Blown Out - {pt 2}

Since getting my MRI Results on 2/12, I came to terms with what happened and Matt and I made it a point to be proactive with my physical therapy and surgery.

St Lukes always sends their test results to MyChart so I had a fun time trying to read my MRI Report.


Study Result
Impression

1. Tear of the anterior cruciate ligament. The posterior cruciate ligament is intact.
2. Tear of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus. There is increased T2 signal within the body of the medial meniscus which may be due to a meniscal contusion.
3. Low-grade sprains of the medial and lateral collateral ligaments and arcuate ligament complex.
4. Large sized knee effusion. There is a tiny Baker's cyst. There is fluid surrounding the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle likely due to a muscle strain.
5. Bone contusion of the lateral femoral condyle and posterior aspect of the tibial plateau.

Narrative

HISTORY: Swelling of left knee joint. 
COMPARISON: None.
TECHNIQUE: Noncontrast axial fat-saturated T2, coronal PD, coronal fat-saturated T2, sagittal PD, and sagittal fat-saturated T2 weighted FSE images through the left knee were obtained.

FINDINGS:
MENISCI: 
Medial meniscus: There is increased T2 signal within the mid substance of the body of the medial meniscus consistent with a meniscal contusion.
Lateral meniscus: There is abnormal signal seen within the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus consistent with a lateral meniscal tear.

LIGAMENTS:
Anterior cruciate: The anterior cruciate ligament is not visualized and is torn.
Posterior cruciate: Intact.
Medial collateral: There is a grade 1 sprain of the medial collateral ligament.
Lateral collateral: There is edema adjacent to the lateral collateral ligament consistent with a low-grade sprain.
Arcuate ligament complex: There is edema seen adjacent to the arcuate ligament likely due to a low-grade sprain.
Medial patellofemoral ligament: Intact.

TENDONS AND MUSCULATURE:
Extensor mechanism, popliteus, imaged calf and hamstring musculature are intact.

MARROW:
There is bone marrow edema of the lateral femoral condyle and posterior aspect of the tibial plateau, consistent with a bone contusion.

FLUID: 
There is a large joint effusion. There is a tiny Baker's cyst.

SOFT TISSUES: 
There is edema seen surrounding the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle likely due to a muscle strain.

2/14 Wedn: I had my first physical therapy appointment on Valentines Day. I was so excited to go. I massaged my knee the entire day before, as well as was practicing bending and straightening it. I noticed that quite a bit of swelling came down just within that day of working on it but it was still pretty ugly.

The appointment went well and I learned a lot! I got a chance to talk to my doctor - - - Whose mom, btw, lives by my parents and used to bring our family homemade mustard every Christmas. I'm sure she still brings my parents some. She is one of the kindest women so I was not surprised when I realized Doc Curran was her son. He is so kind also. He offered to draw out some of the swelling with a needle and I jumped at the opportunity! He ended up taking 60cc's of fluid out of my knee! It was nasty but made a world of difference! I could walk with less pain and without crutches. When my knee was swollen, it felt like it was locked. I couldn't bend or straighten it. After the fluid was drawn, my doctor had me attempt some of the rehab again which was much easier to complete.

I was not prepared for the amount of pain I was going to be in after that PT appointment though. I came home and iced it. I'm supposed to do the exercises 1-2x a day but I think 1x a day will be sufficient, until I can do better with the exercises pain free.

My kids are doing well with everything going on. They want 'me' back and so there is some sadness with that. I can't hold Arrowlyn when we are going down the stairs and Zeplin would give anything to not have to keep bringing me things. Poor kid. 

Zeplin was really sad to go back to school and wrapped his arms around me asking, "Who's going to take care of you while I'm gone?" I felt horrible for him but I love that he cares so much for others. 

2/15 Thurs: I got the call back from the surgery scheduler and I am on the schedule for surgery....MARCH 6th!! I was so disappointed. I was hoping for the following week but he was booked the week of the 19th and the week of the 26th, he travels with the BSU basketball team out of state. 

My physical therapist decided I should come back in 1 more time before surgery since I wasn't going to be able to go to surgery for 2 weeks. 

I've already had a lot of wonderful people offering to help with the kids during and after surgery. I'm not feeling anxious about anything besides the surgery and I'm thankful that I have such a wonderful support!

Around the 20th, my knee really started to get better. I could walk without a brace and was to slightly straighten my leg. I worked on it every day during my bath because the warm water was easier to work my knee in. I could feel the swelling move from my upper knee to my lower knee and eventually lessen. 

2/24 Sat: I admitted to Matt that I'm nervous about this surgery. It's actually really bothering me. I'm scared because of how many surgeries I've already had so far in my life... 

The swelling is back but only after I do too much. 

Matt bought me an indoor spinning bike because we were told it was going to be a good low impact way to rehab my knee and exercise. I hopped on it a couple times but with my knee swelling, I couldn't do more than 10 minutes. After only 10 minutes though, it feels so much better -mobility wise.

2/27 Tues: Matt took the entire day off because of my PT appointment and the kids had doctor appointments that afternoon. Arrowlyn is so awful to be with in public that I knew I couldn't go without him. I'm not sure how I'm going to make it through my future PT appointments with her!

I wanted to go into my 2nd PT appointment and really feel like I excelled since my 1st appointment. My physical therapist, Doug, gave me new exercises and we did a lot more this time. By the end of the hour, my knee was sore and swollen. I sat next to a woman who had the same injury as me and she 'welcomed me to the club.' She was so friendly and came closer to me to tell her experience, show her scars, and wish me well! It was so comforting to hear her share recovery!

3/2 Fri: The kids and I picked up Matt and headed to my pre-op appointment at 8:45am and it went well. The kids were horrible so Matt had to take them out to the car. (We had to wake them up at 7am so they were exhausted but it was driving us bonkers.) It made me that much more anxious. They had to do another x-ray because my LCL was not responding and seemed really 'stretched out' BUT both sides were acting the same so it's 'normal' for me. hahaha. I decided to go with a cadaver ligament instead of a graft. Dr Curran said it was probably the best decision for me. I'm excited and nervous but I can't wait to walk normal again. 3 weeks of limping is a long time and my calf muscle is ready to release. haha!