There's a funny story here. . .

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Superman's cryptonite

This past week has been a challenging and humbling one for Mark. Mark is tough, he will conquer this. At night he lays awake redesigning a one legged bike;) It may be quite interesting to see the final concept considering how potent pain meds are on Mark. All great inventors were a little crazy, right?

Here are some of the classics from the week:

(Post-op recovery)

'Where's my leg? Oh, it's big!'
'Something's biting me!' (the pulse ox on his finger) 'Oh, don't take it off, I like the red light.' (so nurse Melanie put it on his toe where he could still see the red light)
'Is that my toe? It's big!'
'This is Melanie, she's nice!' (repeated about 5 times)
The Dr. came in wearing a surgical cap, 'Are you the Doctor?, I like your hat. I don't play football.'

Wednesday morning

'Janna, I remember waking up in recovery. I told them I was married, it was important that they knew.'

Friday after our Dr. apt. we were leaving the hospital and ran into our wonderful surgical admit nurse. She laughed with us and told us what Mark really said in recovery:

'My wife is soooooo hot!' Here's hoping that's where he stopped!

With no bending in the knee, Mark's only option is the station wagon trunk. The girls love it!

Friday, October 19, 2012

Mark's Knee Injury

Well. I'm back to the blog and it's time for an update. Life changes quickly, and most of the time it just drags me along if I'm not keeping up.

Friday Night, October 12th. My indoor soccer match started at 10:20 pm. There was a double header on the schedule, 2nd match would begin at 11:15pm and I was planning on playing in both. At about 10:45 pm, I was about 15 feet out from the opposing goal and posturing for a shot. I planted my left foot and balanced as my right foot started to swing through for the shot. An opposing player on the other team and I collided and we both went down. I'm still unclear on all the details, however somewhere in the tangle I sustained a blow to the inside of my left leg at about knee height. Must have been just after I had planted that foot for the shot. (The guy who I collided with was actually a friend, we have played on the same team, and against each other for years).

As it turns out, I completely ruptured the Patellar Tendon and detached it from the bottom of my kneecap. By the time my hand reached out to my knee, there was a large indentation where my kneecap was normally situated, I don't know where it went. The pain was the most unbearable I've ever felt. After a few moments, I was finally able to relax my leg and as it straightened the knee cap returned to position.

That tendon is a critical mechanical connection that allows you to lift the lower half of your leg. Without that connection, the lower leg is simply a hinged appendage that will swing freely.

(photo above) Day 2. Three days prior to surgery. The X-Rays showed no bone damage, but the Patella was sitting extremely high and the doctor confirmed a complete rupture.

Day 7 (above). Surgery was successful, Dr. Richter made about a 3-4 inch incision over my knee cap, drilled 3 holes through the patella at an angle, then threaded the detached tendon through the 3 holes and pulled them tight. Then he sutured them directly to the bone with extremely heavy, permanent sutures. He told me today that during surgery he had my leg bent at 90 degrees to test the tension in newly made connection. Man, it's a good thing I was asleep for that.

Day 7 (above). He covered the stitches up and strapped on my brace again. Sent me home to continue to heal for 1 more week. Physical therapy begins next Friday, October 26th.

This may sound backwards, but Janna and I have been very blessed this last week. More on that later.