A Once Is Enough (or should've been enough) ACL-tearing TR

Apparently "Once Is Enough" is named appropriately. :frown:

Riding up the chair:
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58297.jpg

Looking down (hard to see the perspective):
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58298.jpg

Nice view:
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58299.jpg

I met a couple of really cool tele-dudes at the top. We were going to email photos to each other, so I took shots from the bottom.

Dude 1:
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58300.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58301.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58302.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58303.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58304.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58305.jpg

Dude 2:
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58306.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58307.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58308.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58309.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58310.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58311.jpg

So I went back and did it again. Straightlined it, got caught up in the mank at the bottom and took a little tumble. Had to do it one more time just to convince myself I had it down. Standing at the top the third time I had a really strong feeling that I should back off and do another run, but I figured that was just that I needed to overcome the disappointment of screwing up the previous run. Straightlined it again, hit the mank, took a tumble, twisted a knee.... "pop"

I was able to move around to gather my equipment, but it was extremely painful getting the boot clipped in. I tried to traverse gently a few times--I really did NOT want to ride the sled down. "pop" I couldn't put any weight on it at all. Damn.

Called ski patrol on my cell, they were there within two minutes. Very friendly and did a great job on a somewhat challenging run getting me down. A little while later I was down in the clinic... Nurses & Doctor were great--very friendly--very quick. After the xrays the doc said she was at least 90% certain it was a torn ACL and probably an MCL too. And a couple of small fractures. Double damn. There goes my ski touring season and probably my summer in New Zealand.

http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58312.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58313.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58314.jpg
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58315.jpg

To top it all off I was gonna camp near the pass tonight since my friends aren't coming up tomorrow. Don't know what I'll do now. The lodge has free wireless internet, so I figured I might as well spend some time on TGR...

I'll be around the base area all weekend drinking beers and cheering on the longboard crowd. Be careful out there everyone. I was quite warm in a T shirt all day today-and that led to some sticky situations.

Sucks about the knee, but way to keep up the tradition of getting hurt and immediately posting it up. Here's to a quick recovery.

Wow, dude 2 totally killed that line. I mean that.

Sorry about the knee.

Doooood. Bummer.

Toatly blows. Gimp your ass over to the Beaver (To The Moon, sadly renamed).
I'll be lurking around this weekend with Juaquin.

Heh, I forgot you have the car. You liking the bookshelf I built?

A fine touch, Schmear.

Built upon your inspiration, I had a full bar, hot tub, and a widescreen installed yesterday, but the rabbit ears leave a bit to be desired.
I ran out of money before I could subscribe to a sat tv service.

Sorry bro. Heal fast.

Bummer.

Good luck, man.

Taking pictures of the patroller coming to sled you down - nice touch.

Heal up.

Bum deal. I tore mine a few weeks ago. Heal up.

Sorry to hear that, I was there yesterday and that area underneath the chute turned real manky at around noon :( Heal fast.

Nice pics of the ski patrol coming down to haul you outta there.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Schmear

Wow, dude 2 totally killed that line. I mean that.

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It was a pretty impressive slaughter. He kept tumbling but I didn't want to use up my whole memory card. I really need to learn how to do that layering thing where you see multiple frames on one image. I know there was a thread about that a while back...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by splat

Gimp your ass over to the Beaver (To The Moon, sadly renamed).

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I didn't even know there was a place with that name around here, though I like the first one better. This is really pretty nice right now--I'm sitting by the "ice rink", replying to emails, selling stuff on ebay, and enjoying the view. I'd much rather be gimping around up here than down in Sacto!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by The Suit

Taking pictures of the patroller coming to sled you down - nice touch.

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Thanks--I was going to take photos on the ride down too, but the rooster tail from the 'troller's twin-tips was water and slush and would've destroyed my camera.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by J-Rad

Sorry to hear that, I was there yesterday and that area underneath the chute turned real manky at around noon :(

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Yeah, and this happened at 2:30. Super mank.

Thanks for the well wishes, all! Kill it the rest of the season!

I just have to add how cool ALL of the Kirkwood staff were. The security guy even offered to take me in to South Lake Tahoe when I hadn't figured out a place to stay. Let me chill in the hotel lobby after it was closed. I ended up sleeping in the car anyway, after a wonderful huge bowl o' nachos from Bub's, but it wasn't that bad.

Oh, and PS, it froze last night, so the first few hours should be awesome today. It's t shirt weather already, though.

You went down swinging on something worth. There are plenty of people out there in the 'Don Joy' club. Myself inclusive. Work hard on recovery.

YOU WILL BE BACK.

That's rough. When I look back at the majority of my injuries over the years deep sticky mank was usually involved. :(

damn... blown knees, well, blow.

you're timing, however, does not blow.

whatever you do.. don't go to evan raps' doctor.

Shit BC...that's a bummer.

BUT look on the bright side...you had a kick ass winter, the season is ending, and by the time next season rolls around, you could be in pretty good shape if you get after it.

I went through this last year....PM or email me at ron AT pmgearusa DOT com if you need recommendations for an ortho and/or PT in the Sacto area, or any other questions you might have...I turned out ok after my surgery, and would recommend my ortho/PT team to anyone in the area.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

I went through this last year....PM or email me if you need recommendations for an ortho and/or PT in the Sacto area, or any other questions you might have...I turned out ok after my surgery, and would recommend my ortho/PT team to anyone in the area.

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Thanks a ton. Email soon to be sent. I would say you probably recovered OK if you're hitting hospital air the season after. ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by meatdrink9

That's rough. When I look back at the majority of my injuries over the years deep sticky mank was usually involved. :(

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Chalk me up to the deep sticky mank club...but mine was a mensicus injury...

Anyway, sorry to hear about the injury....as was said above, at least it was the end of the season, and although you might miss out on some summer activities you can be back on snow when the season is geting in full swing next year.

Positive vibes to you for a full recovery.

Tyrone's story (even though it's a different injury) is inspirational to me, too.

KAISER HELP!!!

Anyone have any clude how to get through the Kaiser system?

I called on Friday right after the accident to let them know that I was supposed to see an ortho in 3 or so days. They said it would have to go through my PMD, and he wouldn't be in until Tuesday. :confused:

So today I wake up in PAIN with severe swelling (even with the vidodin & ibuprofen). I went to the ER/Urgent Care and spent hours waiting here, hours waiting there, and hours waiting somewhere else. They did the xrays again and didn't think there were any broken bones (the last xrays showed a broken femur, patella, or tibia, depending who you asked :confused: ). So they said the next step would be to see my PMD who could then refer me to get an MRI. First appointment with him isn't until Thursday, and they can't schedule the MRI until I get the referral. Then I have to wait until after the MRI results come back to go back into my PMD to get a referral to an orthopaedist. WTF?

In addition, the doc gives me a prescription for two days worth of vicodin. I argued with him that it was the exact same drug & dosage that I've already been taking and that hasn't been working, and he said sorry, that's what Kaiser prescribes for pain. :confused:

To top it off, I'm stuck parking in a gravel lot, across a construction site, down a hill, and through a parking garage from the building where I work. Yeah, that's fun with crutches. If I can get a temporary disabled placard I can park in the attached garage. So I brought the DMV form in and asked the MD to sign it and he refused!!! He said maybe my PMD will be willing to sign it on Thursday. WTF???? :cussing: :mad: :fuckyou:

Can anyone offer any advice? Thanks!

ShitTY! I'm starting to think that NO ONE gets through his life without an season-ending injury. Bum deal, for sure, bc.

Heal up, mang. Positive vibes to you!

Sorry to hear that. I will never forget that "pop" sound and feeling. I hope everything goes well, surgery and rehab and back out there better than ever.

Good luck with the recovery! For all intents and purposes this is the time to do it... I hated the "pop" although mine seemed like more of a snap... Don't you just love the phone call after those injuries though.

"Whats your emergency?"

"Well, I don't know if its really an emergency, but...."

Video of me skiing Once earlier that day. http://www.snowpics.net/img/16482

Credit cool tele-dude and his Canon SD500 Elph.

The video is great. Shows the rapid acceleration a vertical drop-in gives. Not too many trip reports include shots of the patrol coming in for the rescue. :fmicon:

Sorry about the knee. Seems like you managed to sit and drink at the base the rest of closing weekend. Hope it all works out. Any news yet?

Thanks, Cirquerider.

No news yet except Kaiser can make it hard to get anything done. I did manage to schedule a Sports Medicine appointment for Monday. Oh, and Norco's are pretty good.

Closing weekend wasn't all bad:
http://www.biglines.com/photosv2/200...ines_58598.jpg

I'm bumping my own thread. Not because I really want anyone to look at it, but because it's 2am on Sunday morning and I'd otherwise be sleeping in order to get some good touring in today. And because I just saw this photo of once and really like it, even though I don't know whose it is. And because I can't sleep because my knee hurts. I'm gonna center it, too.

http://www.tetongravity.com/usergall...ceisenough.jpg

Weird,

I did the same thing on the Tuesday before you did, it was in the AM, so the top part was still in the shadow and faster than I expected. When I hit the mank (way too fast), I felt a slight tingle in my knee... and decided that Once was enough...

Heal up...

Steve

I am just floored that its been over a week, and you have received no medical attention because your provider won't release you to a specialist before your (off duty) primary prescribes it. What a bureaucracy.:nonono2:

Thought I'd bump your video to here incase anyone hasn't seen it Video

Finally. Yesterday I went to see a Sports Medicine MD at Kaiser. I was impressed. She seemed to really know what she was talking about, really care and take the time to listen to my concerns, do a thorough exam, talk about a treatment plan... And she was totally with me on the goal of coming back stronger to skiing. :yourock: She's a skier herself, tore her ACL a few years back. Diagnosis: most likely fully torn ACL & MCL. Possible meniscus damage. MRI scheduled to confirm.

And it seems that seeing the Sports Med doc was the key. Immediately after my appointment I got to see a Physical Therapist, who also is keen to get me back into skiing as strong as possible. Much better than the docs I've talked to before who've said things like "maybe you should think about not skiing any more. :fuckyou: " It's amazing how much muscle atrophy can occur with just 10 days of immobilization :eek: . My quad is gone!

Then I got to go to Orthopaedics to get fitted for a brace with adjustable joints on each side. This thing is so much more comfortable than that knee immobilizer I had before. And I get 30 degrees of motion, which is wonderful for general comfort and sleep.

By the end of the day I was absolutely exhausted. Not so much because I went in to work for 6 hours afterwards, but because of the stretching, crutching, and joint manipulation. Oh, and I got to testify before the California State Assembly Budget Subcommittee last night :eek: .

Today I am sore! I was really going to try to make it through the day without norco's, but I finally took some. I do feel much better, now, thank you, but my brain is back in that vicodin fog--yuck.

Anyone know where you can get one of those big exercise balls to do stretches on?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bc

Anyone know where you can get one of those big exercise balls to do stretches on?

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Target or Sports Basement. They're also called yoga balls.

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B0000AT1TU

Heal fast.

WTF?!?!! so I thought it was kind of odd that my kirkwood x-rays showed fractures but my kaiser ones didn't... chalked it up to a lousy machine giving false images at the little kirkwood clinic....

KAISER X-RAYED THE WRONG KNEE!!!! With the digital x-rays and all it's not like I could tell which knee they were aimed at. They removed the immobilizer on Monday after seeing the X-rays and I've had a hinged brace since. Hope I haven't done any further damage. :fuckyou: :fuckyou: :fuckyou:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by J-Rad

Target or Sports Basement. They're also called yoga balls.

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Thanks, BTW, missed your post somehow before. I'll have to look there. Already checked Big 5 & Sports something-or-other to no avail. At least now I know what to ask for.

Sounds like Kaiser really has things dialed-in!

Tele-dude #1 here. Here are a few more pictures of you hitting the chute. Hitting it successfully the first time, that is.

The wrong knee fiasco is pretty alarming. Here's to ya coming back stronger than ever.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3...0/KIF_1140.jpg

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3...0/KIF_1141.jpg