A, C and L.
I'm guessing if you are like me, these three little letters mean more to you right now than anyone else. And perhaps in front of these three little innocent letters is a nasty word - torn.
Ah. If it were not for torn, ACL would mean nothing to me.
Given you have stumbled upon my blog, you most probably know ACL is the acronym for Anterior Cruciate Ligament. There are enough sites on the web to give all the scientific information and explanations you might need to understand this very important player in each of our knees, so I won't go into that here.
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| The Scene of the Crime |
I became acquainted with my ACL at the start of 2012. It was an unusually warm day in Colorado, skies were clear blue and I was cruising a mellow run. Everything was perfect.
And then.
And then, the back of one of my skis was clipped. As I started to tumble I heard a very impressive, no scary, P O P!
Pop is to torn ACL, what Angelina is to Brad.
I felt some serious pain but also relief that I had not broken my leg. I got myself together and skied the remainder of the run cautiously thinking I had not done anything too serious despite the scary pop. I went back to our lodge, iced my knee, elevated my leg and took some painkillers. That night I went and saw a Michael Jackson tribute band at the Bellyup. I think I may have danced. In hindsight I think I may have been stupid. The only three letters on my mind that night were A B C, easy as 1 2 3!
I had one day of rest, and then skied the last nine days of our trip, not wanting to miss any opportunity to ski the famous Colorado snow. I wore a compression bandage around my knee and it helped marginally. Denial set in. When I returned home to Australia my knee continued to ache and I was unable to do a number of exercises in my pilates and barre classes. I visited my Osteo a few times to no avail.
Finally I saw my GP and he formally introduced me to my ACL. I had an MRI and I was told I had a high grade tear. If I wanted to ski again and exercise like I used to, I was advised to have an ACL reconstruction. I was petrified. Suddenly the few friends I had seen stumbling around on crutches or with legs in braces seemed relevant. I wanted as much information as possible and even canvassed Facebook friends for any stories regarding their ACLs.
To operate or not, that was my question.
My advice during the pre-operative stage is to gather as much information from as many sources possible. Surf the web and know what you are in for. Quiz as many people as you can who have had ACL surgery and listen to recommendations for surgeons. Some are notorious for having appalling bedside manners whilst being hailed brilliant surgeons. Make sure you feel comfortable with your decision. And plan. If you decide to go ahead with surgery make sure you can take time out from whatever it is you do. Finally, you will need support. Make sure you have it on hand.
