my greatest fear happened to me

[nancie2k]

HOly freakin shiznit.

I intentionally avoid gimp central because injuries scare me, and those pics sort of make me not want to ski again. i'll sure be careful standing around at Kmart thanks to those....
Nancie, who was your doc?
What's the timetable look like for a full recovery?
Good luck, I'm impressed with you for handling all this.

And what about the guy who hit you? Got an address for him? I know a few guys who could have been extras on the Sopranos...

i have dr. david helfet-he is supposed to be the best in the country.
he says i should be able to ski next season- does not feel like that now, but i insist on believing him and therefore i have a GOAL.
a lot of people think i am out of my mind wanting to ski again
only skiers understand
the guy lives in ct. i just spoke with a lawyer, hopefully i can get some of these bills covered.

[nancie2k]

i was starting to feel like maybe i am getting better when we went to vermont last weekend and i went rowing around a lake in a blow-up boat and did a lot kicking in the water holding on to a raft and i was feeling good. BUT i did not ride my stationery bike that weekend. i ride it til my knee says no, i am up to 3 miles before that happens now. i also have been doing a lot more of walking and after a while my knee is killing me, every step hurts. sometimes it feels like i have no supporting ligaments in the knee, it feels like it can collapse while walking. i had mentioned my feeling about no acl to the doc when i last saw him but he did not seem concerned. i guess i can't get an mri done with all those screws and plates in my knee. it still feels and is swollen and going downstairs is a killer. i am back to one crutch by the afternoon. i wake up and take 2 percocets and use a crutch til they kick in. i usually have to take another one 4-5 hours later, and again and again.
my physical therapist went out of business-surprise to her, and i found another, and i wish i had him from the beginning- he seems to be more informed as to my injury and what hurts- he asked about going up and down stairs, and said he will call and work with the doc, the other pt did not do that. he said i may be over-doing it, but will check with md before i go back.

it is great having a temporary disability card for the car, but sometimes the spaces are all filled up
still limping along and hoping for the best

[Skibumtress]

Nancie, just out of curiosity (since we live in the same area), where are you going for PT?
With the extent of your injury, I'm surprised that your first PT person wasn't working with your Doc.
After my first surgery I went to a place in Oakland (many players from the Nets, Rangers and Devils go there) and now I'm going to a place in Wyckoff. I'm not sure about the place that I'm going to now in Wyckoff but it's only been my first week. I'm going to give them another week or two when I'm able to do a bit more. I'm questioning this place because from my observation with other patients and stuff I just don't think that these two gals are aggressive with their patents. The other place in Oakland the PT folks were very aggressive and I saw ACL patients improve lots within one week. Plus I they have more equipment and machines and I like the way they deal with their patients much better.

[nancie2k]

i love my new pt guy. he warms my knee first, then does gentle stretching trying to straighten out the knee. it actually felt good, and i was not fighting the stretch like i had been doing before. he did the bending back at the end of the session,( mostly quad stuff ) , and i kept waiting for the intense pain, but, instead i was able to relax and not fight it. he also told me not to use the weights on my ankles anymore , but to put them on my thighs and use 5 instead of 3 lbs. he just iced it at the end, did not use the electrical stim at all.
i have my own, called dr. ho, and the pt told me where to place it if i wanted to. i used it twice, not sure if it helped or not, but it feels good.
i was looking for another dr. ho for my dad for his arthritis, looked at the website and found they cannot be sold in the u.s, puerto rico or the u.s. virgin islands!!!!
the usda took them off the market because they are prescription!!!
looked on ebay and found only one. i was outbid, but i only wanted to go to $99, it sold for $150.52 my sister finally found one for under $100.

[yentna]

Sounds like you're coming along nicely! Keep it up, looking forward to normalcy and sweet TRs in the near future.

[nancie2k]

saw my doc on the 31st. still have weakness walking, feels like knee gives in to the inside. they were pushing amd pulling my leg every which way and thought i might have pulled my pcl ,hoping it is just stretched. went to pain management on wed, put me on kadian 20mg at hs, some lidocaine paste that has nsaids also in it to apply 3x day, and continue with percocets up to 5 a day prn. have to get back into physical therapy. had an MRI last thursday and the nurse called back yesterday and said i have a lateral tear on the meniscus what else
continue with the therapy and in a month or two will need to be scoped. damn. i am sick and tired of all this. the knee is still swollen and there is painful clicking in the knee when i try any soft lunge movements.

[nancie2k]

wow, it has been a long time.
I have a date for surgery-May 11, this new doc will do an arthroscopy to repair the meniscus and do whatever else to clean up the area. He will not do anythng with the ligaments at this time, says i will most definitely need a total knee replacememt in the future. I saw the original surgeon and he gave the OK to have the hardware removed at the same time. I am not looking forward to more pain , rehab and time on crutches but he says we are looking to restore function which will be a blessing. Reduction of pain will be great, too. Hard to believe it has been over a year now .

[amyzilla]

Nancie, sounds like this will be nothing compared to what you've been through. I bet you'll feel a lot better after it's done!

[SnowTigress]

Nancie-
Just saw your thread for the first time and I'm sending you ++++ vibes for a strong recovery. It sucks to be injured...and have multiple surgeries. But at least you are eligible for them! And as far as the knee replacement surgery in the future, you will not be alone in that dept!! Hang in there and keep us posted!

[nancie2k]

quick update-had the surgery may 11
had arthroscopy and removal of the hardware. I had 12, not 10 screws and plate. One of the pains i had seems to be gone, but since i can't put weight on it yet, don't know about the rest. I can feel the absence of the hardware
There was a lot of post surgical pain, but nowhere near what i went thru last year. They just cleaned up the area, said i have a lot of arthritis
My leg is still crooked. Xrays tomorrow and removal of the rest of the staples. I had 25 of them. arthroscopy just had one stitch on each side of the knee.

[nancie2k]

tkr for 2/19, was reading my notes i kept and scared myself about all the pain i have been through. still on pain meds, totally afraid of waking up from surgery (the 5th) in excruciatig pain again. i can't do anything i love to do, walk with a limp, leg is crooked, dr michael kelly is doing it out of hackensack hospital, supposed to have helped develop the female knee. it will be just abut 2 years since i was hit.

[Vinman]

sorry to hear about your knee. But hopefullt the TKR will releieve the pain you are having and let you get back to a more normal life. Good luck with surgery.

[caddah]

best of luck to you. you got hurt right around the same time I did, and I have been following your thread. I really hope this helps you get back to normal.

[nancie2k]

i sure hope my leg can get straight again. i have no stability.
thanks for all the good thoughts!!!
i am scared to death , hoping i am doing the right thing. so tired of living like this. can't do any of my favorite things, can't wear high heels!!!! or dance

[JeffreyJim]

Hey Nancie,

Injuries such as yours are never fun. You've come very far, stay positive.

I have a 21 year old sister who had to have a hip replacement. Keep in mind this was after 4 or 5 surgeries etc.

She's currently a junior at CU and works out everyday, loves to go out...and yes, she can ski. (although it's not her thing)

My point is-she has her life back.

Going with the TKR is a good call, I'm sure you've done your homework but be sure to stay positive (I know how hard it can be) and DO believe you'll be better.

THe cool part was she recovered from her hip replacement MUCH faster than I recovered from a broken ankle back in 05. Keep that in mind too...

[Tourette Dude]

Some suggestions:

Make sure the center your having the surgery done does lots of knee replacements


Make sure your surgeon has done the specific surgery many times

Don't go with a new technique, you want a procedure that has had years of proven post op results

Tell your surgeon and anesthesiologist you are concerned about post op pain management

On admission they will probably go through a pre-op pain scale screening(ie 1-10 scale) choose LOW number as your comfort level.

Also mention again that you are on chronic opiates for pain management at home- this will reinforce to them that you will probably needed higher than normal doses for pain control (but maybe not - this can only be truly figured out post op)

If your doctor says its OK, try to wean yourself off as much of the opiates as possible before the surgery. It will make the post op pain control a little easier.

Study and practice some anxiety reducing techniques (breathing excersises, meditation etc) since anxiety has a tendency to amplify the pain.




My next door neighbor had bilateral knee replacements a couple of years ago and is very happy with the results and is very active. Sounds like your in good hands and are motivated which are the most important factors. Push yourself as much as they will allow post op and you WILL be fine.

GOOD LUCK! and be ready to be surprised at how well you do post op!

[nancie2k]

i just found out that you end up without your acl and mcl!!!!!!
somehow they attach stuff that will keep you stable.
also that leg might be a tad longer than the other, but not noticible (he says)

[nancie2k]

got cleared for surgery by a cardiologist- had an echocardiogram it was really weird lying there and watching your heart beat and the valves opening an closing!!!
just over a week away and i will be getting a new knee.
doc suggested cross country skiing not downhill

[caddah]

got cleared for surgery by a cardiologist- had an echocardiogram it was really weird lying there and watching your heart beat and the valves opening an closing!!!
just over a week away and i will be getting a new knee.
doc suggested cross country skiing not downhill

positive vibes going out to you. Hope the surgery goes really well for you. This is the beginning of better days to come for sure....and don't dwell on what the doctor said. My doctor initially told me I would not walk again. glad he was wrong about that one. No doctor is going to tell you you are going to be bode miller after getting a knee replacement. I'm sure if you want to get back on the mountain you will do just that.

[Bart T]

holy cow. just read this thread, nancie you are amazing! keep your spirits up. the docs will always be conservative about post-op results.

[nancie2k]

i just had my new knee installed on 2/19!!!!
it went so much better than i had anticipated. i made sure the pain management doctor was aware of all the meds i was on and all my fears. long story short, my leg is straight again and the limp is gone all the pre surgery exercising i did really paid off, i am walking without assistance (except in the morning til the pain meds kick in again) and they said i was a few weeks ahead of schedule!! it still hurts , but the original injury was living hell. this was the 5th and hopefully the last surgery done on this leg!!!!! staples come out next week.
it has been a very long two years.

[JeffreyJim]

Pumped for you!

[skibuminwyo]

Good for you! keep us updated with how it goes from here!

[caddah]

Glad to hear everything went well. Sounds like you are already feeling 100% better. I think I racked up 5 operations on my leg as well, and it still isn't even fixed, but is doing very well. keep up the hard work

[nancie2k]

have not been in here for a LONG time!
i was doing great until the beginning of july when i fell down 8 steps in an unfamiliar house in the middle of the night (thought i was home, i guess) woke up at the bottom to my husband trying to get me up. i knocked myself out for a few minutes, turned out i broke my radius by the wrist, fractured a rib and hurt my hip joint so bad i could not put weight on it. Amazingly my knee was uninjured!!!
Now just my wrist still hurts a bit, the bone is healed, but the area is still swollen. i am finally getting back into working out again. I finally found one of the Wii fit - they said they had just got 8 in that morning- so i have started doing that in addition to some weights. It really is a great program, it shows your balance and keeps track of your progress. It is really helping to strengthen all my knee muscles
My doctor said it was all healing nicely and my next visit is in January. I am so glad i had it done. My leg is straight and i can do lunges which were impossible before.