Doctor Appointment

I went in for my appointment on Thursday and the news was good! The doctor thought my knee would have more swelling and be more stiff. I have been trying to do a good job of resting it and moving it equally throughout the day. I removed the last bandages from my knee and saw two tiny scars on my kneecap. Hopefully I can start physical therapy next week to get more movement in my knee.

The doctor was kind enough to give me the pictures from the surgery of my knee. It is weird to look at all that is going on inside your body. Here are some pictures of my knee during surgery. The pictures on the second page show the holes already drilled in my kneecap to allow the stem cells to create new cartilage. The pictures above "Lateral Condyle Cartilage Injury" did not turn out too well, but you may be able to see where the cartilage was missing (look for the rough edges).

I guess all I can do is keep doing what I have been doing before physical therapy begins. Patience is very important with this type of surgery, so I have to slow myself down from trying to do too much. The doctor did say that other than playing sports, running, jumping, etc there really was not any limits and just listen to my body. And I had plans to run 2 marathons this weekend...

Day 6...

Tomorrow is my first appointment since the surgery. The surgeon said he will show me some pictures of my knee, which should be interesting to see. As you can see from the picture, the swelling has gone down even more. I spoke to the surgeon's nurse on Monday, and she encouraged me to try and move it as much as I can without any pain. She also said the office does not believe in giving patients any crutches since the patients can become dependent on them.

It is interesting because this type of recovery is in contradiction with what I have read on the Internet concerning microfracture surgery recovery, which also encourages movement but limits putting too much weight on the surgically-repaired knee and leg. I guess I should trust the doctor and see what happens. I can bend my knee to almost a 90 degree angle, but it is still very stiff. I am still walking around like some 1920's horror monster with my stiff leg and awkward gait. I think I will also go into the office tomorrow after the appointment, provided my leg is good enough to drive with.

Day 3!

I finally took a shower this morning and I feel a lot better. I took the bandages off last night to see what the knee looked like. As you can tell in the photo, it is pretty swollen. The nurse had me initial my knee to ensure surgery was done on the correct knee. The doctor said I can put as much weight on it as my body will allow. Hopefully the swelling will continue to decrease and my kneecap will become visible again. My next appointment is this Thursday at 10 a.m.

Surgery and Purple Socks

I woke up this morning at about 5 to get ready to go to the hospital. Autumn waited with me right until they took me in the operating room. I was outfitted with a purple gown and some sweet purple socks made by a company called Bair Paws. I don't plan on taking them off for about 2 weeks. The nurse hooked me up to an IV and a contraption that blows warm air into my gown. That was nice. I found out the nurse's youngest son and I share the exact same birthday. What a small world!

I walked into the operating room and the anesthesiologist put something tingly in my IV that made me loopy. Then he put the breathing mask on me and I was out! The next thing I know, I am awake in the recovery room but everything was a haze. I thought I was still in the operating room waiting to have surgery. I was in and out of sleep for about 20 minutes. Then I tried moving my leg without thinking about it and a sharp pain brought me back to reality.

I spoke to the surgeon and he said the surgery went well (do they ever come out and say, "Uh, damn, well, you see what had happened was, I should have made a left at your ACL but instead made a right. Your knee is all jacked up now....my bad, son.") He did end up doing the microfracture surgery but said there was only a tiny piece of cartilage missing. The rest of the knee looked pretty good to him so he did not have to fix anything else.

I am now resting on the couch with my leg elevated. I can't take a shower until Sunday but I do have my pain medicine to help me out. My next appointment is Thursday, and I get to see pictures of my knee. That should be pretty cool.

Crap...my surgery is almost here

Hello to anyone who may be reading this! I created this blog to help keep track of my recovery in case someone else goes through this and are in search of some answers. I guess I could have written a journal on the computer, but maybe something I write here will be interesting to someone.

So, how did I get here? That is a damn good question, and one that I really cannot answer. I fancy myself a weekend warrior, and for the past 3 years or so I have been involved in flag football leagues in the San Diego area. I also did some running, to include two half-marathons, two Camp Pendleton Mud Runs, and some 5K races. My first sport love, basketball, had been put on the back burner and I have played maybe 3 times in the past 5 years. Add in lifting weights about 3 times a week, and I guess there was a good chance something was going to break down.

I first noticed something wrong around Thanksgiving of 2009, after our football season had concluded. My right knee swelled up significantly and I had limited range of motion for about 2 months. The outside portion of my knee seemed to be the problem, but I thought it would gradually go away with some RICE: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. When that didn't happen, I then realized my right knee had become very weak in those 2 months of inactivity. I began to strengthen the muscles around the knee, specifically the quadriceps. That made a huge difference and I was ready to play in the winter season that began in February of 2010. We had a team that I thought could compete for the championship, and with the pending birth of Maya in April I knew that this might be my last chance to win.

We ended up 9-1 in the regular season, but before the final regular season game I noticed my right knee was a bit stiff and swollen. I played one half of the game before I realized I could barely walk. The playoffs would be in 2 weeks and I did not want to miss that for another half of an insignificant game. I thought the swelling would dissipate and I would be good to go...as usual, I was mistaken.

Maya's anticipated birth was on the same day of the playoffs, so even though I was planning on missing the playoffs I was hoping she would delay her arrival for a couple of days. Apparently Maya will be a punctual individual, because she decided to arrive on her anticipated birth date. The playoffs obviously became an afterthought as we waited almost 24 hours for Maya to come. I found out later that our team lost in the semi-finals to an inferior team. I also found out that there would be an all-star game 3 weeks later, and I was again hopeful that I would be healthy enough to play.

3 weeks later, my right knee was still a mess. It felt a little better but barely. In those 3 weeks, the outside of my right knee would have painful clicks, as if something was catching between the bones. Walking up and down stairs, bending and straightening my knee, and almost any other knee movement would cause pain. The knee was swollen the entire time. Eventually, the clicks and catching ended but the knee was still swollen. Playing in the all-star game probably did not help, as I was pretty useless out there. I did get a sweet t-shirt though!

Over the summer, I would rest my knee and hope for a fall return to the football field. The swelling in my knee eventually went down and one month after the all-star game I had an MRI on my knee. A few weeks later, I got the results: "focal full-thickness cartilage loss in the posterior weightbearing surface of the lateral femoral condyle with sharp margins that suggest a traumatic etiology". In English, missing cartilage on the outside part of my knee.

As crazy as this sounds, I was hoping for something torn, such as an ACL or meniscus. At least with those surgeries, the pieces are normally still there and need to be re-attached. Doctors can't implant missing cartilage into empty spots. The only real solution is microfracture surgery, which is still a relatively new procedure with improving results. The procedure involves drilling small holes into the surrounding bone to get to the bone marrow, and the blood and bone marrow (that contains stem cells) causes a blood clot that results in new cartilage. However, the catch is the new cartilage is different than the original cartilage: it is denser and more likely to break down. Plus, it takes about 8 to 15 weeks for the blood clot to form the new cartilage, so rehab is a SLOW process. Not good news for someone like me who likes to get outside and do stuff.

During the rest of the summer, the swelling disappeared almost entirely and I was able to get back on the football field. And all was good for about 6 games, but then the next day after a double-header my knee swelled up again. I could not play the rest of the season. I knew something had to be done, not so much so I can play football but more so I can get back to running to supplement weight lifting. However, since we now had an infant, I was concerned about Autumn taking care of two helpless creatures. So, we decided to wait until after Maya's birthday party to have the surgery.

It was very tough to hear about the football team's exploits and not be able to help out. I knew after the last season that our team had a chance to be really good this winter. The team went undefeated in the regular season but lost a heartbreaker in the championship game. Would we have won if I was there? Who knows, but I would liked to have been there with the rest of the guys.

Everything is ready for tomorrow's surgery. I have to check-in at 6 a.m., which is ridiculously early but Maya gets up early anyway. I will be put under for the duration of the surgery, which should last about an hour. I should be able to go home around 10 a.m., and Autumn will pick up the pain medication that I will need. There is a rehabilitation center close to work where I can hobble to during my lunch break when I get back to the office. I will be on light duty until I get cleared by the doctor. Our group is very busy and I will miss being out in the field with them.

I am also concerned that Autumn will be tasked with doing everything until I can get back on my feet. She does so much right now and I feel bad being useless. I just know this has to be done and it is better to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

Good gracious, this is longer than "Atlas Shrugged"! I will probably be a little nervous, but I have met the surgeon numerous times for appointments and I feel confident he will do a great job. I am not sure when I will be able post something else, but I should have some free time in the next few days when I am lying down on the bed, couch, floor, etc.