it and I learned that in Europe most people rehab and adjust their activity level and forgo the surgery. I'm feeling very American in my stubborn desire to keep my life and activity level exactly the same.
So, I look to you for words of wisdom, advice, experiences... Any ACL stories out there?
We truly believe our son tore his ACL during a basketball game his freshman year in high school, but a bad Ortho misdianosed it.
ReplyDeleteHe continued to play on it for 2 more years until in a travel soccer game, he went down, heard the pop and we KNEW for certain it was a done deal.
There is an amazing doctor in Indianapolis that does nothing BUT knees, ACL's in particular. It's called the Shelbourne Clinic - google it.
Anways, being a junior in high school with aspirations of playing college soccer, we saw a local Ortho (different than the previous) & they confirmed it was gone and that surgery/recovery would take 6-9 months.
NOT what a high school junior going into his senior year wants to hear because it would mean he'd totally miss his senior year of soccer.
SO, we called Shelbourne and he was seen within a week, surgery was about 3 weeks later after he did the prep. His surgery and recovery was about 2 months total before he was given the green light to get back on the field.
Most ortho's consider his technique "questionable", but believe you me, it's not. He has been doing this for 30+ years and I've known several people who have gone to him and never looked back.
You'll do fine - just make sure you DO the rehab......or you will not be an active mom in the same capacity.
Take care!