(The recovery process begins.)I’ve had a bit of a scare this week. I took a hard fall to my left knee at last Fridays practice. I was able to walk out fine but by Saturday morning I could barely walk. That mornings piss and especially crap was incredibly awkward; Just try pooping with only being able to bend one knee, It’s not easy and feels really strange. By Monday I was able to walk fairly normally but full range of motion from my knee was still not happening. There’s sharp pain whenever I twist a certain way or if I use any sort of muscle in my knee; I was getting scared. At that same practice there was another knee injury and I learned via facebook she got news that her recovery time was 3 months due to a sprained MCL. Now I was really scared. Did I have the same thing?
And to make matters worse…that Friday night I was voted (along with 3 other ladies) to be able to bout in an upcoming tournament. So isn’t it ironic the night I get word of bouting for the first time, I fall so hard on my knee that I might be taken out? Thanks a lot Alanis. I can’t stop singing your freaking song.
So I made the dreaded call and set-up a doctor’s appointment. It was no longer responsible of me to wait out the pain. I needed answers. I needed to know if bouting on the 12th was even still a possibility. I hate going to the doctor; I have this strange mentality that you can “tough it out.” I can only recall going to the doctor three times in my 29 years for anything that wasn’t a routine check-up. (School medical exams, having a baby and annual pap smears don’t count, those are pretty much requirements.)
The doctor examines my knee. Though I can’t see swelling she says she can. When she presses her fingers into the skin of my knee it keeps the impression for a moment before springing back to normal…a sign that there’s fluid retention. She sends me off to the local hospital for x-rays. Results come back of arthritis and bursitis. My recommended course of action is no physical activity for the next week. I should take two Aleve each morning and night while icing and elevating my knee through out the day. That I could handle! I was so relieved to find out that they didn’t think I sprained anything and that as soon as it’s feeling better I can return to skating. Yahoo!
And now, I’m in the waiting game for it to heal. I know that even if it starts to feel better that I am not to return to skating until the full week is up. And right now that’s not an issue. I’m still having some pain in certain positions but the real waiting game is, will it heal before the 12th? Actually will it heal before than so I can return to practice and prepare for the 12th? Only time will tell.
