What does if feel like?

What does it feel like to tear your ACL?

 This is the question I asked Dr. Google when I injured my knee back at the beginning of March.

Every answer I found was different. Some, most I should say...heard a loud pop. Some that heard that same pop had extreme pain and some had no pain. Some people had no pain, only instability.

My Sister, for instance, had zero pain but major instability. She heard no pop when she fell.

Dr. Google is usually a reliable source and I go to him for a lot, but for this instance he was no help.

I had to go to the real doctor who eventually sent me to an Orthopedic.

He said "I am worried about it being your ACL." He suggested an MRI. Today I get the results of the MRI.

They read "ACL is torn."  " low-grade MCL sprain" with a few other minor things...

So, What does it feel like to tear your ACL?

Your knee buckles beneath you, you fall, and you feel like you can't walk because there is nothing to hold your knee upright. That goes away, you walk again, of course. After starting to walk again (30 minutes or so later)there is minor pain and swelling, nothing too serious. Your hamstring hurts when your knee gets tired because it is bearing all the weight of your knee. You have minor instability, but again nothing to serious. It buckles occasionally, maybe 3 times in weeks, but it does not make you fall. A simple support, ace bandage like, brace makes all the difference in pain and stability. It also hurts to touch ,in some places, because you have bone bruises from where the bones hit together when it buckled.

At least this is what mine felt like....

I will go for physical therapy(for strength) for 4 weeks. After that, if I think I can live without an intact ACL I won't have surgery. At my age, 24, I probably will have the surgery. In my doctor's words "I have a lot of living left to do with these knees." If I don't have the surgery I also risk injuring the other parts of my knee such as the MCL.

MoW


Oh, yeah...still in North Carolina. Still liking it, learning to love it...

Easter and Our Visit to Starkville

As I type this we are heading back to North Carolina form our visit to Starkville.

We came home for two reasons: #1 Easter, #2 to load our truck.
I meant to take a bunch of pictures to document our trip...I forgot so I only have a few.

We arrived in Starkville on Saturday around 6:00pm. We had dinner with family and crashed in our own bed for the first time in about a month. It. Was. Wonderful. No picture provided.

The next day was Easter and we went to church with my parents to Pinelake Starkville. We went to the 8am service and drove to Kosciusko to visit more family and we went to church again.

Super Christians...church twice in one day.

After we went to church we went back to my Aunt Beth's house for lunch. Here are our pictures from Easter.

This is the whole Family that went to the second church service. We're a good looking bunch.




My family...




...and me and AnW




At my Aunt Beth's house we also had a birthday party for MeMe's 80th birthday.








After we left Aunt Beth's we went to Jackson to visit with more family and have Easter supper. No pictures available.

We came back to Starkville and slept. We got on up Monday, packed the truck and were done by 5:30 so I could sit down and watch the Braves game. Go Braves! We won! Again, no picture available.

On Tuesday we spent our "last day in Starkville." Pictures available:

Our first stop was at Starkville Cafe for breakfast. Duck. Butter.




We then went to The Lodge and got our State loot for the trip.




Then we walked to Shipley's and got Raspberry Lemonade.
I took a picture of AnW.




I handed the camera to him to take a picture of me.




Ok that's good, you can stop now.




No really stop....




You better stop!




Ok I'm taken it from your hand...




Got it!
Next we went on a drive around campus.












The Junction




JumboTron




Chapel of Memories




Then we rode over to the Research Park where AnW worked.
Th grass at the Research Park is not nearly as pretty as campus'.




Then we met Daddy for lunch at Cappy's. AnW loves Cappy's sweet potato casserole.




For dinner we had Brian Michaels. Best fries in Starkville.

Now we are on our way back to NC.

Starkville, it's been fun. You will be missed.


MoW