I tore my ACL, MCL and cartilage on the afternoon of November 9th, 2008. After consultation with my surgeon I decided to go forward with the surgery and get a donor graft. I just turned 50 but a pretty active female and am an avid motorcyclist and HD RidersEdge Instructor so I felt I needed to surgery in order to support the weight of my 850 lb motorcycle and still pretty active. Matter of fact I was teaching a lesson the day the accident happened and just a freak accident. When we broke for lunch one of my best friends for 20 yrs was taking the class and opted to ride me on his motorcycle about 300 yrds to get lunch for me and the other instructor. When leaving McDonalds with a bag of lunch in one hand and drinks and drink holder in the other my friend dropped his Goldwing and I went flying off the back and hit knee first and heard and felt it pop. He has taken much teasing over it but he was an excellent rider and if I had not had that stuff in my hands I probably could have broke my fall with my hands.
I had my ACL surgery on the afternoon of Wednesday, January 14th, 2008. I went back just after 1 pm and was heading home by 6:30 that evening. Medications I was given was for pain, nausea and inflammation. The leg was already bandaged up for a ice pack to be attached and an immobilizing brace. I got up a few times that night to go to the bathroom and ate some soup when I got home and then passed out. Each time I got up I would do the two exercises the doctor had me to do which was knee bends to 90 degrees and leg lifts. I was up the next day and logged into work and worked a few hours and answered emails. The next day I had a doctors appointment and first physical therapy session. The doctor replaced my ACL with a donor graft and repaired some menicus. He removed all stitches except the ones at the lower tibia where the graft is attached with screws. I have a follow up appt on January 30th. I left the doctors office walking on my own without crutches and just in the immobilizing brace. In therapy they were pretty amazed that I could move as much as I could and I credit that to all the pre-operative exercises I did to prepare for the surgery. I had my second physical therapy session on January 20th and they added to bike exercises, heel stands and leg lifts. I am wearing my custom brace to work over my business suits and I have discontinued my pain medication and just taking the inflamation drug. When I came into work today on the 21st I opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator for two flights of stairs and was picking my weight up on that knee. Bottom line I had plenty of family and friends praying for me and I attribute the grace of God and my pre-op work with the progress I am at at this point. Don't know all my costs yet but I will certainly outline them here as soon as I see the results of the insurance filing.
