If you can’t tell by the title of this post, I have not been active on this site because I had ACL reconstruction surgery on Aug. 28th. But I wanted to take this negative and turn it into a positive by writing something informative and motivational for others about to undergo a similar procedure. I’ll talk about the accident, the consult, the surgery, and finally the rehab/recovery.

The Accident
Well this is embarrassing. If you remember my previous story about weight loss, you’ll recall that back in January I was a fat guy. I’d like to point out that fat guys and skis don’t mix. While this brief description should suffice I’ll go a little bit deeper for those who really want to understand the severity of what happened.

I was on a ski trip to Ascutney Mountain in Vermont, doing very well for someone who hadn’t skied in several years. On what I planned to be my last run of the day I took the lift up to mid-mountain and tried my best to go down a trail that ended up being too icy for me or my skis to handle. I was going downhill at too quick of a pace, the winding trail in front of me seemed like the kind of thing Sonny Bono crashed into so I tried to slow down.

Unfortunately the slick of the mountain and the speed of my skis was working against me. In mid-stop my right ski crossed over my left and sent me into the air like a catapult. Just before the bindings were released I felt a pop in my knee, imagine cracking your knuckles only on a much grander scale. I went flying through the air with my right ski still attached, I landed face first in the snow and bounced, did a front flip as the right ski fell off, and came to a stop on my back.

I’d like to point out that this didn’t hurt, per se. I knew I was injured, I knew I couldn’t get up and walk, but it wasn’t pain. My friend Steve (of Deadly Computer) was on the slope with me and was kind enough to call ski patrol. I was whisked down the mountain in a little body bag attached to a sled, which was attached to a skier. This ride was scarier than my injury as I thought I was going to tip over and break my face.

The Consult
Don’t expect to get any sort of real help at the ski resort’s triage center. Because of the liability they’ll either give you ice, call an ambulance, or kick you out. I was lucky enough to convince them to throw in a set of crutches with my bag of ice, so I went back to our suite and stayed on the couch or in bed for the next 24 hours.

The accident happened on Saturday and by Monday I was being seen by an orthopedist. He looked at my swollen knee, was able to bend it from side to side (hint: that’s not supposed to happen) and told me to go get an MRI. That night I got an MRI and was told of the results a day or so later. I had completely torn my ACL, partially torn the meniscus, and all but completely tore my MCL. Not to mention the three compression fractures in my leg. I was a mess.

This doctor told me that he “recommended” surgery, but if I walked with a knee brace, did physical therapy, and didn’t “stay active” (no running, sports, etc.) that I’d be fine without it. Being the stubborn idiot that I am, I decided to go the non-surgical route. I walked around on three torn ligaments for seven months before I decided that not being able to run or even walk down stairs comfortably was a bad time.

My second opinion came from Dr. Michael Joyce, sports orthopedist to the stars. Getting a consult with him is like getting an audience with the Pope, it takes a while but is totally worth it. Dr. Joyce took one look at my MRI and X-Rays and decided I needed surgery ASAP. He basically told me I was a ticking time bomb, if I so much as slipped on a leaf I’d need a total knee replacement. He also informed me that my original doctor missed a few things: I had torn the three ligaments and had the three fractures but also streched the PCL and had one more fracture in my leg. So my original doctor got it all wrong. Damn.

The Surgery
I won’t go through the whole pre-op routine, because if you’re going in for surgery the doctor and everyone else will give you that talk. I had to stop taking vitamin supplements and aspiring for the four weeks before my surgery, since they apparently mess with the anesthesia. Day of the surgery you wake up early, get to the hospital early, then sit on your ass for a couple hours until someone remembers you’re here for a reason. I’m kidding, but it certainly feels that way.

So they roll you into a separate room and pump you full of anesthesia and antibiotics. To make sure your leg doesn’t move during surgery they do a complete hip-to-toe nerve block that makes you feel like you’ve got a giant charlie horse. And if you’re like me you’ll have an allergic reaction to the antibiotics, but not a big enough one for the doctors to be concerned about. Then they wheel you into surgery, knock you out, and you wake up several hours later in the recovery room with a giant brace and an ice pump strapped to your leg.

Once you’re sufficiently awake and functional they put you in a wheelchair and lift you into your car. Go home and sleep.

The Rehab
Physical therapy began the day after the surgery, Dr. Joyce doesn’t mess around. He wants you up and walking normally as quickly as possible. Around 20 hours after the surgery the nerve block in your leg wears off, which means you can safely put pressure on the repaired leg (in a brace) and walk around on crutches. They also say you should take a vicodin before the nerve block wears off because you’ll be in searing pain. Again, I had no problem with pain. I tried one or two vicodin, but I realized they didn’t do anything for me because I wasn’t actually in pain.

Back to the physical therapy, you go in twice a week for three months and continue to do the exercises at home two to three times a day. You wear a full leg (hip to ankle) brace on your leg for up to six weeks. I was progressing fast enough where they scaled the brace down to its thigh to shin level in my third week and was out of the brace after four weeks. At this four week period (two days ago) I was cleared to walk without the brace, but not to do any strenuous physical activity like running, etc. I am able to ride an exercise bike for 10 minutes at a time, but getting on a treadmill and running will come more toward the three month anniversary. At six months I should be fully medically cleared for athletic activity.

Advice
Don’t ski at Ascutney Mountain
Don’t ski if you’re fat
If you screw up a joint or a ligament go to Dr. Michael Joyce
Stick with your rehab! If you don’t you’ll never get your knee back to where it should be.

And I encourage anyone who has had or is going to have ACL surgery to please leave a comment or an email for me if they have any questions or something to add to this discussion.