Thursday, April 3, 2008
For the past few months, my right knee has grown to be intolerable. The past 18-24 months has been filled with dozens of 'stopp-ages'...stopped running, stopped hiking, stopped speed walking, stopped playing tennis and softball. The knee was getting worse and more unstable. I have been in physical therapy now for 5.5 weeks and they decided that an MRI was necessary.
So, I stopped giving things up and had the MRI...assuming I had a simple torn meniscus (cartilage) and that was that....
Well, here are a few pictures of the latest info from the MRI. Yes, I have a complex horizontal tear in the lateral (outside) meniscus and degeneration of the medial meniscus. The circled part on the right looks like a dark triangle outlined in white - that is the 'normal side'. The circled part on the left looks like a broken triangle - that is the torn cartilage viewed from the side.
BUT, the unexpected part is the worst part. I have a completely torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). For those of you who do not know what this is, there are two major ligaments in the middle of the knee between the upper leg and the lower leg bones. These two ligament crisscross at the knee and keep your two bones from sliding apart. Well, my major ligament in there is now gone. I guess this explains my unstable knee....
The arrow is where the ligament should be - you can kinda see a dark band that suddenly stops. It should not STOP!! So, I see the ortho surgeon next Wed and I assume that he might do some surgery - a bit more surgery than originally expected. This is all fine, but I am not a patient girl and next Wed is a long way away. Assuming we need a full reconstruction of the ACL, it is about a 6-9 month rehab post-operatively.
I ask that you pray that I have patience and a good doc who will move forward and get this knee back in shape. I eagerly want to be able to be active again SOON...hopefully get back to running which I miss. The story will continue and I will be in touch about what it next. (maybe more fun or no so fun pictures)
