Roboknee Upgrade №2
Donation protected
tl/dr: I need surgery again on my knee and I don't have deep enough pockets to pay my deductible all at once for the second time this year.
The long version:
February 2019 - something snaps in my right knee and it locks up. Diagnosis- 11mm hole ripped in the articular cartilage that covers the end of the femur, a normally smooth surface for the patella to glide across. Proceeded with surgical repair called "microfracture" (look it up it's pretty neat!) knowing that the success rate wasn't the greatest and the possibility of needing an alternative surgical repair later on existed but it was the best option for me at that time. Recovery went well and I followed the doctor's orders almost explicitly. (Let's be real here: we all know that I'm a stubborn fool so of course I broke a few rules and tested a few limits, but they weren't too far out of the realm of what I should have been doing & if you never try to leave what's comfortable do you ever improve?)
By June I had comfortably and successfully returned to derby, but was still on restricted weight lifting, but I followed the rules. My knee was still slightly swollen and as a result range of motion wasn't 100%. Saw the doctor mid-June and directions were to try to take it easy and if swelling was still persistent come the end of the summer I'd have a repeat MRI (surgical site was still too fresh to get accurate information via MRI in June).
Since then I've been on my skates maybe twice, ran a handful of times, and lightly trained legs at most 3 times (literally light weight), consumed more than my share of ibuprofen, and iced the knee 3 times daily.
October 2019 - Swelling still present, knee clicks and pops, and sleeping sucks because my leg relaxes and it creates were tension. Had another MRI yesterday and saw the doctor this morning. The divot filled in but not well. There's edema trapped behind the new cartilage plug and edema throughout the knee. Next step - cadaver graft of articular cartilage and a small piece of the underlying bone (it's called an OATS procedure - look that one up, too! Also really neat!) and place that in the defective area.
I'm out for another 6 months or so. This sucks, but what is it I'm really stressed about? I NEED TO PAY THE MUTHA-EFFING DEDUCTIBLE FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR. So, I'm delaying surgery until October 30 (hopefully-I'll be getting the call to schedule on Monday. Also happy birthday to me, right?)
I don't like asking for help, but I don't think I can do this alone. Putting my pride aside is the hardest thing for me to do, but here I am. I NEED HELP.
The long version:
February 2019 - something snaps in my right knee and it locks up. Diagnosis- 11mm hole ripped in the articular cartilage that covers the end of the femur, a normally smooth surface for the patella to glide across. Proceeded with surgical repair called "microfracture" (look it up it's pretty neat!) knowing that the success rate wasn't the greatest and the possibility of needing an alternative surgical repair later on existed but it was the best option for me at that time. Recovery went well and I followed the doctor's orders almost explicitly. (Let's be real here: we all know that I'm a stubborn fool so of course I broke a few rules and tested a few limits, but they weren't too far out of the realm of what I should have been doing & if you never try to leave what's comfortable do you ever improve?)
By June I had comfortably and successfully returned to derby, but was still on restricted weight lifting, but I followed the rules. My knee was still slightly swollen and as a result range of motion wasn't 100%. Saw the doctor mid-June and directions were to try to take it easy and if swelling was still persistent come the end of the summer I'd have a repeat MRI (surgical site was still too fresh to get accurate information via MRI in June).
Since then I've been on my skates maybe twice, ran a handful of times, and lightly trained legs at most 3 times (literally light weight), consumed more than my share of ibuprofen, and iced the knee 3 times daily.
October 2019 - Swelling still present, knee clicks and pops, and sleeping sucks because my leg relaxes and it creates were tension. Had another MRI yesterday and saw the doctor this morning. The divot filled in but not well. There's edema trapped behind the new cartilage plug and edema throughout the knee. Next step - cadaver graft of articular cartilage and a small piece of the underlying bone (it's called an OATS procedure - look that one up, too! Also really neat!) and place that in the defective area.
I'm out for another 6 months or so. This sucks, but what is it I'm really stressed about? I NEED TO PAY THE MUTHA-EFFING DEDUCTIBLE FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR. So, I'm delaying surgery until October 30 (hopefully-I'll be getting the call to schedule on Monday. Also happy birthday to me, right?)
I don't like asking for help, but I don't think I can do this alone. Putting my pride aside is the hardest thing for me to do, but here I am. I NEED HELP.
Organizer
Katie Brunetti
Organizer
New Milford, CT