Ouch
Last March, I fell while skiing up on Mt. Hood. It was a silly, small fall, but my ski did not pop off like it should have and got wedged in the powder, twisting my knee… and there was an audible pop. The pain was pretty intense and so we left the mountain and went home. My knee didn’t swell or bruise very much, but I was unable to put weight on it. We decided to rest it, ice it, compress it and elevate it (RICE) for a few days and then go from there. It didn’t get better and now I was unable to straighten my leg. So, I ended up getting x-rays and an mri – both of which didn’t show that anything major was wrong. I started physical therapy and the pain was excruciating! My knee still wasn’t improving, even after seeing several doctors and 2 chiropractors. So, to make a very long story short, I found an orthopedic surgeon who was finally able to diagnose accurately and help me! He said that I have arthrofibrosis of the knee. (Check out this article for more information.) It basically means that my body went overboard in repairing my knee and created excessive scar tissue. So, yesterday the surgeon performed arthroscopic surgery to remove the scar tissue, followed by a manipulation under anesthesia. I woke up with a straight leg, in a very tight and uncomfortable cast. The doctor said that my ACL, MCL and meniscus had all been torn but that my body had solidly repaired all of it. During the surgery, he just had to remove the scar tissue and other than that said that my knee looked great and very healthy. So, now I have to wear this super-uncomfortable cast until Monday afternoon, and I’m on some heavy pain meds, muscle relaxers and steroids. I will start physical therapy again on Tuesday and will only have to wear the cast at night while I sleep for the next month. I’m very thankful for my husband and the kids as they are taking such good care of me. And I’m thankful for my church family as they have watched the boys for us, are providing meals for us, are are praying for us. Maybe I’ll post some photos tomorrow…
