Of screws and Bended Knees

It seems, I will be „inside“ for a while, at least 8 weeks. I went through a rough knee surgery yesterday. The double-OP, in which they also removed the titanium plate from my shoulder (implemented last year after a silly bike accident) took longer than expected, as it turned out that the damage on my left knee was greater than my surgeon‘s initial estimates.

The diagnosis today confirmed some of my fears: I might not be able to play basketball or football again, but much to my relief, mountain biking, swimming (and to some extent, jogging) is not on the cross-off-list. Not yet. 

After all, I should consider myself lucky. Regarding doc‘s outlook, the outcome could have been much worse than this. Yes, I do have a history of extremes: Thirteen years of a competitive basketball career followed by 10 years of full-throttle-body-abuse (overweight, intense smoking and absolutely no sports), which is followed by a huge (and sudden) 80-pound-weight-loss combined with a few marathons run and many bike marathons completed, including a respectable 24-hour-mountain-bike-race finish. Well, I don‘t know about you, but after reading the last few lines, I do not want to be my knee. 

It‘s way too soon for me to anticipate my surgeon‘s standpoint, but I feel that the time has come for me to decide which route I‘ll pick for the future. It is pretty sure, at 38 and especially with my record, I won‘t be able to dance at all parties. I‘ll have to stick with the best options and stop overdriving. 

One positive aspect of such a turning point though is the limited amount of choices, so I won‘t be dazzled by a great deal of considerations regarding my fitness and athletic activities. I‘ll opt for one sharp knife instead of a versatile swiss army knife, and keep on focusing on biking, swimming and on a balanced, healthy lifestyle for the future. 

There are zillions of knee operations taking place every year, we don‘t need any additional drama here, do we? 

One smart ass I am certainly, till I hit the next tree in the woods!

Update on Monday, October 20, 2008 at 7:31PM by Mikkael

Today the threads are safely removed from both my knee and my shoulder. My clavicle still feels odd, maybe because of the 2 screws, they've left in there. I think I'll live with those two all my life. And yet the undisputed breaking news of the day is, that I am, as of now, officially authorized to take a SHOWER after two weeks. I have never loved water so much in my life.

Happy endings make it a bad rap but they do happen. And when they do, they are just as true as the unhappy ones.

Comments

[MIkkael]

Speaking of which: (via DIRT RAG)

A fractured clavicle, or broken collarbone, is one of the most common types of shoulder injuries for cyclists. One report showed that between 23% and 54% of crashes that resulted in broken bones involved the collarbone.