I'm back early. I caught an edge on Saturday and dislocated my knee.
I'd spent the morning in the East Bowl skiing some of the steeper slopes and took a little baby fall on the little baby bunny slope going in for lunch. I guess my ski went one way and my knee went the other. I knew things were not right when I reached down and felt my knee cap on the side of my knee. It would sort of be like feeling a twist and a pop on your face and reaching up and finding your nose is now next to your ear. Kind of thought, “Shoot, that is NOT where my knee was when I got up this AM!”
Going to see an orthopedic surgeon at 3:45... will have more news then.
Linda, Bee, or anyone else… if you have any crutches advice… we moved the microwave to the dinning room table… since I realized that it is impossible to do crunches and carry a cup of tea.
I am very grateful to be much stronger and thinner… I was saying to my mom how much better my balance is from 3 years ago and that if I have to get around on one leg… I’m glad that I’m able to stand on one foot… She pointed out that being thinner helps and also a stronger core really helps because you needs those muscles to stabilize you.
Well, “Sit and Be Fit” comes on in five minutes…
Denise
Posts: 8678 | Location: Silicon Valley, CA | Registered: March 17, 2004
Denise, Sounds like the best news possible given the dislocation. I am glad that you will not need surgery and that you are being well cared for at home. It will be fun to (hopefully) chat with you more here on the board.
I'm really glad to hear that your knee injury isn't as bad as it could have been , but I'm mourning the loss of the rest of your skiing season. I know how traumatic losing the ability to do your favorite thing can be.
Hang in there. Laura
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
So glad to hear that it isn't anything more serious!
Here's to a very speedy recovery!
P.S. Get those binding checked for sure. That's what happened to me but it was my own fault for not having the bindings readjusted after I lost weight.
Out of our beliefs are born deeds; out of our deeds we form habits; out of our habits grows our character; and on our character we build our destiny.
I saw an orthopedic surgeon this afternoon. Good news… it looks like nothing was torn and I won’t need surgery. Yay!!
They took x-rays of both my knees and he said that it was amazing that I have lived to be 47 years old and this is the first time that I’ve dislocated a knee. Both knee caps are only 60% in the socket and looked ready to jump out and dislocate at if you looked at them the wrong way.
He approved of my muscle tone and that had helped a lot. At one point, he commented, “You are a strong woman” but neither dh nor I were sure if he was referring to me physically or mentally. He seemed kind of amazed at my pain tolerance and that I laying in the snow and sort of thinking of regrouping for a minute and then getting up and then I realized that my knee "was not right" (sort of an understatement ) and then discovered that my knee cap had moved 5-6”, my reaction was “Well, this is a real bummer because I REALLY wanted to ski tomorrow and Monday not to mention Spring Break.”
I’ll be spending the next 4-6 weeks in this big brace thing… which isn’t too bad. I’ve been wearing it for a couple of days now. He gave me some exercises… and I go back in two weeks and he will re-evaluate for tears and possibibly do a MRI or CT scan or something. But based on his manipulations of my leg… he doesn’t think anything is torn.
If the knee goes dislocated again… he’ll refer me to his partner who is a sports medicine specialist who does on operation to repair knee caps prone to popping out.
I also need to look at the din setting on my binding… I bought some new skis (and they were sooooo nice!). My skis didn’t come off when I fell and maybe they should have. So I need to get some more info…
Going to go eat dinner made by dh…
PS Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers. I really am not in pain and am taking ibruprofin for the swelling more than anything. I'm going to send Nelson to Barnes and Nobel with your list of fiction recommendations. I watched "E" today... nothing like 4 hours devoted to the life stories of Paris and Nicky Hilton... now THAT was painful!
Denise
Posts: 8678 | Location: Silicon Valley, CA | Registered: March 17, 2004
Oh Denise what a bummer!! I hope that you are feeling better today and aren't in too much pain. Take care of yourself and I hope & pray that your injury will heal quickly!!
Ow, Denise! So sorry to hear about the injury. Keeping you in my thoughts for a good visit with the orthopedic surgeon. Please keep us posted on what he/she had to say.
Posts: 7298 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
So sorry to hear that Denise, ouch! Are you feeling better yet? The beginning of an injury can be so painful. I hope you have people waiting on you hand and foot (literally)! Atleast you have a good story. Aren't you glad you didn't fall down the stairs on the way to the Haagen Daas! Now THAT would be painful...
Posts: 1104 | Location: NH | Registered: February 28, 2005
OUCH...that's not a good feeling. I had two knee surgeries (one on each knee) and spent the better part of a year on crutches. They are awkward at first, but once you get used to them, it's much easier (although that's not much comfort). I have two pieces of advice:
First, make sure you are using your hands and arms for support, not your armpits. You will fatigue faster if you are leaning on your armpits (this may involve lowering the crutch height a bit) rather than on your hands. It sounds funny, but really think about it when you are "walking" and you'll notice the difference right away if you're doing it the right or wrong way.
Second - If you're going to be on them for a while - like after surgery or for phyical therapy, get a good backpack and in the house, turn it the other way (so that the "pack" is in the front. You can carry a ton of things (ok, maybe not tea) around without the help of others.
Good luck and keep us posted...Take care of yourself..
Mel
The miracle isn't that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start. - John "the Penguin" Bingham [/I]
Posts: 591 | Location: Nashville | Registered: April 05, 2004
, but I'm mourning the loss of the rest of your skiing season. I know how traumatic losing the ability to do your favorite thing can be. 
