That Was So Much Fun, Let's Do it Again!

This post is not the one I wanted to write.  After 7.5 years of skiing, ice hockey, basketball, Mui Thai, boxing, cycling thousands of miles on my road-bike, ripping down our local mountain biking trials, placing 2nd in an Aquabike (triathlon without the run), catching tens of thousands of pitches from my son and his fellow little leaguers, and most recently taking on yoga as a new passion...disaster has struck.

2 Time Silver League Champions!

While coaching my youth football team, I decided to demonstrate a drill (without my trusty knee brace), and made a cut to my right at full speed to avoid a tackler.  I've made that move a million times, but this time my knee collapsed.  The usual loud pop, searing pain, and in this case, face-plant followed.  I popped up so as not to scare my son and his teammates, but I knew my knee was in trouble.  My knee wouldn't bend, and I could feel it...the dreaded meniscal tear.  I waited a few days, and it only got worse.  Against the advice of those closest to me, I played in my championship hockey game a few days later...and hoisting the trophy (above) was worth a little more pain and suffering.  Two days after that I knew I needed to get into the doctor.  I made an appointment with Dr. Stone a few weeks out, obtained an MRI locally, and saw my local doc to get a preliminary review and diagnosis.  The result was that I had significantly torn my medial meniscus transplant.  Local option was to cut out the tear, leaving me with less than 50% of the meniscus, and no shock absorber in the posterior 50% of my knee.  Despite the fact I have no articular surface damage, this option would require me to make major life adjustments, and essentially, for me to shut down my extrememly active lifestyle at 43.  I would just have to wait until arthritis, which I was told would set in quickly, got bad enough that I would need a replacement.  No question, I needed to go see Dr. Stone.

A week or so later I made a trip to the Stone Clinic to see the Doc.  It had been a long time since I had been in their office, but I was welcomed like I was at a spa.  I was greeted by name as I walked through the door, offered a Joint Juice, and waited only a few minutes before meeting with the team.  The difference in the Stone Clinic approach is obvious from that start.  You don't just tell your story, get five minutes with the nurse, and even less with your doctor.  I spent a good twenty minutes with Hope discussing what I've done, and what I want to do in the future.  Dr. Stone then came in, went through the physical exam, and then we went to look at my films together.  Dr. Stone showed me every detail of my injury, and regretfully, confirmed the first diagnosis.  We spent even more time in his office going over the options.  The key is Dr. Stone gives both options and hope.  He is going on this journey with me, and he wants a successful return to sports as much as I do.  I moved on to one of my favorite people, Trish the PT, and we discused the potential procedures, the rehab, the prehab, and she just made me feel like getting back to my life was not just possible, but the expectation.  "You will be back."

So, November 11, I'll do it again...almost 8 years worth of adventures to the day from my original MT.  There are a few options, and we won't know the final outcome until after surgery, but I'm preparing myself for a revision meniscus transplant.   Knowing the challenge ahead and what I'm in for is the hardest part, but it also makes the preparation a bit easier.  I've made my list of things to get done before surgery, and I'm going to enjoy a few weeks before we get down to the business of fixing this knee.  The good thing is I feel like I'm going into this challenge with the best team I could find, and as an athlete, nothing can give you more confidence.

Full speed ahead...there is just no other way for me to do it!  I wouldn't change a thing...except maybe to wear my knee brace that day.  Good luck to all of us, and happy healing.

Happy M-Day Plus 7.

I can't believe it's been 7 years since my meniscus transplant.  My knee continues to serve me well, and I'm still playing ice-hockey, riding bikes (transitioned to mountain), and doing lots of things I probably shouldn't do (like catching bullpens for my baseball youth team and playing scout team QB against pee-wee footballers).  I'm not particularly good about icing after big events, and I don't really think about my knee holding me back.  If I treat it poorly, my knee will remind me that I'm not 21 anymore, and doctors have inside there 4 times.

Through this blog I've met many people from around the world that have had this surgery.   I've seen some awesome outcomes, and some unfortunate folks who have had setbacks (one was hit by a truck on her bike wrecking her freshly minted MT).  As I'm sure you can see from my blog, rehab was the key to my personal recovery, but also I knew there was a chance the outcome wouldn't be great. I was 35 and nowhere near ready to quit playing hard...it wasn't a tough choice for me, but I did as much research as I could before making the final decision.  I was also fortunate to have a great team at Dr. Stone's and a great local PT (John Zior in Rocklin, CA), who guided me through every up and down.

I'm on my second custom functional knee brace as I wore the first one out (yes, I play that hard).  I use it for skiing, hockey, and basketball (yes, I've started playing again with my 12 year-old son).  Hockey is not a twisting sport, and my MT rarely, if ever, gives me issues.  I feel like I have something going on behind my knee cap, and in the lateral part of the knee (the opposite side of my MT), but I can live with those issues and I don't plan on stopping for anything.  I've read that the average life span is 10 years for an MT, and considering how hard I've pushed mine, I'm hoping for the best.  I'm not ready to do it all over again, but I would still do it all over again.  My MT surgery been a solid decision for me thus far.  Since I don't have medial pain, I'm assuming my articular cartilage is hanging in there, my knee is very stable, and the MT is doing it's job.  So, for those of you getting ready for this surgery, get yourself ready physically and mentally for a challenge.  For those of you in the middle of this journey, hang in there, there is light, however faint, at the end of the tunnel.  Finally, if you've had the surgery, and you are still going for it, let me know about what you are doing in the comments.

All the best and Merry Christmas.

6 Years, 5.5 of them Awesome

It's my six year meniscaversary today.  I celebrated with a hard workout and a hard indoor ride this morning before work.  Six years after my MT, and still doing everything I want to do.  I say 5.5 awesome years because the first six months of the first year are notably un-awesome.  Heal well folks!

Five and a half years after my MT, I finally raced again.  I didn't run a tri, my knee and I both don't like running, so I tried an aqua-bike.  You swim and bike, and that's it, so I spare my knees from the repeated pounding of a 210 pound frame training.  So my wife found a race we could both do (she wanted an Olympic distance tri), and we signed up. It was a blast, I placed 2nd overall, and she was second in her age group. 

Still charging.

Still Going....

Five years later, and like the Energizer bunny, I'm still going.  I'm training harder, playing harder, and playing more than I have since...maybe ever.  My knee is strong and pain free.  Thanks Dr. Stone and Trish for everything!

I celebrated my 5th Knee Anniversary with my first hat trick in the Silver Division last night!  Best game of the new season, and I was charged up afterwards.  The charge I got out of the game last night was amazing.  I can't imagine hanging them up for good anytime soon.

Rich

My Fourth Anniversary

Four years ago today I arrived home from my surgery in San Francisco with my knee looking like this:

It was so painful I could feel my pulse in my knee, and I couldn't even imagine returning to anything.  It was hard enough trying to get to the restroom or take a shower.  Dr. Stone had told me I would be back better than before the surgery, but it felt like that was never going to happen.  It was an extremely challenging recovery, and there were plenty of bad days.  At six months there were more good days than bad, and at one year I had fully returned to sports. 

Four years later I still play hard.  I play ice-hockey two days a week, ride my bike, hike, ski, train, jog a little (no more than 3 miles), swim, and chase my kids.  I'd walk the golf course more if I didn't normally play on the same days as my hockey games, but that will change next season when I move up a level.

I've battled other injuries (my other knee and wrist) that have come from my hard charging, but I have no regrets. As I approach my 40th birthday (next July), I have no plans on slowing down.  I'm very thankful that Dr. Stone put me back together, and Trish helped me get that pesky knee to function with the rest of my self-perceived high performance body.

For those of you who are comtemplating this surgery, do your research, understand the procedure and recovery, and only move forward if you are prepared to work harder than you ever have to get back to "normal."  I'm aware that there is a supposed shelf-life for MT's, but I didn't have this done so I could sit around doing nothing hoping it would last forever.  I know of at least one other person who is still going for it 10 years out!  Find a doc you trust, a PT you trust even more, and have a plan in place for the rest of your life since things won't be normal for awhile.

For those who find this board after your surgery, I hope it helps to know what can be.  Understand it was not all wine and roses, and that the road to recovery is long and not always filled with joy.  Welcome to the small fraternity of MT recipients, and good luck.  I'm more than happy to speak with any of you during your rehab...just send me a message.

So in the end, my Christmas present, my new knee in 2007, has been my best present ever.  Good luck everyone, and Merry Christmas.

FOUR YEARS BABY!

Yeah, so that sucks a bit

I was very excited for this past weekend. Golf on Saturday morning, little league in the afternoon, and Sunday with Mother's Day and a late night hockey game. I played great golf Saturday morning (73-one over par), and squatted (like a catcher) reading a number of "big" putts. Later that day, I warmed up my little league players (actually catching). The bummer is my knees didn't like it. Worse, the non-MT knee is giving me a lot of trouble that past 10 days. It's painful when I get up after sitting, and feels really stiff. It occasionally catches, and I wonder if the tear they trimmed last year started again. I was told no more "catcher's squats" for a year after my MT, and I think that really meant forever. I've been working with my son's pitching a lot the past 2 months, and I'm feeling it. I hung up the gear almost 15 years ago for the last time, and I think I need to leave it on the shelf. More limitations...not what I want right now.

On a positive note, I played hockey last night and had great game. We won, I scored twice, and it was just a blast. I iced when I got home (after midnight), and today I'm feeling pretty good. When I played ball I constantly iced my knees and shoulder after practices and games. I feel like icing kept me healthy. As I've gotten older, I've been lazy about icing, and I think it's causing me some pain. So, I'm digging out the ace-wraps again.

I'm feeling a bit down about my non-MT knee right now...not something I want to deal with.

Hope everyone is healing or healed, and out there doing it!