Dammit

Today I went in for my follow-up appointment with Dr Kearney. He says that my knee is healing up really nice. He was impressed with how quickly I heal. I am always happy to hear that.

He also told me about the problem that he found while in surgery. Basically the cartilage on my knee is falling off. The articular cartilage that holds the femur to the knee joint and tibia is either cracked and going to completely split from the femur, or is bubbling up (similar to a blister) and will "pop" off.

So surgically speaking there are two approaches. 1; open the knee, remove the torn cartilage completely from the knee, and micro-fracture my femur. Which essentially means that after they cut the cartilage away they will drill 20-50 tiny holes into my femur and let it bleed and hope that the body will naturally repair the bone and cartilage. I would be on crutches for 6 weeks, minimum. With no weight bearing at all with my right leg. 2; open the knee, clean the torn cartilage, and place plastic anchors into my femur through the destroyed cartilage. Basically the same thing that I had done in 2008 on my right shoulder. This would also be 6 weeks of crutches and no weight bearing.

Tomorrow I am having another MRI to hopefully see which one would be best. Right now I am indifferent towards it all. They would both suck. 6 weeks of crutches would be hell. Anyone who has had to use crutches knows my pain. It would also make work difficult, considering I also do surgery. I would make it work. I am no wimp, so I would find a way to make sure that I could go into work everyday.

I am saddened by all this though. I was really hoping that last weeks surgery would be my last. I am only 25 years old, and have already had all of my major joints operated on. Some twice. Sometimes I feel like I am cursed and am falling apart (quite literally now with my knee...). I am not complaining, or looking for sympathy. Just trying to work things out in my mind.

I asked Dr Kearney what he thought would have caused all this, and he just said the only thing that he could think of would be a major blunt trauma. Like me jumping off some incredible height and landing very hard on my feet, without cushioning my knee at all. But if that were the case then I would have the same problem with my left knee, right? So I have no idea what caused all this. But he also said that it is something that has been happening for quite some time. At least a year and a half. And it will not heal on its own.

I know that things will work out. I am staying positive. That is all that I can do.

On a side note, here is an article that kinda describes what is happening with my knee. It is a fairly interesting read.