The Catch Up: Part II My Injury

If you read my post about Lake Powell then you know that I was injured in the first HOUR of our vacation. 

The doctor's at the clinic thought it was a sprained knee and hamstring injury. 

Well it didn't get better the week we were in Powell and even after a week I couldn't put any weight on my leg. 

So when we got back I went to instacare to have to have some x-rays done and have it looked at

The Lake Powell clinic didn't have an x-ray machine or anything fancy

I think Jeff thought I was a wimp and might have torn like my MCl. 

He kept telling me there was no way I would have torn my ACL. I agreed.

So in the Instacare they tried moving my knee around and took some x-rays. 

Pretty quickly they told me I needed to go see an orthopedic surgeon and gave me a referal to get in quickly.

Joy... not what I wanted to hear. 

Honestly not a surprise either since I still couldn't walk after a week and a half

I made an appointment and thanks to my dandy letter I got in within 2 days.

Again I took some x-rays and did the range of motion test with Dr. Mortensen

He confirmed I had 2nd degree tear to my MCL, bruised my bones, and had some small fractures on my tibia. 

He said my knee was really loose that he thought I could have torn my ACL, but couldn't tell from the x-rays

MRI was scheduled for the next day and he gave me some exercises to do to improve my range of motion

FYI: MRIs are very painful if you can't straighten your leg and you have to for 30 minutes without moving.

MRI results confirmed that I tore my ACL

it isn't even attached to my bone anymore. Great...

I also tore my meniscus.

Seriously how could I get that injured from a charlie horse? Curses...

My injury is called the "unhappy triad" 

Really who came up with that name?

Overall, for a complete recovery takes anywhere from 9 months to a year. 

Some people aren't ever the same after surgery. Just what you want to hear right?

I was directed to attend physical therapy for at least a month

The goal being to let the MCL heal on its own and get my range of motion back.

Studies have shown that physical therapy before surgery reduces complications and speeds recovery time

I was supposed to go into surgery around mid-sept based on the doctor's projections.

However, since we were moving I had to put it off until we were settled.

More details on this later

Surgery plans are still up in the air, I'll update when I know

Good news is that I am no longer strapped to my crutches

Thank goodness

I went back to teaching about 3 1/2 weeks ago

Unfortunately, I still walk with a limp and can't do too much walking or my knee starts to hurt

Weather changes haven't been too much fun either

The worst part is knowing I'll be back to crutches in the near future. 

I appreciate all the friends and family who have been worried about me

It helps to know I have so many people who want to help.

Thank you and I love you all!

Until next time...