#KneeProblems

If you missed my big announcement yesterday, I’m pregnant.

…..

Happy Day After April Fool’s Day!!!!  (In other words: I’m not pregnant. Calm down Mom).

Okay, for realz. If you missed it yesterday, I announced that I’m having surgery on my right knee at the end of this month. Literally at the end of this month….my date is April 30^th. After five long years of being in pain, numerous visits to the doctor and the physical therapist, and hundreds of dollars spent on going to the doctor and the physical therapist…..I’m giving up on the idea that my right knee still loves me and wants to turn its life around.

“Five years? Why have you waited so long?” you may be thinking. Or not. That’s okay too. But if you are thinking that question, here’s the answer: because in my first MRI in 2010 they didn’t see any tears. Only this past September did my second MRI show a small tear in my ACL and possibly a small tear in my meniscus. So somewhere in between the two MRIs my knee decided to go on strike. OR, the first MRI just wasn’t clear enough to show the tears (my doctor thinks this is the case, since he thinks it’s been torn since I fell on it waaaay back in September of 2008. Note: also, my doctor doesn’t believe that knees are capable of showing love or of going on strike. We have agreed to disagree.) Anywho, we tried physical therapy and Ibuprofen to see if I would be able to run and such without having the surgery, but apparently the tears are just too much and we are having to resort to (not so) drastic measures.

BUT, this is not major surgery. He is not going to re-construct or remove anything. He’s doing what is called a scope (not the mouthwash). He’ll go in with a tiny camera and have a look around first. Then he’ll go in and shave off the torn fibers of my ACL and (if it is torn) my meniscus as well. He believes that these torn fibers are aggravating the surrounding tissue in my knee and that is causing it to stay inflamed which causes me to whine a lot. As long as things are not worse than what they appeared to be in the MRI then it will only take about 20-30 minutes for the surgery and 4-6 weeks until I’m able to start jogging.

I’ll be honest, the day I scheduled the surgery I felt like an idiot because my knee wasn’t even hurting that day. But over the past four days my knee has been drinking Hater-ade again and now I’m glad I’m going to war with a surgeon. Okay, that sounds a little dramatic. Of course I know there is a possibility that I could end up in just as much pain (or more) as a result of the surgery, but I’m super excited that if all goes according to plan I will be able to resume my beloved sport of running in just a couple of months. (I’m also very much excited about the fact that I will be somewhat immobile for a few days so Roman will have to serve me ice cream and give me foot massages. *wink*)

On a much more serious note, I’m also believing that this is what I’m supposed to do and that God is going to guide my surgeon’s hands during the procedure so I can move on with my life. Because although my knee pain is not a sharp pain that totally prevents me from moving, it is an almost constant throbbing pain that keeps me from doing things that I love like running and cleaning the baseboards in my house. (I kid about that last one.) And of course, once we start having children (LATER) I’m going to want to get down on the floor and play with them and I’ll have to squat down to pick stuff up all the time…and that’s just not happening with my discriminating knee.

In actuality, this is an answer to Roman’s prayers because now I will stop complaining about my knee hurting. …..Instead, I will start complaining about how fast my toenails grow.  HA! TAKE THAT ROMAN.

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.”  ~Hebrews 12:11-13