30 Days of Self Love: Thank You Knee

Day 2 of the 30 Days of Self Love and today’s topic is gifts of the body. As soon as Tina sent this email I knew exactly what I was going to write about. I am very thankful that for the most part I am strong and healthy, no major illnesses or health issues to write about except for tearing my ACL in the winter of 1999 because of a cheerleading accident.

We were doing some stunts and I was going to do a shoulder stand and I felt a snap and intense pain, immediately knowing something was wrong. The trainer came over and checked everything out, gave me some ice and told me I would need to head to the doctor in the morning. Head to the doctor in the morning was a big cause for concern! I got dropped off that night and the next morning headed to the Orthopedic doctor in a town about 30 minutes from my hometown. He did the MRI and came in to give me the news that I would need to have surgery as soon as possible. Lots of tears were shed in that room and we got the surgery scheduled for the day after my 18th Birthday. Not such a great way to celebrate.

Surgery was uneventful but the aftermath is where the problems began. I woke up in extreme pain that didn’t go away until 6 months after. I thought it was normal and didn’t think to ask questions about why. Grueling physical therapy started the next week and it was constant torture. By mid-April I still only had 30 degrees of mobility in my knee and that was a big cause for concern. After a tearful conversation with my mom it was decided that I needed to get my knee looked at by another doctor. We called the best doctor in the area, the one who operates on the Green Bay Packers and waited the two long months before I could be seen.

When that appointment in June finally arrived I was so anxious I could barely describe to the doctor all the pain and issues I was having. Thankfully he was pretty good with teenagers and just let me cry. He spent an hour with me and did a through exam and decided that he would try sending me in for a scope in hopes that the procedure would clear away enough scar tissue that I would gain full movement in my knee. My scope was scheduled for the next week and in they went, again I woke up in  a lot of pain but figured that was a good sign. The next week I went back to therapy and tried to gain back strength and mobility. After a few more week of physical therapy it was clear that the scope did not do enough to clear out the scar tissue. Back to the doctor I went and my third surgery in six month was scheduled, this time to repair my new ACL and fix some issues with the screws.

I had my third surgery at the end of July and within weeks I had almost full movement and no pain. Amazing! The challenge with the timing of the last surgery was I was leaving for college 5+ hours away in less than a month and I needed to make as much progress as possible. Many hours at physical therapy and lots of home exercises and by the end of August I was crutches free and ready to head to campus. My biggest challenge was having to be on campus with a sore knee and trying to squeeze physical therapy in my crammed freshman year schedule. But I was strong and I made it!

Today I am so thankful that I got a second opinion and pushed through all the pain so I have full mobility and strength in my knee today. Dear Knee, I thank you for being strong and gaining back full motion. Even after 11 years I have very few problems! I lift weights, I do hardcore cardio, and I can walk without a limp. The biggest challenge with the surgery was spending the last few months of my senior year of high school in a brace and walking with a limp. Classmates at times were mean and I was teased but I learned the limits of my body and that I can get through anything. The 22 staple marks and 6 inch scar are constant reminders of how thankful I should be.

You don’t typically take pictures during bad times and I wish I would have taken a few pictures of myself right after my surgery and in my huge brace but I was too self conscious. Today I have NO issues with wearing shorts or a skirt, I am often asked about my “battle wound” and I just say high school injury. 11 years later my legs are strong, muscular and I may have a big nasty scar but its my scar

My ACL Scar 11 Years Later