Two weeks until surgery

Hey there,

Thanks for checking out my blog. I am having knee surgery in two weeks and wanted to put something out there for other people that might be in the same spot that I am in. When I first found out about my knee I found a couple of other people who had done the same thing and it really helped me figure out what I needed to do.

It all started back in February, a day after my 30th birthday. I was playing basketball and I heard something pop in my left knee. I figured it wasn't a big deal, kept playing and played again a few days later. Eventually, the pain subsided and I thought everything was back to normal. Then, in April, my knee began to be more and more uncomfortable. I waited until May, broke down, and went into the doctor. He ordered an X-Ray, an MRI and told me I likely had a torn meniscus. This would be an easy fix and I would be back to normal in a few weeks.

I went in a few days later to get my MRI results. Bad news. I had articular cartilage damage. The doctor told me I needed microfracture surgery and that he had a cancellation the next day and to call in if I wanted to take that appointment.

I did a ton of research on the internet and eventually decided to see a number of doctors to figure out what to do. In the end I saw 5 different doctors. All of them said the damage was properly diagnosed and that I would need either microfracture surgery or cartilage implantation. The hardest thing to accept was that I will never play basketball again (I played through high school and college).

After talking to all the doctors, my family and doing more research, I decided on microfracture instead of cartilage implantation. Rehab is shorter, the surgery is less expensive, less invasive and for the type of damage I have, about equally likely to be successful.

The past month has been spent in the swimming pool trying to get in shape for my surgery. I could barely do two laps without resting when I started. I am now up to 48 (which is a mile and a half). My target is to do three miles before my surgery.

After that, its 8 weeks on crutches with NO weight bearing and probably another 12 weeks until I can lose the crutches all together.

It is going to be a long haul, but hopefully in about 6 or 8 months I can be somewhat close to what I was before. I will update this blog throughout my rehab and hopefully it will help someone else who is going through the same thing.

14 days left...