I will Ski Again! I hope!

by Melinda
(Los Alamos)

There I was, minding my own business on the lower part of a ski run that I had been down many times. The skiing conditions were perfect, and it was the last day of the season in mid-March. Usually by this time, the conditions are either slushy or icy, but not today. I'm a mom of 3. We taught all our kids to ski and have reinforced the "skier's code". I always harp on my kids to look up the hill often to make sure no one is coming right at you. Well, this time, it was me that looked up and all I saw was a wall of snow. There was no time to react. The snowboarder was a kid, probably the age of my oldest son. He stopped about 50 feet downhill, said he was sorry and took off down the mountain. I was left there yelling for help. I knew I couldn't get up, and at first I thought the pain was coming from a broken leg.

After being taken down by ski patrol and ambulance, the x-ray didn't reveal anything, so I was sent home in a brace and told to see an OS.

An MRI revealed a lot worse.... I had a completely torn ACL, MCL, and the meniscus was likely damaged too. Plus, there were some fractures on the bone connecting to my knee. I had it all. A PT friend of mine later said that most PT's would be licking their chops to have a case like mine to work on. She said they only read about those types of cases in textbooks.

Here I thought that I would be out of work for about 6 weeks. Not bad.... I could handle that. Boy was I wrong.

I had about 6 weeks of PT before the doctor would even consider surgery. During this time, I had to work mostly on bending, range of motion and just overall strength. By the time the surgery came around, I felt really good. I was in a brace, but was able to get around easily. I could drive and felt like I had my life back.

Because of the extent of my injury, my doctor suggested that we would need to take the donor for the ACL from my "good" leg (left). This seemed so unbelievable. I was going to essentially be taken out at both knees. In retrospect, it made perfect sense.

The surgery itself went really well. My doctor is one of the best knee surgeons in the country. the graft was taken from the tendon on my left knee. To take the graft, a small amount of bone is taken from the knee cap and then "backfilled" with bone.

I didn't have a ton of pain that wasn't manageable either by use of the cryo machines or by occasional pain meds. The cryo machines were a lifesaver. I was very careful to use them in 1/2 hour increments, which gave me time to warm up in between and avoid frostbite. I had some really weird chills on my lower legs (both). These were some of the most uncomfortable sensations that I felt during those first few weeks -- even after I was done using the cryo machines.

That first week I was on the cryo machines most of the time, and in bed. I would get up only to go to the restroom and take a break from bed. My ACL leg was feeling a little sore -- more sore than the "graft" leg. Overall, though, both legs were feeling fairly good.

About 2 days post-op I was getting up from a sitting position and I heard this loud "POP". I felt a little pain, but not a ton, so I just chalked it up to post-op recovery. The pain got worse over the next few days. I saw my doctor a week post-op and he ordered an x-ray of my "good" knee. It showed two patellar fractures. Since I had been putting most of my weight on my "good" leg, the knee cap was already weakend by the graft. It couldn't bear the weight.

This complication has been a set back. I'm now 7 weeks post-op and still going through several PT appointments each week. I have had to wear a brace on my graft knee to protect it and allow it to heal. My graft knee, other than the occasional pain from the fracture now, feels pretty good. My bending is good on that side as is the straightening and quad strength. My ACL leg isn't as strong, but is getting better.

I have had to use a wheel chair in order to keep most of my weight off the fractured knee. I have used a walker and crutches, and have not been allowed to take stairs. It has been frustrating, humbling. I still have a long road ahead. I asked my doctor at my last appointment when I might be able to return to work and he wasn't even willing to give me an idea.

Despite this event in my life, I am still hoping to get to ski again next winter. Skiing has been a great way for us to spend time with our kids. We live about 15 minutes from our ski hill, and we love the extra ski trips we take to local areas. It isn't something I'm willing to give up on.

I'm hopeful!