Yippeeeeeee!!!!!! I made it! This entry is a little off the PCT topic, but it feels relevant to me!
It’s hard to believe a year has passed since my surgery. For those of you who don’t know, I tore my right ACL on March 12, 2011 in a ski accident at the Alpental Ski Area. I’m fortunate my knee was the only thing injured. It’s crazy to reflect on the heartbreak I felt after the accident and compare it to the optimism I feel today. I vividly remember calling Joe, my boyfriend at the time, from the Shot Six run, waiting for him to drive to Alpental to pick me up, and the depressing trip back to Seattle. I can still taste the Brooklyn Bridge pizza from Pagliacci that I ate for dinner that night between tears. Despite being checked out by the ski patrol doctor, I knew something wasn’t right.
I wound up going to the ER at Northwest Hospital early Sunday morning where another doctor told me he was 99% confident nothing was torn. I left the ER feeling happier but still not totally convinced my knee was ok. On Monday, I stayed home from work and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Chun, an orthopedic specialist at Virginia Mason, for Thursday in case I wasn’t feeling better. During the week, I vacillated over whether to cancel the appointment but wound up keeping it because I still felt some instability and I was antsy to resume running. Nevertheless, I thought the doctor might laugh at me since two others had already given me a clean bill of health and I was walking around pretty darn well. I could have only wished that was how it went! Within about 5 minutes, Dr. Chun told me he was more than 50% confident my ACL was torn, and I had an MRI later in the morning that confirmed a full tear. I was totally shocked!
After the MRI, things happened really quickly. Since ACLs do not repair themselves, surgery was necessary unless I wanted to try living without it. Joe and I met with Dr. Belfie, an orthopedic surgeon at Virginal Mason, first thing the next morning and were both completely sold. Dr. Belfie did an exceptional job of presenting us with the pros and cons of various reconstruction options. In addition, despite the full tear, I had fantastic range of motion and very little swelling so having surgery immediately was possible. I elected to use a graft from my own patellar tendon and was scheduled for reconstruction on Monday. I spent the rest of the day arranging to be out of work the next week and then escaped for a weekend of cragging in Vantage. There wasn’t much more damage I could do to my knee, so I intended to tough it out and enjoy one last weekend of freedom before the surgery.
My reconstruction went perfectly! I returned home the same day and started physical therapy two days later. The first couple weeks were challenging and I owe a lot to Joe for taking such excellent care of me and helping me stay positive. After two weeks, life started looking up. I was able to begin outdoor cycling at four weeks, a walk/jog program at seven weeks, light running and lead climbing at three months, and skiing at six months. This may seem like a super slow process, but at the time, each new step (down to driving a car!) was thrilling. As cheesy as it sounds, I really appreciated small things I’d often overlooked.
A year later, my knee feels strong. I set my sights on the PCT over 4th of July weekend last summer during my first long hike following the surgery. I was so happy to be back in the mountains! I’ve had a great ski season, and I’m looking forward to running the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on March 31st and then starting my trek next month. I’ve learned a ton from my injury, surgery, and rehab, but what sticks with me the most is how amazing the body is at healing. I don’t live in fear of injuries anymore, because I now know I can come back stronger than before.
It’s hard to believe a year has passed since my surgery. For those of you who don’t know, I tore my right ACL on March 12, 2011 in a ski accident at the Alpental Ski Area. I’m fortunate my knee was the only thing injured. It’s crazy to reflect on the heartbreak I felt after the accident and compare it to the optimism I feel today. I vividly remember calling Joe, my boyfriend at the time, from the Shot Six run, waiting for him to drive to Alpental to pick me up, and the depressing trip back to Seattle. I can still taste the Brooklyn Bridge pizza from Pagliacci that I ate for dinner that night between tears. Despite being checked out by the ski patrol doctor, I knew something wasn’t right.
I wound up going to the ER at Northwest Hospital early Sunday morning where another doctor told me he was 99% confident nothing was torn. I left the ER feeling happier but still not totally convinced my knee was ok. On Monday, I stayed home from work and scheduled an appointment with Dr. Chun, an orthopedic specialist at Virginia Mason, for Thursday in case I wasn’t feeling better. During the week, I vacillated over whether to cancel the appointment but wound up keeping it because I still felt some instability and I was antsy to resume running. Nevertheless, I thought the doctor might laugh at me since two others had already given me a clean bill of health and I was walking around pretty darn well. I could have only wished that was how it went! Within about 5 minutes, Dr. Chun told me he was more than 50% confident my ACL was torn, and I had an MRI later in the morning that confirmed a full tear. I was totally shocked!
After the MRI, things happened really quickly. Since ACLs do not repair themselves, surgery was necessary unless I wanted to try living without it. Joe and I met with Dr. Belfie, an orthopedic surgeon at Virginal Mason, first thing the next morning and were both completely sold. Dr. Belfie did an exceptional job of presenting us with the pros and cons of various reconstruction options. In addition, despite the full tear, I had fantastic range of motion and very little swelling so having surgery immediately was possible. I elected to use a graft from my own patellar tendon and was scheduled for reconstruction on Monday. I spent the rest of the day arranging to be out of work the next week and then escaped for a weekend of cragging in Vantage. There wasn’t much more damage I could do to my knee, so I intended to tough it out and enjoy one last weekend of freedom before the surgery.
My reconstruction went perfectly! I returned home the same day and started physical therapy two days later. The first couple weeks were challenging and I owe a lot to Joe for taking such excellent care of me and helping me stay positive. After two weeks, life started looking up. I was able to begin outdoor cycling at four weeks, a walk/jog program at seven weeks, light running and lead climbing at three months, and skiing at six months. This may seem like a super slow process, but at the time, each new step (down to driving a car!) was thrilling. As cheesy as it sounds, I really appreciated small things I’d often overlooked.
A year later, my knee feels strong. I set my sights on the PCT over 4th of July weekend last summer during my first long hike following the surgery. I was so happy to be back in the mountains! I’ve had a great ski season, and I’m looking forward to running the Yakima River Canyon Marathon on March 31st and then starting my trek next month. I’ve learned a ton from my injury, surgery, and rehab, but what sticks with me the most is how amazing the body is at healing. I don’t live in fear of injuries anymore, because I now know I can come back stronger than before.
Happy Spring!
Nice work on making it past the challenge of tearing your ACL, Kristy! You handled it with such grace -- so impressive!
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