# 35 and Down for the count, torn acl



## huskystihl (Jun 20, 2008)

I'll be doing a-lot more posting during the day. I had just gotten out of the tree and was walking to the truck to grab a big bar when out of no where came a chuck hole and all I heard was a snap and down I went with the most excruciating pain, and to make matters worse my echo t handle happen to break my fall giving me 7 stitches to add insult to injury. Usually I can take pain and consider myself somewhat of a tough guy but I tell you if you've ever had this injury you find out real quick how tough you aren't. Just left the orthopedist and he is talking at least three months of rehab after the surgery and then no climbing for a while after that. My wife sells disability insurance which thank god I have but wouldn't go through this for all the money in the world. Be carefull and take care of your knees!


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## motoroilmccall (Jun 20, 2008)

Been there... 8th grade football I tore both ACL and my right Achilles in 1 play... Never seen in happen before or since, I was twisted up like a pretzel in that pile. The guys on my team told me they could hear the pops pretty clearly, even over all the normal noises. Spent a full year doing rehab, which was after my 3 month stink in a wheelchair and on crutches, the pain was so bad I passed out, woke up in the Ambulance with a morphine drip  . Never played football again, and they still bother me in a tree, or when the weather changes pressures. I'm the slowest runner you'll ever meet nowadays.


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## huskystihl (Jun 20, 2008)

motoroilmccall said:


> Been there... 8th grade football I tore both ACL and my right Achilles in 1 play... Never seen in happen before or since, I was twisted up like a pretzel in that pile. The guys on my team told me they could hear the pops pretty clearly, even over all the normal noises. Spent a full year doing rehab, which was after my 3 month stink in a wheelchair and on crutches, the pain was so bad I passed out, woke up in the Ambulance with a morphine drip  . Never played football again, and they still bother me in a tree, or when the weather changes pressures. I'm the slowest runner you'll ever meet nowadays.



Yeah it was pretty tramatic. I think I might have blacked out for a sec trying to figure out what the heck just happened, never had any major injuries till now so I guess i've been lucky. Best part is the percaset and that ain't sayin much, thanks for the story though.


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## motoroilmccall (Jun 20, 2008)

, Yeah, modern medicine sure beats the old days of biting shoe leather. Keep off that knee, if you stress it too much after surgery it'll pop again, my uncle had it happed after a skidder accident, went from 3 months recovery to 9, just because he wanted to check on his horses  .


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## nmurph (Jun 20, 2008)

been there, done that. sort of rough for the first few days, then it gets to be more of a nuisance......do the therapy.... these are routine surgeries, as much as you can say any surgery is "routine." i tore mine playing racquetball in a court that was recently refinished. i had never played at this Y bf. they had a couple of boards in the rear corner that were buckled. when i planted my foot on them, they gave and i went over the front of my knee.....hurt badly for a few minutes and then was very sore the next few days, though i did play golf on it the next afternoon (take that Tiger!!!!). 
i also dislocated my right ankle...ankle looked like it was taking a right turn, with my body going straight ahead.........10X's worse....it did feel better when the orthopaedist got it back in place on the third try, after wrestling with it for 10 minutes. 21cc's of morphine and i still felt every thing he did.... then surgery the next morning. my foot looked like a home depot exploded inside....2 months without weight on that foot and then another 2 with crutches...i'm 4 years post-op next week. got the plates and screws out in december when i had my rotator cuff repaired...pretty much as good as new....

Best wishes......when is the surgery?????


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## huskystihl (Jun 20, 2008)

nmurph said:


> been there, done that. sort of rough for the first few days, then it gets to be more of a nuisance......do the therapy.... these are routine surgeries, as much as you can say any surgery is "routine." i tore mine playing racquetball in a court that was recently refinished. i had never played at this Y bf. they had a couple of boards in the rear corner that were buckled. when i planted my foot on them, they gave and i went over the front of my knee.....hurt badly for a few minutes and then was very sore the next few days, though i did play golf on it the next afternoon (take that Tiger!!!!).
> i also dislocated my right ankle...ankle looked like it was taking a right turn, with my body going straight ahead.........10X's worse....it did feel better when the orthopaedist got it back in place on the third try, after wrestling with it for 10 minutes. 21cc's of morphine and i still felt every thing he did.... then surgery the next morning. my foot looked like a home depot exploded inside....2 months without weight on that foot and then another 2 with crutches...i'm 4 years post-op next week. got the plates and screws out in december when i had my rotator cuff repaired...pretty much as good as new....
> 
> Best wishes......when is the surgery?????



Believe it or not your story made me feel better and lucky and bad for you. Sometime the week of the 4th, he wants the swelling to go down, my knee is the size of a volleyball. The part that worries me is he wants to use a piece of my hamstring to make the reapair and I have a partially torn meniscus that was revealed by the MRI. Thanks for the support.


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## nmurph (Jun 20, 2008)

patellar grafts have less pain but they are easier to tear while healing.....i have the cadaver graft.......my brother has the patellar graft, from under the knee cap. he has some pain from time to time, and it is a little sensitive....
i meant to ask about cartilage: depending on where you tore the miniscus, some times they can't be repaired. some of miniscus does not get blood and will not repair itself. they can clean it up, but the tears may be there forever and gradually erode....they can do cadaver donor replacement, but this requires a longer imobility and not always effective.
find out where you did the damage and also if he thinks that you damaged the articular cartilage. it is the shiney part on the end of your long bones. 
when you have as many sports injuries as i have had, you learn to be your own OS.


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## huskystihl (Jun 20, 2008)

nmurph said:


> patellar grafts have less pain but they are easier to tear while healing.....i have the cadaver graft.......my brother has the patellar graft, from under the knee cap. he has some pain from time to time, and it is a little sensitive....
> i meant to ask about cartilage: depending on where you tore the miniscus, some times they can't be repaired. some of miniscus does not get blood and will not repair itself. they can clean it up, but the tears may be there forever and gradually erode....they can do cadaver donor replacement, but this requires a longer imobility and not always effective.
> find out where you did the damage and also if he thinks that you damaged the articular cartilage. it is the shiney part on the end of your long bones.
> when you have as many sports injuries as i have had, you learn to be your own OS.



All I heard was three months out of work and I tuned everything else out but my wife was there and she just told me that I had an outside minuscus tear that needed cleaned up and was very much standard for the injury given the acl which was a total tear. The ortho has done some work on the UofM football team and and comes highly recomended and understands my work and says that the hamstring is the most reliable procedure minus the cadaver which you always have the chance of rejecting. Either way at 35 this the first time i've had surgery and it scares the shi%& out of me.


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## nmurph (Jun 20, 2008)

routine, my friend..........painful, my friend..........but six months from now, no big deal......most of the healing will be behind you..... it will mess with you mind for a while and you will be very protective, but that will gradually fade, too. i play racquetball with a donjoy brace on each knee and one on my ankle. i still go at it as hard as i can...........


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## ropensaddle (Jun 20, 2008)

Yeah sucks mine was in football too I played the next year though.
It does not give me problems today. I had a car wreck fourteen years ago
though and smashed left shoulder, dislocated right, broke both collar bones
broke two ribs and punctured a lung. That sucked, I had to cut wood to
stay warm after the first month and put a motor in for my father by the
second month and at the end of the third was back at work climbing.
I was sore as heck through that whole year but now hardly can tell except,
bumps on collar bones and left shoulder looks square and right is round. Dad was helping me through that tough time and his help
is like prison: Don't get me wrong I love him dearly I just would rather die than ask for help lol. I paid him back completely for all he spent as he knew I would but dern he is one hard pop.


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## huskystihl (Jun 20, 2008)

ropensaddle said:


> Yeah sucks mine was in football too I played the next year though.
> It does not give me problems today. I had a car wreck fourteen years ago
> though and smashed left shoulder, dislocated right, broke both collar bones
> broke two ribs and punctured a lung. That sucked, I had to cut wood to
> ...



I've been paying $75 a month for years for a disabilit policy I was never gonna use. Thank god. Those aflac commercials aren't just smokin mirrors.


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## ropensaddle (Jun 20, 2008)

huskystihl said:


> I've been paying $75 a month for years for a disabilit policy I was never gonna use. Thank god. Those aflac commercials aren't just smokin mirrors.



I had a disability insurance then as well but could not sleep the
first month and lived out of state so the help was needed! I will
hope I never need it again and can be there when he needs it
but will be generous as he is now 75 so I will help him the eazy
wayEven with health and disability it cost me fifteen grand!


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## GNAR13 (Jun 21, 2008)

Sorry to hear about you knee man, but i know how you feel. 2 years ago i got tossed out of the back of an Argo, i heard a snap when i landed and as i was laying there, i looked down and saw that the side of my right foot was touching my knee. The tib and the fib snapped and somehow took some tendons with them and sliced through the bottom of my calf.  
Didn't quite pass out, but by the time the ambulance got there (a freakin' hour after my buddy called), i was in full-on shock. At the hospital some dumb:censored: nurse wanted to move my leg so she just grabbed my foot and picked it up, as i almost went ballistic. 6 months later i was learning how to walk again Anyhow, hope you have a speedy recovery.


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## Bigus Termitius (Jun 22, 2008)

Stinkin rotten chuck holes!

Found one the other day with a close call..man was I thankful.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune and I pray you heal swiftly.


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## nmurph (Jul 16, 2008)

huskystihl:

so, how is the knee???? ain't rehab fun???


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## valleyboy (Jul 16, 2008)

Hey HuskyStihl,

You will be as good as new!! i had my ACL Reconstruction about 9 years ago and I am good as new. It turns out that I had torn my ACL when I was in my teens and had never realized it:jawdrop: Only after college did I realize ow this hurts!?!? Growing up in the White Mtns. of Northeastern Arizona (Pinetop,AZ) you NEVER complained, especially to my Old Man and Mom. I was raised to work very hard and be responsible and have high morals, unlike many of the youth today. Anyways, I grew up that if you were hurt put some ice on it, a little dirt and muscle up. 

HuskyStihl, do the Rehab- it will save you complications in the future. I am glad I had a witch of a physical therapist "Helga" as I called her... I swear she looked as she was an ex-member of the East German women's weightlifting team:angry2:. You will have tough days, I was frustrated because I could'nt work or workout, before you know it you will be back to your routine! Remember ice is your friend, and I recommend wearing a DonJoy knee brace for a couple of months after you return to work. Best of wishes to you and your family!!


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## huskystihl (Jul 18, 2008)

Had the surgery a couple weeks ago, havent took a step yet but am still able to supervise a bit at work. Start therapy next week, can't wait.


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## fireman (Jul 18, 2008)

*stay safe*

Good luck stay off the knee dont try to do things early you will re injure it.IM talking from experience let it heal and slowly work in to it.I know its hard but let it heal or you will have more problems down the road .Stay safe brother and do some fishing like I did.


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## bowtechmadman (Jul 18, 2008)

Football took out my MCL (complete tear) and partially (1/2) tore my ACL. 20yrs later and only time I notice is during weather changes.
Listen to your physical therapist and you will be good as new before ya know it.


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## huskystihl (Jul 19, 2008)

Thanks for the ecouragement. I played football, baseball and wrestled, been helpin with the family business in one way or another since I was old enough to start a saw and have never been injured. So to go down like this just doesn't seem right, I fell 15 ft out of a tree flat on my back and pissed my pants but was fine. I guess you could say I was lucky.


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