Four Years Later - Still Kickin' (haha)

I recently had someone ask me how I'm doing so long after the surgery, so I'll publish an update here:

My day to day knee ability is better than it EVER was and I'd rate it at a 100% full recovery.
If I do something VERY strenuous - i.e. hike more than 10 miles, ski every day for 7+ days straight, etc. I will brace it. I have noticed some slight swelling and discomfort if I push it TOO far so I make an effort to brace it before it gets to that point and I don't have any issues.

I'm a sports photographer and can easily run NFL sidelines constantly squatting and standing for the perfect shot without an issue - that's something I couldn't even imagine at the time of this surgery. I'm comfortable skiing, hiking, swimming, even being cramped up in a kayak for a few hours I have no discomfort when I get out. I hate running but that has nothing to do with my knee!

Important to note: while I ended physical therapy after what was recommended post surgery, I do remain very active and in shape and I believe that has an effect on the positive results I've seen. I'm not some extreme athlete or anything, but I now live in Utah where I practice yoga multiple times per week, hike with my dogs regularly, ski all winter, snow shoe, etc. The yoga especially has improved my mobility, and all of these activities have allowed me to keep leg strength that I believe makes a difference to how well my joints function.'

Ps, yes I know my dog is awesome. He has his own instagram @GreatDaneGatsby if you want more ... 

Physical Therapy

I know this is MONTHS later ... 

but I wanted to talk about the PT after I was finished.

So the day after surgery you hit the ground running at 

Howard Head. 

Those guys are really serious. 

You get a schedule of more appointments than you care to attend

and next thing you know your next two weeks (at least) in Vail are entirely booked.

I had PT twice a day for a few hours each time.

Every case varies from what I understand.

The physical therapists there were amazing. 

Each and every one I had was great 

and you learn to love them 

when they are the only ones who will touch your 

nasty,

 un-bathed,

 un-shaved, 

you-didn't-know-your-legs-still-grew-hair-like-that 

legs.

They stretch you and ice you and make your injury ... well ... 

HURT.

It doesn't feel good at first but that's ok.

The only part that feels good is this thing they do where they move around your new and improved knee cap for about ten minutes to reduce swelling.

It's strange watching someone play with your knee cap like it is putty but it feels good.

You would think the ice feels good, but it was FREEZING.

And you really have to do it religiously.
See this smile ...

Yeah, IT'S FAKE.

You'll live.

Barely.

At first the PT is really embarrassing.

You are doing what seem like the simplest activities:

wall slides,

leg lifts ...

LAMENESS ...

and you can't even do them.

You're sitting there thinking,

"I played D1 and I can't even lift my leg now?"

They tell you to flex and there's nothing there.

You start wondering if the doc cut out your whole muscle.

It's pathetic.

Then things get serious ...

You start biking ...

at about 1mph.

PT moves a little slow, but each day it does get better.

You do a variety of activities to regain 

initial strength

weight bearing strength

and agility

as well as upping cardio throughout the whole process

and eventually reaching high level activities.

I was on crutches for a solid two weeks.

Stairs were the hardest daily obstacle and I tried to avoid long walks.

When off of crutches I moved pretty slow but I got around.

I couldn't even think about walking/jogging for a month and a half.

When I did I took it REALLY slow.

(and this is all coming from someone who was very religious about the PT)

I wore high heels after 2 and a half months

(though they recommend waiting longer).

The cost of fashion ... I swear.

My incisions healed up amazingly.

Almost too amazingly.

I barely have a battle wound or anything.

In September I tried to swim, which was surprisingly impossible.

There was some muscle in my new knee that just didn't like swimming.

I worked that a lot as soon as I was aware, and it was fine after about a month.

After 4-5 months I was back in action.

Full action.

This November I went skiing again and didn't feel a thing :)

I'm never worried about my knee ...

it is better than ever :)

Next semester I'll be playing softball and I plan to ski all winter long.

The Big Day

At last ... surgery.

Let me just say again, I had a left patellar chondroplasty 

(in case the blog title, numerous mentions and tags didn't already tell you that).

On surgery day I checked in an at 11:00am

my surgery was supposed to be at 12:30. 

They were running a little behind with complications from the 9am surgery,

but it wasn't really a big deal. 

When you check in, you get to change into those really awesome hospital outfits

you know, the ones with the slit at the back?

Yeah those are fun. Complete with matching hair net.

A nurse will assist you in that.

He/she will put you in a bed after you change,

paint up your leg with iodine,

hook up your IV,

put anti-embolism socks on you,

and sharpie your leg to be sliced.

All that jazz. 

I had a few nurses take care of me, and each one was delightful.

You will be in good hands.

Your family can be with you for all of that.

All of the surgical team members came back at some point to talk to me.

They all introduced (or reintroduced) themselves,

asked me what my understanding of the procedure was,

and had me sign a few forms.

Mainly I felt like they were just being friendly.

The final person to come back before my family was sent away

was the anesthesiologist.

I signed the "I wont sue you" form,

then I was wheeled away. 

I only remember the first few minutes in the OR

before I was out cold.

WAKING UP:

The next parts a little groggy.

I remember my parents coming back to my bed,

I had been in recovery for about 30minutes.

When I woke up I didn't feel any pain, which really surprised me.

My knee was all wrapped up so I couldn't see the incisions, 

but I couldn't feel them either. 

I couldn't keep my eyes open 

and I think I drifted in and out of sleep for about 2 hours. 

They feed you some saltine crackers and water between drifts.

Once I could hold my head up again, 

I sat and talked with family and nurses for about 10 minutes,

then a physical therapist from Howard Head was called up to brief me.

He explained the exercises I would be doing the very next day at physical therapy

and taught me how to walk on crutches. 

I was feeling great and ready to go home,

when I threw up :(

Lovely, I know. 

They said it was common from anesthesia. 

That delayed our departure another 10 minutes.

Finally, I was homeward bound and feeling way better than I expected.

This is a picture from surgery day of my team,

they were all so great. 

Really friendly, personable guys

and I've recovered almost flawlessly, so they must be good at what they do.

Pre-Op

#1 rule of knee surgery pre-op at the Steadman Clinic in Vail:

ENJOY VAIL

The Steadman clinic had me come up the day before surgery, Monday

(surgeries are done Tuesday).

This is where I got a lot more details on my procedure,

and actual surgery time for the next morning,

I met the whole surgical team,

and learned what to expect for the next couple days.

They gave me a checklist
and I ran around the hospital talking to each person/office on the list.

I had my blood drawn and had to give them some juices,

but overall, it was a low key day.

They say this pre-op appointment can take 2-4 hours.
So just be ready for that. Don't make fancy lunch plans.
Mine took about 2.
It helps if you can complete some of the forms the week before over the phone
(they will call you).

One thing to keep in mind if you're getting ready for a surgery with Dr.LaPrade-

he won't do your surgery if you are sick.

ANY kind of sick.

No infections.

No cuts on the limb that's going to be operated on.

No coughs or sniffles.

Nothing.

He wants the healing to be a smooth as possible,

so just be careful.

I would personally recommend a morning surgery if you get any preference.
You won't be allowed to eat after midnight the night before surgery,
so the later your surgery is the next day,
the hungrier you will be. 

Other than that, 

just enjoy your last days of walking,

jumping,

maybe skip a little.

Enjoy your last shower for 2 weeks, without a leg guard.

Cross your legs

and stand on one foot.

Soak it up.

Deciding to Have Surgery

I was not easily convinced on the slicing thing.

All of my aunts have had knee surgery and it seems anything but convenient.

And I didn't go straight to surgery.

I tried EVERYTHING.

muscle strengthening - especially quad

physical therapy

homeopathic medicine

vitamin and nutritional supplements

more physical therapy

I even walked around like a dork with some muscle activating tape on my legs for a while, hoping that would tighten up my muscles and hold my knee together ...

EVERYTHING.

Nothing worked.

Some of it helped, don't get me wrong.

But I wanted to be at a D1 athlete level ...

cute leg tape can only go so far.

When my knee got to the point of ruining my life ... that's when I caved.

For a good 6 months, I wasn't able to exercise much, run far, climb a ton of stairs ...

I felt like a grandma.

I had difficulty rock climbing. Hiking long hikes. Biking was still ok.

Anything that would put the majority of my body weight on my left leg

I tried to avoid.

Skiing was the stick that broke the camel's back.

This winter, I couldn't keep up with my boyfriend ...

and ladies, we all no THAT isn't ok. 

I would get home from a day trip and couldn't even find my knee ...

it was so swollen ... just straight thigh to calf.

That was when I decided to see Dr.LaPrade.

They say he's the best of the best so I met with him.

Xrays, MRIs, all kinds of pictures were taken

and Dr.LaPrade said he could help me.

Surgery was booked for summer.

Patellar Chondroplasty at the Steadman Clinic in Vail

I've had a lot of people ask me why exactly I had knee surgery at 19.

Well ... let me explain.

Dr.LaPrade at the Steadman Clinic in Vail did a Patellar Chondroplasty on my left knee.

As it has been explained to me, patellar chondroplasty is pretty much a clean up job.

See this brace?? Well, let me explain ...

It all starts when you're a freshman in high school and your orthopedic doctor tells you to take a season off from softball because you are ruining your knees.

You smile and say to him

"No way. I would much rather experience agonizing pain for the next 5 years"

Make sure you smile when you say that though.

He will say "Ok, you athletes are stubborn, but maybe when you stop growing it will improve"

Congratulations. You now have what I like to call false hope!

For the next few years you slide, dive ... do everything you always did.

Yes, because none of these things are hard on your knees or anything?
You will dislocate your knee more times than you can count.
But no, no, no ... you're too stubborn to quit.

Eventually, when you think you can take no more,
when the glory days are over
you'll decide to hang up your jersey

and you'll tell yourself that it will improve upon doing so.

Oh but wait ... not only did you play softball 50 weeks a year ...

you also skied ...
double black diamond moguls ...
all winter ...
since you could walk ...

you can't quit that?!

Your knees hate you.

They are out to get you.

So it doesn't get better.

It swells. It catches. It clicks.

Your grandma can now squat more than you.

Enter: SURGERY

Cause:

Effect: Patellar Chondroplasty

(for the record, I was safe right there!!)

The cartilage behind my knee cap was in shreds

like your nasty neighbor's yard

and it needed a serious mowing job.

That is how it was explained to me at least. 

(Hopefully I didn't overwhelm you with medical lingo)

My surgery was not a result of a specific injury,
but YEARS of overworking a knee that was never built well to begin with.

It got so bad that I didn't even have to be stressing it much to get pain and swelling.
Just a day of walking to my classes at ASU and I might need some ice that night.

What is this blog?

I am a design person who happens to have just had knee surgery. 

Before having this surgery I was searching all over the Internet trying to find information on what the surgery would be like, my surgeon, the re-hab ... and so on. 

Here is what I found: almost nothing.

Being a blogger, I wanted to document my personal case for future victims.

And while I was doing that on my other blog, 

I think all the followers who usually look at interior design, and art work, and restaurants and music and all things design, may be getting sick of all this knee business.

So here it is. 

Left Patellar Chondroplasty at the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado

with Dr.LaPrade

p.s. If you want to look at interior design, and art work and restaurants and music and all things design ... (it's wayy cooler than knees, I promise)

check out my other blog: http://luck5280.blogspot.com/