Knee Surgery

So much has been going on with my knee injury, I don't quite know where to begin.

After I injured it at the Ward campout, I was told by the ER doctor to rest for a couple days and see if it got better. Mitch took a couple days off work to watch Emerson while I rested but it didn't get any better. We went to see the orthopedic surgeon recommended to us by the ER doc. He said he thought it was probably a meniscal tear, but I'd need to get an MRI to confirm. He informed us that it was policy to get the MRI pre-approved by my insurance company before they could schedule it, so I'd need to wait for his office to approve it before we could to anything. That was on a Tuesday. We didn't hear anything by Thursday so I called the office and they said it was still pending. I called the insurance company and they said it was still pending also. This was very frustrating because I was still in pain and Mitch was still taking time off work to help because I couldn't walk- at all. Mitch's mom is a medical biller and she said there was no way it should take this long. By Friday we still hadn't heard back so we called the insurance company again and they said the doctor's office hadn't marked it as urgent (which they told us they did), so it still wasn't done. Mitch got on the phone with the doctor's office, had a little chat with them about our frustrations and had the approval done and an MRI appt set up for that afternoon. We were so frustrated with how no one at this office seemed to care until we got upset with them.

After my MRI, Mitch's mom suggested we take a copy of the CD with the results, so we could switch doctors if needed. She was able to get us squeezed in for an appt to see one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the valley on Monday. He confirmed it was a meniscal tear but also noticed damage to my ACL and said because I had a newborn and toddler, he'd squeeze me in for surgery the next day. What a blessing. With the other doctor it would have taken weeks just to get it scheduled.

Because the MRI doesn't clearly show the ACL, we didn't know if I'd be having a minor surgery for a meniscal tear or a major surgery for that and my ACL.

I went in for surgery Tuesday afternoon while Mitch watched the kids and my mother in law stayed with me at the hospital. She said she got worried when surgery was taking an hour and a half rather than the half hour a meniscal tear takes.

I woke up from the anesthesia screaming and crying the pain was so bad. I felt like my knee had been shattered with a baseball bat. The doctor told us he ended up having to do a full reconstructive knee surgery because my knee was so bad. He said the ACL had been torn years ago and was hanging on by a thread. He also said the meniscus had been torn years ago and this most recent injury just flipped it out of place so it was wedged between my knee. To replace my ACL he had to take a graft from my hamstring, drill holes in my bones, and attach the graft into the holes to act as my new ACL.

He couldn't believe I'd done a half marathon and triathlon, among other sports, with this terrible knee. I basically had no cartilage and no ACL. I have no clue how I have survived this bad knee for 8 years either, because I do not have a high pain tolerance. I'm pretty sure it all started when I hurt my knee freshman year at BYU and the student health center did a poor job of diagnosing me.

The first three days of recovery were insanely painful. Even with medication, every time I moved I could feel the holes in my bones. But, each day of the past week has gotten a little better. I'm hoping I can walk again in the next couple weeks.

Though I wish this never happened, Mitch and I have always kind of thought I'd have to get knee surgery at some point. My knee has always been weak and given me problems. I am grateful that it happened at a time when Geneiveve is so small and easy to take care of, when Mitch has been less busy at work, and when I was fully recovered from labor. That being said, being immobile, in pain, and on bed rest is really hard with a newborn and a toddler.

Our friends and ward have been amazing--offering to watch Emerson every day of the month, meals every day, and cleaning twice a week. This has been a huge trial for me and our little family, but I am extremely grateful for the blessings we've received through it. Here's to hoping the rest of my recovery goes well and I can walk again soon.