A Quick Knee Update

       It has been four weeks since I was skiing at Solitude in Utah, fell, and injured my right knee.  Getting insurance preauthorization for a brain MRI to check for metastatic disease took a day.  Who knows why, but it took nearly two weeks to secure insurance preauthorization for an MRI of my knee. There's good news and bad news. I always like to give the bad news first...

     I did some real damage.  Per the MRI, I completely tore my medial collateral ligament (MCL), partially tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), have a segond fracture, and contusions on my femur and tibia.  

     The good news:  By the time I saw my orthopedist after the MRI, things had started to calm down and heal.  The swelling and pain had reduced significantly and I was able to bear weight well.  The MCL and segond fracture will heal on their own and I'll probably be able to get by in life with a partially intact ACL.  For now, my orthopedist doesn't think surgery is needed, as long as things continue to move in the right direction...and since I'm not an elite athlete.  He's optimistic that I may be able to rehab myself back to the point of being able to ski again.  I graduated from the crutches by week 3 and next week, will get a smaller brace.  I go to physical therapy twice a week and am slowly on my way to recovery.  

     The key to full recovery?  PATIENCE, PERSISTENCE and CONSISTENCE. I'm pretty sure I can be persistent and consistent, but I'm pretty terrible at being patient.  

(P.S.  Ohhhh...if only I could rehab my way out of stage 4 lung cancer.)