My Knee Injury. Pt 1

WOW! Today Marks 3 years since my knee injury.

What was a night out with some girlfriend for a couple of drinks turned out to having some serious consequences—leading to a postponed wedding, surgery, and a long road of rehab.

It all started with an X-ray that revealed a tibial plateau fracture and severe joint effusion. I was referred for a CT scan and to an orthopedic surgeon. When they told me I’d need to use crutches for at least six weeks and remain non-weight-bearing, it was an emotional blow. I was faced with two tough options: 1) Postpone my wedding, or 2) Attend it on crutches, sitting at a table the entire time, unable to really participate. At that point, we didn’t know how severe the injury was, and it wasn’t worth the risk of making things worse if I were to fall. Thankfully, most of my family and friends were understanding and supportive.

Two and a half weeks later, I met with the surgeon, who thankfully believed surgery wouldn’t be necessary for the fracture. In many cases, fractures like this require plates and screws, so I was relieved. I was referred to a physiotherapist to help regain my range of motion (right after the injury, I could only bend my leg about 45 degrees). I also had an MRI to assess the damage further—and it turned out to be worse than we expected. I had a full-thickness ACL tear, multiple tears in my meniscus including a bucket-handle tear, a sprained MCL, large displaced fragments and more damage in other parts of my knee—those were just the major ones.

A couple of weeks later, I met with the surgeon again to discuss my options. Given my age and the extent of the damage, he recommended ACL reconstruction and arthroscopic surgery. So, seven weeks post-injury, I underwent surgery.

Follow along for my post op.