Stay positive! My ACL story...

by Mel
(TX)

Hi! :) I am a freshman in high school and partially tore my left ACL on 4/26/10 during a pep rally (I'm a cheerleader). Basically, I was jumping up and down out of peppiness when I felt a slightly painful pop - similar to the feeling of pulling a muscle - behind my knee. I managed to limp for the rest of the pep rally, but I had to have some of my fellow cheerleaders carry me out of the gym. My dad immediately took me to my local physician, who couldn't detect anything on the spot but advised us to call him if the pain didn't subside in a couple of days.
Within the past few years, I've pulled my left hamstring and my right quadriceps muscle, during both of which I'd felt a similar pop in the muscles. With that in mind, I assumed that I'd heal soon. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I couldn't fully extend my leg and had to use crutches. We contacted the doctor again, who referred us to a specialist in a city two hours away.
Upon that visit to the specialist who felt my knee, it was assumed that I had torn my ACL. I found that to be pretty weird, because in my mind, ACL tears happened to serious athletes during vigorous activities and usually marked the end of that athlete's career: not to cheerleaders like myself. I was heartbroken and hoped the doctor was wrong; I absolutely love cheerleading, earned several individual All-Star titles at cheer camp, and had dreams of being the team captain when I was a junior.
I had an MRI several days later, which confirmed that I had almost completely torn (which my specialist said was rather rare: with ACL tears, usually the ligament is completely torn or it's not torn) my ACL. He laid out our options: we could start physical therapy and hope my ACL would heal (less than 20% chance of recovery), but I'd always have to wear a brace, or, I could have surgery, do 6 months of physical therapy, and I'd be up and running just like I was before the tear.
I opted for the surgery, which was scheduled for two days later (a Thursday). It went well (my ACL was replaced with a hamstring graft and fasted to my bones with two small screws) and there was no other damage to my knee besides the ACL. It was an outpatient procedure, meaning I could go home the same day of surgery. Getting in the car to go home, I was drugged up but still felt a tremendous amount of pain in my leg. I'm not gonna lie, it really sucked. The Vicodin-like medicine I was given for the pain made me pee like crazy, extremely dizzy, - almost to the point of hallucinating - constipated (I didn't use the bathroom until the next week), and very nauseated, so it didn't make me feel much better. I was also given medication for the swelling, but the only major side effect was extreme nausea.
I stopped taking the meds about four days later as the pain became more bearable and spent the week at home doing exercises and using an ice-compression machine to control the swelling and promote circulation in my leg. That Thursday, I returned to my specialist to remove the huge wrap and get fitted for a brace (which I have to wear constantly for 4 weeks. After that, I'll just use it for activities) and get my physical therapy protocol. However, at the specialist's, he discovered that one of my incisions where they drilled in the screw didn't heal properly, meaning that the brace would have to wait until the wound heals on its own.
It is now almost day 10 after surgery and I'm feeling a lot better. I'm starting PT and also going back to school on Monday and I'm trying to keep positive.
When I put pressure on my left leg, my bones hurt a little and my knee is still kind of swollen, but I know that with therapy, hope, and a positive attitude, I'll be back on the sidelines in no time!
For people out there who are going to have surgery or have just had it, STAY POSITIVE, be patient, and remember that the only place you can go from here is up. You'll get stronger everyday, just make sure you DO YOUR THERAPY!!: otherwise, you'll be more prone to tearing your ACL again. Be strong, ask your doctor questions, and don't let your injury get the better of you! Good luck! :)