Time to Retire

Well, at 38 I've decided to hang up my basketball shoes for good. This past year hasn't been kind on my knees, and due to an injury to my non-transplant knee and a strange development in my MT knee, I've formally announced my retirement from basketball. I love the game, but it has caused some new issues in both knees, and that is the end of that.

My MT knee is still really good, but I've been having a strange locking sensation. Never a good thing when you have existing meniscus problems, but it's there nonetheless. I've been neglecting my cycling and dropped my formal rehab, and I hope that's the problem. I've had three great years with my MT knee, and I'm hoping for at least 5 more before we touch that knee again. I still have athletic plans I'm not ready to give up, and I've started training for a triathlon next year. No jogging yet (and I haven't done that since my MT), but we'll just see how it goes. My knee hasn't locked (its actually a dislocating feeling--yeah I know how bad that sounds) in a few weeks, but it's happened numerous times. I must admit I'm nervous. I've been putting it off, but I think I need a trip to the OS. I'm hopeful the problem has nothing to do with my meniscus.

My other knee had a bad tear in my medial meniscus in late 09', and while the meniscectomy resolved the severe pain, it's left me with a lousy knee. My MT knee is far better, so for what its worth, I'm still way ahead of the game.

So for now, I'm in the gym, pool, and on the course. Just like a good retired hoopster should.

Breaking Ankles

So, a year ago I thought I was done healing. Dr. Stone had released me to full activities, I was playing basketball, riding my bike, walking the golf course, and even snowboarded at about 14 months post-op. I was pain/care free. I continued my rehab workouts for a little while longer and then transitioned/incorporated those exercises into my traditional leg workouts. Add the fact that my passion for riding road bikes became an obsession this year, my legs probably haven't been this strong since my playing days.




I play basketball at least twice a week before work. At 37, I'm one of the older guys, but not by that much. I love basketball, and running for an hour and a half on the court is a nice change from the bike and great cardio. My first game was in January 2009, just after Dr. Stone gave me the go ahead to go full speed. I was nervous at first, had occasional pops and twinges, and didn't feel super-confident in the knee for a few more months. I was really glad I chose to go with the Breg Fusion knee brace since when I drag the knee laterally, I still get an uncomfortable popping sensation in the area of my new meniscus, but never in the brace. Anyway, I played, ran hard, and had a lot of fun for most of this year. I did not expect to get any better than I felt at one year, but the past two months I have experienced a dramatic improvement in my ability to push off my knee.




Today was great. They calling it "breaking a guy's ankles" when you break someone down off the dribble, and today I did it at-will. My cross-over step (which I plant off the repaired knee) was quicker than its been since long before my surgery. I'm actually better than before, and I don't mean before this last of four surgeries (the meniscus transplant), I mean as good as it was before my first injury. My knee functions like it did before I hurt it in 1994 at spring training. I'm superstitious, and don't want to jinx myself, but this is exactly why I did this surgery, the rehab, and continued leg-work. To that doctor who told me to adjust my lifestyle and wait for a knee replacement 4 years ago, I just want to scream, "take a look at me now!!!" Thanks to my college teamate, Dr. John Coombes, who told me about this surgery 2 years ago, and the Stone Clinic for putting me back together.

The Death Ride--Check

I'm just about two years out from my meniscus transplant. I haven't been on my blog in a long time, and frankly, I had forgotten a lot of the hard times I went through that first six months. I thought you might be interested in the story of the Deathride.

I rode the Deathride in July 2009 (127 miles, 15,000 feet of climbing, 5 moutain passes), and my knee held up great. In fact, I had a little problem wity my other knee at about mile 90, so I had to effectively ride the last 39 miles on my reconstructed knee. My knee held up great, and I finished in 11 total hours with 9:54 in ride time. It was an epic day. The ride starts out at Turtle rock park (5,800 feet), and the first major climb is Monitor Pass. I had test rode Monitor Pass two weeks before the event and suffered greatly. I didn't have enough water, I started late, and it was very hot. There is not a drop of Water on that entire climb!!! I was very hesitant about my prospects for this ride, but I rode to the base of Monitor with high hopes. My goal was to ride within myself, keep my heart-rate under 165, and remember I had 129 miles to ride. I had the best ride up and over Monitor (8,314 feet). Going down the backside of Monitor I hit 54mph, and experienced a rush like no other. Climbing back was long and brutal, but I felt strong the entire way. Decending the front of Monitor was equally fun, and we made our way over to the 13 mile climb up the front-side of Ebbets Pass (8,740 feet). The climb up Ebbets was brutal, and I got out of my plan a bit on the lower part and paid for it up high. The climb back up the back-side of Ebbets was only 6 miles long, but very steep. At around Noon, I was done with 80+ miles, and only had one climb left to the summit of Carson Pass (8,580). At about mile 95, you climb from Woodforts to Pickets Junction. It's not a pass, but it was harder than any of the passes for me. My left knee, my good knee, started to hurt with every pedal stroke. I had an IT band issue that got worse and worse. By the time I was climbing Carson, I was on one leg, my meniscus transplant leg. I suffered greatly up the last long climb up Carson, but it was just amazing to come over the top. I will never forget the taste of that ice cream bar (a fudgicle) with all the other 5 pass finishers. Decending Carson was a blast, and I hit 59mph coming down from Picketts Juction to Woodfords. Just then I looked down at my Garmin and figured out that my actual ride time was about 9:30...I could finish under 10 hours, so I put down the hammer and made it back to Turtle Rock Park at 9:54. I beat the hard rain by only minutes, and the light sprinkle felt SO good as I rolled into the finish zone. Six months after my surgery I committed to doing the 2009 Deathride (albeit after a few beers), and at just about 19 months after I was a looking at swollen knee wondering if it would ever get better, I was a 5-Pass Finisher of the Deathride. I was fortunate enough to share the experience with my awesome family (who had signs of encouragement at base of the last pass), and some great friends. It was the hardest athletic endeavor I had ever done, and probably the most satisfying.

I'm still committed to knee health, and I do rehab work weekly. Fight the good fight, don't give up, and remember your knee will only be as good as your rehab.

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.

Wow, Lake Tahoe is Amazing from a Bike

On May 31, 2008, I loaded my bike into the back of the truck and drove to Tahoe at 8:00 p.m. to ride in America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride. They close the highway from South Shore to Homewood, so you get to ride about 35 miles, including the amazing Emerald Bay, without concern for cars. I met up with my group at 6:30 a.m. wondering if my knee could take 72 miles, and 4,000 feet of climbing. I had never gone more than 50 miles before, and this was my first real athletic test.

I rode like crazy, and kept pace with some very talented riders. I finished the 72 miles after 4 hours and 3 minutes in the saddle. My knee was a bit sore at the conclusion, but nothing that Advil wouldn't cure. I didn't ice until I got home that night, and my rear was a lot more sore than my knee. I graded my knee as an A+.

I had my 6 month follow up a few weeks prior, and Dr. Stone seemed thrilled with my result. I started walking the golf course, and for the first time in more years that I can remember, I was pain free!!! I used to dread the soreness that I would have at night after walking the course, but that is a thing of the past.

My biggest complaint at this point was having to anwswer the questions regarding my knee scars. As soon as you say meniscus transplant you will be in for 20 questions, so be prepared!!!

My First Sprint

About 12 weeks into my recovery, my daughter ran out into the street in our normally sleepy neighborhood. Instinct kicked in and I sprinted to grab her. While it felt completely awkward, my knee didn't blow up! I was now doing agressive rehab including steps ups and theraband side stepping. My leg still was "skinny" but it was coming along nicely.

I was riding my road bike 3-4 days a week and doing about 125 miles per week. I was pain free, but I continued to ice down after each workout. My BREG machine has been used a ton, and it was worth every penny.

My knee was not swelling much, and it was hard to tell the difference after 4 months. PT became training, and I was fanatical about it. I don't want to do this surgery again, and I was going to do my damnedest not to. At 5 months my focus was on rehab and riding, and I was only weeks away from my 72 mile ride.