ACL (part 1)

Read ACL (Part 2) here.

Almost a month ago Sara and I flew down to Sun Valley, ID and met up with my dad and Lil’ Carol for some skiing and celebrity sightings. Ever since I was a kid I had wanted to go to Sun Valley and now it was going to happen! I couldn’t wait.

Since I never really do anything halfway, on Sunday, April 8th, our first full day there, I completely tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in my right knee. Or more accurately;

1. Mid portion ACL rupture with displacement anterior to the tibial insertion.
2. Over a 7 mm interval, fluid separates the medial meniscus posterior horn and its capsular insertion – focal meniscocapsular separation.
3. Minor stretching of the medial patellofemoral ligament with focal grade 2 sprain at its femoral insertion.

Yeah, whatever. I blew my knee out. Life is full of surprises.

I figure it’s karma. About a month prior to my injury I was riding with my friend Mike at 49° North and saw him take a pretty sweet, natural air, in some glorious powder glades. It was perfect until the landing, where he cased it and cartwheeled. I heard him laugh it off and I kept going, not stopping until I reached the bottom. It turns out he destroyed his knee (ACL tear) and I didn’t even stop to see if he was OK. I went back for him, but he had gotten tired of waiting for help and somehow rode limped shuffled his snowboard out of the trees to where someone else could find him. I felt terrible for not checking on him after his crash. One month later, karma got me back.

In my case, I wasn’t in the trees, or in powder. Nor was I catching air or doing any fancy tricks. Nope, I was just hauling ass on a perfectly straight groomed run. I tried to make a sudden stop and failed – hard. Luckily it was in the afternoon, so I was able to get quite a few great runs in before my vacation was ruined (I should add that my wife’s vacation was ruined at this point as well).

Ski Patrol was very quick to respond and I got to take my very first (and LAST!) Ski Patrol guided toboggan ride down the mountain. They were great and even sent me a “Get Well Soon” postcard a week later.

Fast forward a few weeks, a few orthopedic doctor visits and a few physical therapy sessions and I get ACL replacement surgery on Tuesday, May 8th. Exactly one month after the crash. Check back for a post on that little adventure in a couple weeks.

Also, check these out! I made some animated gifs with the MRI images of my knee. These are so cool!

Read ACL (Part 2) here.