Medical student gets the patient experience...

by Emily M
(London, England)

Hi all,

I tore my ACL 3 months ago when I twisted my knee warming up for a lacrosse match...bummer, missed the rest of the season. Not really believing I'd done much damage I didn't bother going to the university GP just straight to my physiotherapist. After a good few weeks the swelling was gone and I had full range of movement back - but still a lot of pain when I tried to stand on it straight or squat right down.

Got referred to an orthopaedic consultant (who works at one of the hospitals I study at!) and my MRI showed a complete tear in my ACL. This came as a massive shock; I really believed the worst I'd done was maybe tear a few fibres.

I'm having surgery next week...and I'm a bit nervous. It's exceptionally weird experiencing healthcare as a patient - I've spent 4 years so far learning to be a doctor and the only times I've ever been in a hospital is as a student. I've helped send patients to sleep before their knee surgery, I've seen an ACL reconstruction but when it comes to me being a patient myself I've really got no idea!

I can't wait to have it done so I can work on getting back on form (I'm a pretty sporty girl)...and the whole experience is certainly giving a new dimension to my medical training! I think this site is absolutely brilliant; while I already knew all the technical details I really wanted to know about the how people feel when they go through it all. All the encouraging stories have made me feel a lot more positive about it.

Thankyou and best wishes to everyone!