How to get a new Knee in 3 Easy Steps

As a wanna-be triathlete, I like looking at things like triathlons...this one was surgery, rehab, and recovery. Here is my story.

On December 18, 2007, I had a meniscus allograft transplant surgery, my fourth surgery on my right knee. The initial purpose of this blog is to provide those who are considering this surgery to have a place to come and see what you are in for, what the first year is like, and for me to memorialize the "adventure" of the first year. So, I'll start at the beginning ... the day I put on the "tools of ignorance."

When I was 15 years old, my baseball coach asked if I would play catcher ... he needed someone who could make the throw from home to second base. I was immediately hooked. However, in high school, I played shortstop and center-field, and mostly stayed out of the catcher's gear. Then while a freshman football player at Arizona State, I tried out and made the baseball team as a walk-on ... the only problem was they wanted me to catch since I had grown from a 6', 185 lbs., center-fielder into a 6'2, 225 lbs., soon to be catcher. I eventually transferred to U.C. Davis, played two years, and was drafted in the 11th round by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the amateur draft. The adventures with my right knee started in Spring Training 1995. I had a bucket handle tear while blocking a pitch in the dirt. I had the medial meniscus trimmed attempted a return to baseball, but finally hung up my spikes in late 1995 for good. I had 7 years of a creaky, but pretty good knee. Then I tore it again, had a second meniscectomy in May 2003. While rehabbing, I tore my meniscus again, and once again my doc cut away some more of my limited medial meniscus in late 2004. My knee now hurt all the time. If I walked the golf course, played flag football, whatever, I was going to be sore for a day or two. Hiking was miserably painful, and any unstable ground caused aching pain that would last for hours. I started cycling (which would become a passion) in 2005 to help strengthen the knee, but nothing seemed to help. In 2006, I went back to my surgeon, and asked him what he could do to fix it, but he had nothing to offer but me changing my lifestyle from aggressive athlete to something far less active. He told me I could look to a partial knee replacement in about 20 years. I was 33. I walked away discouraged and, frankly, pissed.

Well, I didn't listen. In 2006, I decided to run another sprint triathlon. I planned to run as little as possible and focus on the two other disciplines. It was fun, my knee hurt, but I finished okay. So, I decided that I would really do well in 2007, and I would run through the pain in my knee ... it was time to get serious. I trained much harder, ran a better race, and was second in my class. I now had my sights on a half-ironman. While on a training run in September 2007 my dream of a half-ironman came to an end. I was about 6 miles into an 7 mile run, I planted my foot, my knee cracked, and it locked up solid. I was a mile from home. I knew this feeling from before, and I also knew that I was not going to walk this one off. Ultimately, my knee unlocked, I limped home, and started to look for an answer to my problem...it just happened to come by way of an email from a friend. Start at the oldest posts...sorry, I didn't take a lot of pics along the way, but the few I have should help give you some ideas of what the surgery entails

One - Year Later

It's now been 13 months since my meniscus transplant. I no longer think much about my knee, but my exercise routine is highly focused on core stregnth and knee health. I still email Dr. Stone's PT staff on occasion to give them updates on my recovery and pick their brains for new workout tips, but thats more because they have become friends as well as therapists. What am I doing one year later you might ask? Well, I walk the golf course all the time, ride my road bicycle religiously, and started playing an occasional game of pick up basketball. In October I was inducted into the UC Davis Baseball Hall of Fame, and played 9 innings of baseball in the Alumni game at about month 10. I never thought I would play the game again prior to this surgery.

There are days when my knee feels a bit swollen and sometimes (rarely) a bit sore after a hard workout, but I pretty much don't think about it anymore unless someone asks me about it. The funny thing is my reconstructed knee feels as good or better than my other knee. I plan to ride at least 2 100-mile bike rides this year, and will ride in the ominously titled "Death Ride" in July 2009.

I would say it took me about 10 months to feel truly "healed," but since that time I'm done with worrying about it. If there is any snow, I even plan to ride a few groomers in late February in Tahoe...something I haven't done in 4 years.

Having this surgery is a big commitment...somthing The Stone Clinic made quite clear to me before I had the operation. I can honestly say I have no regrets at all from this surgery, and in fact I'm thrilled with my results.