I believe I may have snapped the Allograft!

by JustineC
(Howard, PA USA)

I had an allograft acl reconstruction after ripping my acl out while playing basketball with my son.
Its now ten years later, my acl has recently re-torn from walking the dog! (Of all things!)Or at least that's what I think I've done.

No, I'm not an athlete, at least not anymore. I live out in the country and work on my in-law's farm. I never had any problems with the allograft while walking the horses or hauling stuff up and down a mountain side. But just this week I was out with my dog and she came at me after retrieving her ball, slammed into my leg and I felt that all too familiar SNAP from deep inside my knee. The excruciating pain that follows cut right to the core. I haven't contacted my doctor yet. Honestly I'm a bit scared to. I don't want to go through another surgery if I don't have to. I'm not young, I'm in my late forties, so I'm not old either. Its just having to go under the knife again that I'd like to avoid if at all possible.
When I originally injured my knee I was living in Illinois, in a Chicago suburb. But recently I've moved to rural Pennsylvania and insurance and medical care is sketchy at best. I had a wonderful surgeon the first go'round, but he's now retired. My current doctor doesn't even know about the acl repair and I've been dealing with back trouble from a car accident recently. I just don't want to go back to my doctor and seem like an accident prone freak!