Knee Surgery #2

Does this picture look familiar? If you go back to the March postings, you will see a very similar one... Only 3.5 months after my first knee surgery, last week I re-tore my meniscus and had to have emergency knee surgery. I am so MAD! I was just getting to the point where I thought I could resume fun activities... like RUNNING! My doctor recommended that I wait 6 months to run, but told me that was not a magic number. She said to see how my recovery went. Well, I was feeling fantastic. I had been biking, swimming, using the elliptical, etc. for months and had no problems. So, about two weeks ago I ran 1/2 a mile just to test things out and I had no pain at all. Therefore, I decided to gradually (like a good girl) increase the distance. Last Monday I ran 1 mile on an indoor padded track (easier on the knees, I thought). After the 1 mile run, I felt great. I went to stretch and as soon as I pulled my feet together to do the "butterfly" stretch, I heard and felt my knee tear. I turned my knee forward and all the sudden it was locked in a 90- degree angle. I could not bend or straighten it. They put me in a wheelchair (meanwhile I am experiencing the worst pain of my entire life!) and I called Dan to come get me. I went directly to the knee surgeon's office. She ordered an MRI and it showed messy results... Picture a C-shaped material. This rim is what remained of my meniscus from the first surgery. Now, picture the bottom part of that C tearing away and flipping over like a bucket handle would flip over the top of a bucket. That is what happened to me. The meniscus was wedged in the middle of knee, which is why I could not move my knee and why the pain was so excruciating. The doctor said the meniscus had been traumatized so much that she was going to have to remove the entire thing; as a result, my knee would be bone-on-bone for the rest of my life. That sounded bad, but I could handle it. Then she told me I would probably get arthritis early. That sounded bad too, but I could handle it. Next came the news I could NOT handle... She said my running days were over... I know I might be an emotional wreck right now, but just typing those words gets the tears coming. Running is ALL I DO! I don't really like to do anything else. I have run nearly every day since I was 12 years old! That is the past 16 years!!! I am a marathon runner! How can you tell me not to run????

My doctor only does surgeries on Wednesdays and they were full for that week; however, some kind man let them bump him to next week (I guess he was not in pain) so they could fit me in. After surgery the doctor said she was surprisingly able to save a small part of the meniscus. I have no idea if that means I will someday run again or not. I have a follow-up appointment with her on the 29th and it is the first question I will ask!

Although the 2.5 days prior to surgery were super painful, the post-surgery pain has not been bad at all. I was on crutches by the weekend and am now hobbling around the house without them. I can't yet do stairs very well and I take one crutch with me when I go out, but things are definitely getting better. I start physical therapy on Monday and hope to be able to get active again soon... but I will take it slow this time and follow every recommendation the doctor makes. Well, unless she really says I can't run ever. That rule, I know I will have to occasionally break.