Round Three!
I was walking across a wet dance floor at christmas party held on a rainy Seattle night when suddenly I slipped, i fell and i felt a pop. The next morning the knee was dramatically swollen and my range of motion was severely limited and I knew i’d done it again. For the third time I’d torn my ACL.
When i was able to get an appointment with the surgeon who’d performed my previous acl reconstruction it took seconds for him to confirm my suspicions. Today I had an MRI and heard back from the doctor. The pictures make it official, my ACL is torn again and it needs to be fixed.
The most frustrating part to me is that i had done a lot to make sure this wouldn’t happen again. I’ve lost 25 lbs to reduce pressure on my joints, regularly practicing yoga to maintain my flexibility and riding my bicycle frequently to keep my muscles strong. The night i injured myself i had chosen not to enter a bike race where i feared i could injure myself but instead worked the relative safety of the finish line. Apparently all that was not enough and this freak accident was all it took for me to re-injure.
This blog is a silver lining. By chronicling my experiences here i hope to help some others through the process of acl surgery. Being my third time through this I’m starting to get the hang of things and i’m hoping my recovery this time will be the best yet.
Henry, sorry to hear about the tear I am sure you had a large pit in your stomach the second you felt the pop. Are you planning on doing anything different this surgery allo va auto etc?
I am sorry to hear this, I tore my ACL a few weeks ago and just had surgery last wednesday. I came across your blog while trying to learn as much as I could. I will keep checking in to see how your recovery goes.
I’m going to do another allograft, although it needs to be larger to accommodate my slightly expanded tunells.
I had my first repair 18-years ago. I was playing church baskeball 4-years ago and my knee went out, I hobbled around for a good month, I did not go get it checked. then last Sept. I was playing indoor soccer and it went out again. This time I did go and get it checked, I had to go to a different ortho. I did not get a MRI, but there was movement when he checked it. It is now June and I am having surgery on the 30th, because I had to save up leave to take off and it is the slow time on our unit.
Henry,
About a month ago I got tackled by a dude that was just horsing around after we watched a football game and I felt a crunch/pop in my left knee. Its the same knee which has a surgically repaired allograft ACL that was done about 5 years ago. I am 21 now and am looking at my second ACL reconstruction on the same leg. According to my Doc, it doesnt look like a did any further damage to my menisci (which saw minor damage from my first knee injury). I am having my MRI tomorrow to find out conclusively if I did a complete re-tear or if I just stretched out the old graft. I was just wondering if you could shed some light on how much stability you lost in your knee going from your first ACL replacement to your second? (I know my knee didnt feel the same after the first time, but im just wondering how much worse it will feel, even after I fully recover the second time I have the surgery?)
I also want to say that this blog has already helped raise my spirits, as I am the only person amongst my friends that has had this much misfortune when it comes to injuries and I have always been the type of person to live an active lifestyle. Thanks for bringing this conversation about.
, Ray
Gosh, Henry, I’m sorry to hear about #3. I’ve been pretty busy this last year with school and working away this summer. I’m glad the surgery went well, and like, you’ve said, you are prepared this time.
Sorry to here about your third one Henry! I had a hamstring graft done 7 months ago – reason while playing soccer. Post surgery I was recovering pretty good until a day when My cousins wanted to play soccer in the front yard. I played with them for good 15 mins. And then started taking freekicks, took a pretty hard shot and instantly I felt pull in my knee which gave minimal pain. Now I dont know if I got my graft pulled or torn. I feel so dejected doing this again. I still have to see my doc though fingers crossed Im hoping it’s not atear again – I promise I won’t try soccer again
lulz broski I just tore my ACL for the third time yesterday. The first was in Fall ’08, when I tore my left ACL playing basketball. Then Fall ’09 I tore my right ACL doing parkour. And now, Fall ’11, I think I’ve torn my right one again. I won’t know for sure until Monday when I meet my doc and get my MRIs, but it feels exactly the same so yeah I’m just ready to get on with the surgery, PT and everything else. Ever since my first ACL tear, I’ve been really trying to become more active and fit and basically just become a better athlete but with all these injuries, I’m starting to consider a new goal: instead of trying to become a better overall athlete I’m just gonna continue to lift for the strength/ looks. All the juking, the jumping, the pivots and what not — I think I’ll put a hold on that for a while. But anyways, seeing as you posted this in January, how’d your third recovery go? Was it really the best yet? I think mine will be. I’m more mentally prepared and after pushing myself in the gym this past year, I’m ready to tackle PT harder than before. Or maybe I’ll find out on Monday that it’s not an ACL tear after all