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Diary of my Knee Reconstruction

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6.30 – well, it’s d-day. Started fasting last night, and this morning all I want is a cup of tea (but can’t). I am tired but adrenaline and nerves will probably kick in at the hospital. I am still totally calm, not stressed at all. It’s time to have a shower (with their antiseptic wash) and get down there.

7.20am – arrived at the hospital, handed a form and asked to sit down. I fill it out, and end up causing the lady at the hospital all sorts of extra work as my medicare number was different to the one they had listed. She had to re-print labels with my details, and apply about 15 labels to different page in my file. Just sitting here waiting for someone to come and get me now. 

8.00am – They came and got me, and took me to a room to get changed. This is where I had to say goodbye, and I actually started feeling a little sad. He looked so worried, and said he loved me about 5 times *grin* It was such a hasty goodbye, I felt bad. But I was ushered into a room, handed two gowns – purple and white – with the purple going on first (opening at the back) and white (over the top, opening at the front). I was also handed some very sexy white paper undies that I had to wear. I was so nervous I bumped into a trolley, and the nurse and I laughed. She had to shave my leg with an electric razor (I’d been too worried to shave myself in case I got a shaving cut. Any cuts on the area to be operated on would cause them to cancel the surgery). She then caked my leg in betadine, and covered it with a cloth taped to my leg. After that, we went into an interview room where she checked with me about 5 times if I was positive it was my right leg. I was weighed, blood pressure tested, and questioned about any allergies, metal parts in my body (e.g. piercings, screws etc). A compression sock was put on my left leg to ensure no blood cloths formed during the period of inactivity. I was then sent to the waiting room for all the patients. I was given a reclining chair and told to put my leg up, and to put a blanket on. Keeping warm would relax all my veins etc.

9.30am – i had been waiting in there for an hour and a half. I actually spent the time sleeping – not sure why I’m so tired. My name was finally called, and we walked into another room. I went to the loo again (nerves kicking in), and asked my name and date of birth, and confirmed my hospital bracelet matched my records (for my UR number). I would be questioned on my name and date of birth every time I met someone new from that point on – going into surgery, getting painkillers after etc. They were very thorough. In this new room, I was also asked again on whether I was absolutely positive about whether it was the right knee. I actually started getting worried, racking my brain to make sure there was nothing I’d forgotten.

9.45am – They checked for any allergies again, then lying on a bed I was wheeled into the anaesthesiasts room (she called it her “fridge”). She explained it was kept cold to ensure the surgeons didn’t warm up and start to sweat (bacteria). They put the catheter in my hand, then I was left there for a bit while they finished setting up. The surgeon came in and greeted me, double checked the leg, then drew a nice big arrow on my leg to point out which knee it was. 

10.00am – they put in the general anaesthetic, and wheeled me into the surgery. I moved myself onto the table, then vaguely remember talking to one of the surgeon’s about jager bombs, then I was out of it. I have no memory of the surgery at all.

11.30 – apparently I arrive in the ward. I have no recollection.

12.00 – 5.00pm – I managed to wake up in little bursts, eat a little bit of food and post twitter updates, before crashing heavily again. Each time I woke up it was because the nurses were checking my blood pressure, pulse and temperature.  I really can’t remember much over this time.

5.30pm – Mum arrives with a nice candle thing for a present, and some chocolates. It’s great to see a familiar face, and she fusses over me trying to make sure I’m set up and everything is within reach. Very nice of her. She stays for about an hour and a half just chatting, and helps me eat my dinner. I can’t stand pumpkin, so she eats it for me (after I spend about 15mins trying to convince her to eat it). It took me about an hour to eat my dinner, and I only finished a breadroll, about 3/4 of my cheese omlette, mashed potato and beans. It was cold by the time I really started to get into it, but it tasted so good! Mum also bought me a bottle of water and diet coke, the diet coke being a lifesaver in helping my stomach settled. Mat calls and tells me he can’t find a way to get into the hospital – he can’t drive because he dislocated his arm the Thursday before, and our closest mates are busy, we didn’t dare ask anyone else. Mum offered, but it would be approximately a 1hr round drive for her between picking him up, coming back to the hospital, dropping him home, then going home again. I tell her not to worry about it. Mat’s upset he can’t come, but we both understand the circumstances, and it’s not that big a deal to me. Mum also takes a photo of my leg.

 

My knee hours after the surgery

My knee hours after the surgery

 

 

7.00pm – Get up for the first time to go to the toilet. They offered to let me use some rolling thing, but said I’d be fine with crutches. I’m a bit wobbly, but I get there. On the toilet I make the mistake of flexing my hamstring and almost scream out in pain. Made a mental note to ensure I didn’t flex my hamstring again. Make it back to bed with no more issues. Because I stupidly brought top & bottom pyjamas, I end up being given a hospital dressing gown to wear to bed, totally sexy. I was given some heavy painkillers to go with my dinner, and try as hard as I can I can’t stay awake once I reach the bed again. I tell Mum I’m going to fall asleep, so she may as well go home, kiss her goodbye and she’s on her way. I think I’m asleep before she’s even left the room. 

8.30pm – wake again, and this time I manage to stay awake to actually remember what I’m doing. I start reading my book, as well as watch some tv and more twitter updates. Mat comes online on msn, and we chat for about an hour or so. The nurses are mighty impressed by the iphone and IM abilities. 

10pm – the lady down the end has resumed snoring very very loudly. I praise the lord that I thought to bring my ipod with me so I can drown out her sound. I haven’t yet found a powerpoint to charge my iphone, so using the ipod allows me to save the iphone’s batteries. Just as I start to watch good news week I’m presented with some more painkillers. The nurse also informs me I’m meant to be wearing a knee brace, so she locates one for me and we put it on. I last until about 1/2 way through the podcast, then I’m knocked out again courtesy of the painkillers.

10.30 – 2am (second day) – I wake up to hear the lady snoring, and change my ipod to play music with 1/2 hour timer. I wake up periodically, and reset the ipod to play again. I should have just let it play overnight. At 2am I wake up and wonder if they had taken my blood pressure, temperature and pulse at midnight like they said they would. I think it actually looks light outside my curtain, check my iphone to see what time it is, realise its 2am and go back to sleep. 

6am (second day) – wake up with the nurse inserting more antibiotics through the catheter (I’d been disconnected from the IV drip last night after my first trip to the loo). She also checks my pulse, blood pressure and temperature. The other nurse walks past and sees I’m awake, and tells me I was dead to the world last night at midnight when she came to check on me. We laugh, and I told her I hope I wasn’t too painful to navigate my limbs so she could do the necessary tests. She assures me I was fine. She asked about my ipod (because I had that playing in my ears), and I explain I’d been watching good news week then some music. She tells me she absolutely loves that show and never realised it was available as a podcast. She has a new nano, so I inform her on where to find it in the iTunes store.

7am (second day) – breakfast arrives, and I down a wholemeal breadroll with butter & strawberry jam, apple juice, and banana. I try to stay awake, but I’m soon fast asleep again, damn painkillers.

8am (second day) – the surgeron comes in with a couple of aids, and checks on my knee. It turns out I don’t need the brace as he didn’t have to make any repairs to my meniscus cartilage (which is good). He said they’d had a look around with the camera, and my ligament was completely torn….far out! He said the surgery went perfectly, and he’s really happy with the results. He tells me I need to come back and see him in 2 weeks to get the stitches out. They’re dissolvable, so if I’m wussy I can leave them in (they’ll fall out as they’re on the outside), but I said I’m tough and will see him then. 

8.30am (second day) – time for a shower. The nurse takes my catheter out of my hand, and puts a cotton wool bud over it (taped down). Using the crutches I work my way in where the nurse has already dropped my bag off. She’s placed a seat in the shower for me, but I prefer to stand. In the end the seat is totally in the way, so I pick it up and put it on the other side of the shower curtain. I find I can actually put some weight on my leg, which is great. The rest of the shower is uneventful. I manage not to get much water on my bandage courtesy of the tremendous wrapping job by the nurse – plastic bag over my knee and taped down. I get changed, and I’m stoked when I realise my jeans will fit over my bandage.

10.30am (second day) – the physio was meant to arrive around 9am, but he’s running late. They’d rung him about 10am, and he only just showed up at half past. Luckily I’d arranged with Kim I’d call her before she made her way to the hospital to pick me up (she had her baby Hayden in the car so was easier for me to meet her downstairs). I find out the way my leg has been supported has been wrong, and that I need to keep my leg completely straight. I get lessons on walking with the crutches – I’m actually using them to walk with my leg – I’m not hopping. I also get given my exercises that I need to do over the next fortnight, consisting of straightening my leg (by flexing my quad), bending my knee (within pain boundaries), and moving my foot up & down. He writes my referral for my physio that I’d been seeing (Anthony Thomas at Physiocare – can’t recommend him enough, he’s fantastic!!) describing exactly what procedures had been done and his recommendations on what I need to do. 

11.30am (second day) – the physio is long gone, and we’ve been waiting for a wardie to come and collect me in a wheelchair to take me downstairs. Kim has arrived, and ended up having to go to a different carpark because I was still stuck upstairs. They wouldn’t let me go on my crutches, thought it was too far. I don’t think I’d have managed with all the bags I had anyway. In the end, a nurse went and found a wheelchair and wheeled me down herself. My painkillers to take home weren’t yet available from the pharmacy, so mum agreed to go and pick them up for me later on her way home. What a good mum I have!! 

2.05pm – I’m now at home with my leg elevated, and icepack on. Mat was home, and made me some lunch, got me a drink and set me all up with the computer. What a lovely boy. I’ve now typed up all the blog you’ve just read (if you made it this far congratulations are in order) and I’m absolutely knackered. I think it’s time to go have another nap in bed. Part of me wants to go to netball tonight to watch our team, but everyone is telling me I shouldn’t. Nevermind that we can’t get there *grin* Mum said she’ll be coming around tonight with a lasagne she made for us (how lucky am I!!) so I could try and convince her to take me *evil grin*. Obviously I’m not one of those people that can just stay at home and rest….I guess I’ll have to learn over the next fortnight. Bed time, ciou!

Countdown: 14 Days until Surgery

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With only 14 days left until surgery, it still hasn’t become real to me yet. This whole time I don’t think I’ve really felt the impact of what the surgery means, and I haven’t had a moment where I got upset or depressed about it. On the contrary, I’ve actually found myself being excited about the surgery, because all I can see is the future where I can run around and not have to worry about side stepping or my knee giving out.

I have had a moment where I pondered why I haven’t felt upset about it. Discussing this with a mate, she suggested maybe it was just because I understand that it simply needs to be done, I’ve accepted my fate and just got on with the business of organising it. I hope so, I’d hate to think that I’m bottling my emotions to a point where I can’t even detect them!

In the latest developments I’ve received letters in the mail confirming my pre-admission appointment with the anaesthesiologist (along with pages and pages of questions to answer) and my surgery date. Annoyingly, I can only call the day before my surgery (between 4 – 6pm) to find out what time I’m expected at the hospital. This really left it up in the air on arranging my transportation to the hospital. I had asked Mat’s sister to drop me off, but given she’s juggling a 9 month old baby and part time work, not being able to confirm a time earlier would really be inconvenient for her. She’s insisted that she can still possibly take me (depending on the time of course), but I told her not to worry about it. Instead, I’ll drop Mat off at work in the morning so I have the car, then pick him up just before I’m due at the hospital and get him to drop me off, before he takes the car back to work with him. The hospital is only 20mins return drive from his work, and it means we don’t have to pay parking (if I was to just drive myself to the hospital and leave the car there for the day until he picked it up later that night).

A letter attached to my surgery confirmation advised that any of the following in the operative area could possibly void my surgery booking due to the risk of post-operative infection:

  • Pimples
  • Ulcers
  • Sunspots
  • Rashes
  • Animal scratches
  • Gardening & lawn mowing cuts
  • Mosquito & sandfly bites

In other words, no playing with Turbo (just in case) and no mowing the lawn (oh I’m devastated – sarcasm rating 10). The letter also states to care for my skin prior to surgery I should shower with an antiseptic soap two days prior to admission. No worries, can handle that.

I then began to read my Pre-Admission confirmation letter, and that’s when I started to get nervous. I was required to bring all the accompanying documentation (the bazillions of questionnaires, to exaggerate a little), medicare card, MRI scan and X-Rays, and the words *drum role* A URINE SAMPLE!! What the hell?!

I have to go and buy a little container for the pure aim of capturing my urine, and transporting it to the hospital. That’s going to be great fun! I’m going to be so nervous that it might leak, so I’ll be reluctant to put it in my bag, but where else am I going to put it? The cup holders (renamed to urine holders)? I’m going to look like an alco, because I’ll sure as heck have the urine sample in a paper brown bag, attempting to disguise it in a way that everyone will know what it is as soon as I walk in with it. The last time I was asked to provide a urine sample was when I saw the doctor for a checkup, and he wanted to check if I was pregnant. I declined in that instance, and a few years later I’m not pregnant. Ha!

It will be interesting to go shopping for such a container – where am I going to find a suitable one? Chemist? “Excuse me, do you sell urine sample containers?” I’ll be bright red from blushing as I ask. Who thought I was brave and outgoing was wrong, cause I’m sweating just from thinking about asking that question. Do I just go to Woolies and look at their plasticware? It’s going to be a one use container, I’m surely not using it ever again. That’s if they give it back. Oh no – what if they actually give it back? I’ll have to take it home and empty it myself, yuk man. I know it’s only urine, but YUK! It can go in the bin whole, I won’t even bother worrying about emptying it in the loo. No way.

Just trying to fill the damn thing will be bad enough. I’m buying gloves. I don’t want any splashback, or any of it touching me if the container overflows. I’ll have to make sure I’m not busting when I go – I don’t want any power peeing or anything. Simple slow-flow pee to make sure I’m in total control during my “deposit”.

Ok enough ranting about the urine sample now (yuk). Other than that everything is pretty hunky dory. The money for the surgery is sitting in my bank account screaming at me “hellloooooo look how much money you have. Don’t you just wish it was for everyday spending? Aren’t I attractive? And youuuuu caaaannn’ttttt touchhhh me”. I hate it when money starts singing to you *frown* Evil thing.

Ok back to reality again. I’ve organised time off work for the two days I’m in the hospital, and I’ll be working from home the two weeks after that. On the 19th December our office then closes down for 3 weeks over the Christmas break, so all up it will be 5 weeks I’ll be able to rest at home – that’s fantastic. I haven’t heard from the Insurance Company yet as to whether they will cover my injury; I’ve sent the claim form along with information on how much I’ve already paid for physio. I also included a letter asking for some compassion to cover me, since I wasn’t aware that I was covered until the deadline had already passed. So at the moment it’s still up in the air on whether I will be paying for physio after the surgery, or if it’s covered. Geez I hope they agree to cover me, that would be a fantastic Christmas present!!

Now I’m going to go back to twiddling my thumbs until my appointment next week with my “apple juice” container…catcha!

Next phase of the knee – Surgery date has been set

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Wow, I didn’t realise it’s been 4 weeks since my last update of my knee , so I have a little bit of updating to do.

I found out from my old coach that I was actually covered by insurance from the netball centre, but it had been 2 months since the initial injury. It appeared you had to submit the forms within 30 days of the injury, so I rang the insurance company and explained that I hadn’t known about it. They said it should be ok, and that I would need to get the forms in ASAP. At the moment the form is with my doctor, as he was required to fill out a section on the injury, then I’m able to send it off. When I spoke to the insurance company on the phone, I got the impression they didn’t cover the gap between the total cost of the surgery and the medicare rebate, so at the moment I’m at least $2,000 out of pocket. I have paid $300 in physio fees already (after my health insurance pays their chunk), and the operation is going to cost $1700 (I got a loan to cover that bit, as I don’t really have that much money lying around at the moment). I would assume they would pay for my physio though, so at least that bit I don’t have to stress out about. With 2 months pre-surgery, and 9 months post-surgery physio the cost is really going to add up.

New type of anaesthetic

New type of anaesthetic

As previously mentioned I’ve gotten a loan to pay for the surgery. This meant I really had nothing holding me back from proceeding with the operation. I rang the hospital earlier this week and confirmed I was ready to go ahead, and received word today that my surgery will be on the 9th December – 3 weeks away. on the 2nd December I will be meeting with the anaesthesiologist to get a health checkup and discuss the anaesthetic method they will be using on me. I hope it’s a general and I’m completely knocked out, I don’t want to be awake for any part of it. Can you imagine? They pull out my hamstring, dangle it in front of me and say “woohoo check this out”. Yuk, no thanks.

Currently it’s all about preparing for for the operation. I’ve already had a million things run through my head, from who will be dropping me off and picking me up (I don’t want to put anyone out by making them spend the night there with me unnecessarily) to what I’m going to bring (iphone, clothes, the specific bag I will take so I can carry it easily while using crutches etc). Sad isn’t it? The worst part is I’m actually excited about the surgery. I want to get it over and done with so I can get the rehab done, and eventually not be restricted in what actions I can and can’t do. For example, I was at the gym over the weekend and had just finished 20mins of cycling. Knee felt fine, no worries there at all. Stood up, lifted my leg to climb off (as it was one of the seated ones with pedals out in front, not the normal bikes) and my knee let out a massive “CRACK” and pain shot through my leg. I limped over to the lockers and sat there massaging my knee for a little bit, stood up and it was all fine, like nothing had ever happened. I checked it with my physio this morning and apparently my cartilage had just gotten into a place where it shouldn’t have, so when I moved the crack was the cartilage going back into the correct position (aka nothing to worry about). I can’t wait until I don’t have to stress about getting off a bike.

So….let the count down begin. 20 days to go!

The Knee Story so far

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Approximately 4th September:

Playing netball for my Thursday night Mix team, running to my left and step forward on my right leg. As I do so, I decide I need to go back to my right so twist my body to the right to go in that direction, however my right knee decides to continue going to the left, I feel a crack and fall onto my butt. Call time immediately so play is stopped.

Now it wasn’t painful, it just felt like something wasn’t right. It felt strange, and like a dull ache on the back of my knee. I was assisted off court by the guys and immediately applied ice to the back and right hand side of my knee, and the game went on without me. When I got home I continued icing it on and off for 20mins, and that night I slept with my leg elevated.

I can’t remember what week this happened, but I think the following day Mat had an RDO and came with me to the doctors. There, I was criticised and told it was just a sprain. For the full story click here.

18th September:

I had been using crutches for the first few days of my injury, but eventually tossed them away (being stubborn and all) and was just limping around on my leg. Every time it accidentally straightened, I would scream in pain. Something definitely wasn’t right. I decided I wanted a second opinion about my “so called sprained knee”, and starting hunting around for a sports doctor. The first few I tried were booked out for weeks in advance. I’m an impatient person, so I kept hunting. I finally found a sports doctor who was coincidentally working in the same practise as the a-hole I had last dealt with. I read the profile on this doctor, and he sounded OK so I decided to call up. They had a spot available so I took it.

I went and saw him, and he immediately knew something was up. The fact there was so much fluid in my knee still after 2 weeks of doing it told him something more serious had occured. I sat on the bed in his room, and he felt around my knee (made me cry a few times with the prodding) and told me he suspected I had done my ACL ligament (anterior cruciate ligament). Basically, that ligament is responsible for the stability of the knee, and pretty common for injuries. Hence the reason you’ll hear a lot of people talking about knee reconstructions for a lot of sporting stars (including myself *cough*).

He wanted to send me for an MRI scan so they could examine the ligaments in detail and find out for sure. It was then I was told that if I’d done it there would be a possibility I would need a knee reconstruction. Either way, I wasn’t going to be playing netball for a long time. That sent a shock through me as I really understood the seriousness of the situation. A knee recon? No netball? Fark.

This week – week of the 22nd September

Well this week started with the MRI scan on the Tuesday, which was quite the experience (full story here). The results from that confirmed my doctor’s suspicions, but not only had I torn my ACL ligament, I’d also managed a small tear on the meniscus – the cartilage underneath. Damn…I injured myself good! None of these stuffing around pansy injuries. I met with the physio for the first time on Wednesday and was taught a few exercises to help strengthen the muscles around the knee. He also showed me a few that would help to get the fluid moving around my knee and eventually enable me to bend and straighten my leg like normal. After 2 days I can already feel the difference, can’t wait to see what a few weeks bring.

My doctor has put through a referral on my behalf for a meeting with an orthapedic surgeon at Nambour hospital. I should be hearing from them over the next few weeks, and upon meeting with him we’ll discuss the surgery, what’s involved all that jazz. That’s when we really get down to business and plan the nitty gritty. Unfortunately I chose not to take out hospital cover when I got health insurance so everything will be handled by the public hospital system and Medicare. As I have top extras though, all my physio and rehabilitation work will be covered by my health insurance – I’ll just have to pay a small extra for my appointments. e.g. my initial consultation with the physio should have cost $80, but due to the health insurance I only had to pay $24. So grateful I have that insurance!!

I’ll keep you posted as it all progresses, detail everything of the process. Wish me luck!!

Diary of an MRI scan victim

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6.00am – urgh. Fucking alarm. If I get up at 6.20 I will have enough time, I just can’t dawdle that’s all. Yeah, I’ll hit snooze.

6.15am – I haven’t slept through the alarm have I? No, 5 mins left Oh well, may as well get up.

6.16am – I should get the towels and stuff off the line. They are dry, I forgot to take them off yesterday and don’t want them out all day again.

6.25am – almost half past. Time for a shower, but what about breakfast. Will grab a breakfast bar on the way I guess.

6.45am – crap I have 5mins to get out of here. Just got to put shoes on, will eat b. bar at the same time, brush my teeth then go.

7.00am – where the hell did the last ten minutes go? I am meant to be there right now and I am only just pulling out of the driveway. Lucky I live near the hospital.

7.05am – pretty sure I have never had traffic so good. Must be because it’s so early.

7.07am – ok I am here. What’s that sign say? MRI that way? Oh bugger it’s in the next block of buildings, not this one.

7.08am – this time I am here. I raced inside now, but now where the heck is it. Oh man I hate walking in circles. Someone just went in the door right next to the entrance. Wonder what that is. Dammit it’s the MRI reception area and I walked past it 3 times, d’oh.

7.09am – ha ha she just asked the guy in front of me if he was me. He replied with a “huh? Who?”

7.12am – ok all checked in waiting in the waiting room. I have been asked to change into a gown, and can lock my clothes and bag in the lockers in the change room. Wow, even have to take the key with me and all.

7.15am – ok starting early. I thought I would be at half 7. The dude seems nice, got an accent but can’t tell which. What is his title? Radiologist or magnetologist? LOL no I am not being serious. He just told me they had to reboot the MRI machine already this morning because the scanner wasn’t working.

7.17am – I am now lying on the table feet pointing towards the machine. My left leg is on a mount almost, to keep it still and he has placed my right knee in something resembling leggo blocks that form a box around my knee. Pillows behind my head, earphones with the radio (oh geez, it’s mix 92 – snore) and freezing cold. Good to go.

7.25am – the machine is broken again. It is now scanning but not responding to the antenna or something. He is going to try another reboot and pray. In the meantime I will stay here and chill.

7.32am – the machine has rebooted now. It was eerily quiet when it rebooted since the radio is controlled by the MRI scanner. It’s huge and plastic looking. The siemens logo is massive.

7.35am – I am officially in the machine now and the scanning had begun. I am in the scanner up to about my chest, with head and shoulders out of the tunnel. I am glad about that, can see why people could freak out. It’s narrow! What do they do for grossly obese people? They wouldn’t fit!

7.45am – still scanning, surely not long left. My knee feels really funny in it’s leggo box. I have done really well not to move, very proud. I tried sleeping but I was too cold, and the radio in the headphones is quite loud. When it’s scanning it sounds like an ultra loud version of am office scanner. Everytime it goes my knee feels like it’s throbbing, which then causes my quads to twitch. I really hope he is done soon.

7.55am – all done! Paid a massive $200 which is AFTER my Medicare rebate and I am outta here. I have to come back tomorrow to get my results. I am actually feeling a little nauseous, wonder if that is normal. Slight headache and sore belly.

8.10am – home now and headache going. Maybe it was just temporary. Ah well, nothing I can do but wait now! Ciao.