3-19-08....

Haven't written in a while... here's an update, the mri reveled a complete acl tear. The orto also thinks I might need mircofracture surgery... this mean I wont be able to put any weight on my right leg for 6 whole weeks. My surgery is tomorrow 3-19-08. Leading up the surgery I was running about 6 miles a day, at first I was thinking I might not need to get the repair, but now the rest of my body is really sore for compensating for my knee. So here we go, Im praying I dont have to get microfracture... that would suck.

Acceptance

Depression quickly lead to acceptance. After reading other blogs and articles online I now have a game plan. I'm going to wait to have surgery until mid May. I want to use a graft from a donor, and I want to do an aggressive rehab schedule. My goal is get back to running as fast as possible, 3-4 months. Also im going to try to keep my weight the same, by changing my diet and drinking habits while im not able to run. Hopefully my blog will be able to help others with this same injury. So now I wait, once I get the mri I'll go from there.

Doom's Day 4/4/08

Went to JOI to see the orto. He explained to me that my knee did not dislocate, the loud sound I heard was my ACL tearing in half. He showed me this by moving my knee in a few various ways, that a knee shouldn't be able to move without restriction. I'm now getting the rundown I got a few years back... major surgery, year long recovery, pain, etc. Thinking about how much crap I will have to go through over the next year is causing me to wig out. I'm holding out hope he is wrong (he never is wrong), as I wait to get a MRI. I work for an insurance company and im insured by them, but I still have to wait for their approval. Hopefully by next week I can get the mri. Before I leave he advises me to start strengthening the knee before surgery, by using a bike in my gym.

I hit the gym on my lunch hour, I do weights for my upper body then move to the bike. I cant believe how hard it is to move my knee in the motion needed to pump the peddle. After a few minutes it loosens up and I ride about 6 miles and feel some level of worth again.

Saturday 3/29/08

I play in a flag football league. We were running the ball pretty good, but the other team was starting to blitz on every play anticipating the run. So we called a play to fake the run and throw a swing pass to me out of the backfield. I caught the ball and went about 20 yards. I had one last person to beat, so I broke down and attempted to juke him. Next I heard a loud pop, and everyone within 10 yards of me heard it too. I figured my knee dislocated. This happened my freshman year of college, a tackle chop blocked me and my knee cap ended up on the left side of my leg. I tore my mcl, had cartilage damage, and torn my acl 45 percent. Thankfully the doctors decided my acl was stable enough and I did not have to go through the eight months of hell.

Back to flag football...
The pain was intense I almost threw up. But I walked off the field and later that night was walking around. Last time I hurt my knee I had to be carried off the filed, and couldn't walk for weeks. I was hoping I just got lucky and might have strained a few things.

Sunday...
My right knee is the size of a grape fruit, im taking about 20 Advil for the pain. My lovely g/f is helping me ice it and elevate it. At this point I have no movement at all. Ive called work and I'm going to be working from home all week.

Monday-Thursday...
Ive set an appointment to see the orto who examined my knee after my operation from the original injury. Continued icing has removed the swelling, and im getting a lot of motion back, im even hoping I can run on Saturday.

First date converstaion

Trying to sum up how I've become a neurotic compulsive runner, and transitioning into how I just blew out my ACL is some what hard to do... but here goes.

Over the past two years I've morphed from a muscle bound (with a hole bunch of fat on top) former college footballer to an avid daily runner. The change has lead me to giving a ton of clothes away to goodwill, and loosing about 100 pounds. Each day I run seven miles on either my treadmill, or one at the gym. I also throw in some other cardio exercises. I grew up a fat kid, and obesity runs in my family, my metabolism is horrible, I gain weight quick. These are cornerstones to my running addiction. If I don't run for a given day I end up feeling worthless. Running to me is not just about compulsions, I work a stressful IT job, and running is my time each day where I unwind.

I have my weight where I want it now, it usually floats around 175. I eat pretty much whatever I want, and I LOVE BEER. Anytime I feel like I've eaten too much, or I gain weight, I run more.