Two months of hobbling around on my knee summed up in two days. First up, time for my MRI. Going into it, I wasn't sure what I wanted. Obviously surgery was not high on my list, but if it fixed my knee and I was able to get back to "normal" (whatever that is), maybe it wasn't such a bad thing. In either case (surgery or no surgery) from what I had heard it seemed like I was in for a year of recovery before I was back to my old self.
Tuesday afternoon I went in for the MRI. I put on the lovely hospital pants and got up on the table. As I was moved into the machine, the nurse kept saying "Remember to stay still" and of course as soon as I heard that I felt the need to move. Staying still is a lot harder than it sounds! First my toe felt like it had to move and then it started creeping up my leg. And the harder I tried to resist, the harder it was to stay still. Breathe. Zone out. Take a nap. Finally I was done! I changed and they handed me a CD with all my pictures on it. Wow!! That was fast.
This morning I went to see my orthopedic doctor. She put the CD in and went through the pictures, explaining to me what we were looking at. To quote my doctor my meniscus was gorgeous. That's right, my meniscus is gorgeous! No problems with it at all. Absolutely none. What the MRI did show was that my MCL is irritated. As in still irritated. And depending on who you talk to, I either have a Grade I or a Grade II MCL sprain. The MRI peeps think Grade II, the doctor thinks Grade I. Me? All I know is that it hurts. Well, okay it doesn't hurt all the time. The pain has finally lessened to an annoying ache for the most part. If I move to fast though, my knee will let me know.
Okay, a sprain. A sprain that is taking its sweet time to heal. Where do I go from here? The doctor said to continue with physical therapy if it is helping (which I think it is), ice, topical ointments, and rest. She also said I could run, as long as I could handle the pain. Basically, I'm not restricted at the moment, except based on my pain levels. But I won't be going back to kickboxing any time soon. And to be perfectly honest, I don't know that I'll be running any time soon either.
So this is good news, right? It is, it really is. But.... Don't you hate the word "but"? But there is a itty bitty teeny tiny part of me that almost wishes it was the meniscus, because then we could do surgery and move on. This whole just let it heal has me a little out of sorts. Isn't this what I have been doing? Apparently the other moral of the story (other than don't hike on closed hiking trails, and listen to your inner voice that says scoot across the washed out trail if you didn't pay attention to the closed hiking trail sign) is patience. And listen to your body.
So good news. No surgery! Yay! I am on the path to healing and full recovery!!
3 comments:
Is yoga helping you at all? I hear the hot yoga is really healing. Ive noticed a difference in my knees and feet.
From the outside looking in, I'd say this all sounds good and positive! If they aren't really worried, then it must be on the path to healing. At least that is what I'd be telling myself. But it would suck to have to just keep waiting it out. I hope it all just miraculously feels normal again super soon!
@Sara - I do think yoga is helping, especially strengthening the muscles around my knee.
@RR - Thanks!! Me too! Sometimes it helps to get a view from the outside. It is all good and positive!
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