I am having knee surgery on 2.22 and my mom is very concerned, so here is information for her and any others who want to be kept in the loop.
What happened?
At the end of January, while playing ultimate with the Züri Ultimate Flyers, I tore my ACL. A physio tested it about an hour after it happened an thought it wouldn't be too too bad, maybe a partial tear of the ACL and possibly some light damage to the meniscus and the first doctor I visited agreed and sent me for an MRI to be sure. When I went back for the results, the doc told me in the most dramatic way possible (I was crying. She threatened to cry.) that she had bad news and shipped me off to a surgeon to talk about what to do next.
This injury is particularly not super-awsome because my team is playing in the World Ultimate Club Championships this summer and I will not be fit in time to play with them .
What has been happening?
After a lot of deliberation, I decided to go under the knife. As the surgeon said, "You could be very happy swimming and biking for the rest of your life." Could I? The thing is, right now (before the surgery), I have almost full range of motion (+ a little unwanted extra to the side) and can walk normally without pain (as long as I don't make any spin-moves) and with a bit of PT this could be corrected. It seems insane (slightly barbaric) to chop out part of a perfectly healthy (and strong!) tendon and drill holes through some bones, when day-to-day what this would remedy is not much of an issue. It seems like taking 1.000.000 steps backward, then a few hundred thousand forward on crutches and lots of sweat in the gym to get back to where I am today. I read the list of professional athletes without an ACL, but the thing is, I'm not a professional and the things that I would have concerns about doing without having undergone surgery was too long.
With just a week between scheduling the surgery and when it will take place, I've been busy preparing: planning and cooking meals to freeze for afterwards, dealing with insurance and HR, collecting experiences from others who have recently had similar procedures in Switzerland, getting stuff at work in a decent state to be left for a week, and lining up friends to bring me home from the hospital, help with groceries, and visit to keep me sane (see below).
What happens next?
According to my with the doctor, I will have the operation, stay in the hospital for 2 or 3 nights (so nurses/anesthesiologists can manage my pain and that physios can get me moving early), be on crutches for 4-6 weeks, can think about jogging after a few months, and be back on the field in 6or7 to 9to12 months.
There are several options available for ACL replacement (really cool ones that you can't get in America). I have chosen the one where (roughly) they take part of your quadriceps tendon and anchor it into your leg bones where the ACL used to be (video warning: watching this made me cry).
The surgery will take place at the Klinik Hirslanden, which is a bit more hotel, than hospital at an unspecified time on Thursday, February 22ndand will be conducted by Dr. Roger Berbig - so famous he even has a wikipedia page in English. The visiting hours are from 1-8PM, but I really do not know what state I will be in. I really appreciate the offers for visits that I have received and I also think it is good to not have everybody there at once - spreading the love around. I have created a spreadsheet, so you can sign up for approximate times. I also don't know when I will have physio, crutch-walking school, or other meetings; I'll try to update the sheet, but maybe whatsapp me ahead of time.
Generally, I am feeling really great about this, but naturally there are some uneasy feelings. I mean hospitals are totally foreign to me (and not just because this one is abroad); I can count on my fingers the times that I have been in them (not counting high school when I lived in an old, converted one):
- Being born
- Sister's birth
- Taking a check to the children's ward in the 5th grade as the result of a student council fundraiser
- To see mommom
- An eye-ER trip last spring
- An ER trip this summer
- + a few visits to family friends
For this I consider myself unbelievably fortunate and will have to think of going in as going to a hotel (I travel for work -- easy!) or back to school (those good ole unicorn days!) or just into one of the happy/uplifting episode of a TV show.
In the short term, I will be a bit immobile, so netflix recommendations, kindle loaner books, calls, and recovery tips are welcome.
What happens later?
A butt-load of physical therapy. I know this isn't the end of the world. I know so many people who have gone through this.
Probably some other stuff.
Want to get in touch?
Email or WhatsApp is probably easiest. If you don't have either of those, there is a contact form below or you can rock it old school and send cards or whatever to:
Caroline Saul / c/o Kristen LeFevre / 88 Waffenplatzstrasse / CH-8002 ZÜRICH / SWITZERLAND
Additionally, for day-of announcements, feel free to join this WhatsApp group (easiest if you open it on you phone or with WhatsApp open in your browser). I cannot promise that it will be updated super often, but just take no news as good news.