Well, this is a bit behind, but this is the first time I've felt up to posting. I had my knee surgery last week so I will fill you in on what happened.
Wednesday I had my pre-op appointment and ran some errands. On the way home, I was driving on the highway behind a semi (I was probably about 3 car lenghts behind him) and all of a sudden the semi hit a huge piece of tire that was on the side of the road causing it to fly up and hit the front of my vehicle. It hit my bumper and then I ran over it. Well, that scared me to death and I was afraid that I would have a flat tire. Got home and checked and it knocked my emergency light on my passenger side loose and there was black rubber scraped all over my bumper. Overall, my car was driveable and there are no dents in the car so that was good and my tire is okay.
Then my parents' flight was delayed so they took a shuttle from LAX to the hotel, but didn't get in until 12:30am instead of 8pm like they were suppose to. Wednesday didn't go as planned, but I was glad when my parents arrived.
The alarm went off at 6:30am on Thursday and I tried to sleep a little more as my parents went down to get some breakfast. I had maybe 3 hours of sleep that night as I was so nervous for the surgery. We left the hotel around 8am and hit traffic. Let me say, thank goodness for the car pool lane! We made it to the surgery center in LA at 9:10am and my arrival time was 9:30am. I made a couple calls to my grandma and Caleb then it was time to go in.
I had been crying from exaustion and nerves all morning so I felt like I kept getting strange looks from everyone. I filled out paperwork with the receptionist and discovered that they had me down on one sheet as a 26 year old male. I quickly corrected them. :) After paperwork, they had us sit in the waiting room for about 15 minutes and then took me back. They asked me some questions then sent me back out to get my brace from my parents. After some tearful hugs I told my parents bye and went back into the pre-op room.
The nurse was very nice and she explaned everything to me then had me put on my operating gown. She put in an IV and said they were just giving me some electrolytes before surgery. She then informed me that they were running an hour behind and so she gave me some heated blankets and an "US Weekly" from this past January to read to kill time. An hour later, the anesthesiologist came by to do my nerve blocker in my leg. He was very nice, but had a lazy eye so that made me a bit nervous as he was going to be sticking me with a needle in my hip. Luckily, he was very skilled. :)
The anesthesiologist injected something in my IV to make me relaxed then started the nerve blocker. They gave me the nerve block by using a needle and ultrasound to make my nerves in my leg sleep. I watched on a screen as he took the needle and moved it from nerve to nerve. Everytime he hit a nerve, my leg would spasm out of control and my leg would jump and twitch. It was the weirdest feeling ever. After that, they wheeled me into the operating room.
I met the male nurse who was helping with the surgery and he helped me scoot onto the operating table. I remember looking around for a minute and then the anesthesiologist said he was going to give me something to make me sleep. He injected it into the IV and my hand then began burning. The burning made me think of the Twilight books as when the vampire venom begins to turn a person into a vampire it burns. I was hoping that I wasn't turning into a vampire. :)
He then injected me with something else and I remember him saying "Now I'm going to put some oxygen on you" and I saw the mask go on and then I was out. I don't remember anything until I was waking up in a bed in the recovery room. The nurse gave me some graham crackers and I continued to try to wake up. As I was waking up, the nurses kept walking around and they kept talking. They were saying "I can't believe he is brain dead!" and "I heard he just died." Well, I thought they were talking about someone there, but it turned out to be Michael Jackson. Freaked me out a little bit because I was thinking someone died from knee or shoulder surgery.
Soon I was able to get dressed and they brought my parents back. I was SO sleepy and had a hard time staying awake. They gave my parents some paperwork and had me take a painkiller then I was headed out to the car. I had brought a couple Disneyland "I'm Celebrating" buttons and my parents gave one to the doctor and one to my nurse as I was celebrating my surgery being over.
A nice man from the surgery center wheeled me outside with my mom and we sat and waited for my dad to bring the car around. The man helped me get into the car (which was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be) and then we were off to the hotel. I remember falling asleep in the car and things are fuzzy the rest of the day on. I don't really remember getting out of the car and getting into bed after surgery. I just remember being happy that it was over.
That night, I was able to get up some on crutches and it got easier that day.
I am just thankful that it is over. I know that now it is the long road of recovery, but with the support of my family and friends, I know I'll make it.
Here is my first week Post-Op Diary - tried to keep track of what went on as this week was the hardest week that I will go through with my knee:
Day 1 - Surgery day - Had an okay night. Pretty much slept all day.
Day 2 -
I was able to get up and out of my hotel room (stayed in a hotel with my parent's the first 2 weeks after surgery - not able to stay at my home). I was told not to put weight on it until the nerve block wore off and so I was just using crutches. Spent about 4-6 hours in the Knee CPM at about 45 degrees and used my cooling machine pretty much all day. Also laying with a rolled up towel under my heel 2-3 times a day for 30 minutes to work on extension.
Day 3 -
Spent most of the day on Knee CPM at 45 - 50 degrees, but not in much pain. I think the nerve block has worn off, but unable to really tell. Blessed that the pain is not too bad. Still on pain meds. Still using the towel under the heel as well - this exercise hurts the most.
In the afternoon everything went downhill - Developed the BIGGEST headache ever that hurt way worse than my knee. Then was sick to my stomach. Called the doctor and he said it was probably the anestesia wearing off and I could take more tylenol if needed.
Day 4 -
Feeling MUCH better today. Decided to try to get off of pain meds as soon as I can in case they contributed to being ill yesterday. Spent most of the day watching movies while using the CPM at 55 degrees and towel under the heel. Able to get up and around okay using crutches.
Day 5 -
Woke up with quite a bit of pain this morning. Stiches hurt today using CPM - decided to use more pain meds. Typical day though - movies and CPM at 65 degrees. Thank goodness for movies!
Day 6 -
Motivation is high today! I see the doctor tomorrow and my goal is to have my extention back to normal! Lots of laying with a towel under my heel today as it doesn't hurt as much today. Got to 70 degrees on the CPM, but knee is sore so doesn't want to go past 70 degrees without hurting. Still able to get out of the room pretty well. Went and watched the Disneyland fireworks with my parents from the balcony.
Day 7 -
Went to the Doctor today to get stiches out. Yikes! It hurt! To me it seemed he was taking them out pretty early, but guess that is his standard procedure. The nurse took out the stiches and then put surgistrips on them. Then I was taken to get x-rays of my knee to make sure things looked good. This was frustrating as the x-ray tech didn't understand that I couldn't walk without crutches and couldn't bend my knee much at all on my own.
Doctor said everything looked good and was impressed with my extension! Yea! The hard work paid off. He prescribed PT starting the next week 3 times a week. He also gave me another prescription of pain meds. Got my new bendable knee brace, but my leg is too swollen to put it on yet.
Got to 80 degrees on the CPM today and it felt pretty good!
Day 8 - 1 week post-op!
My boyfriend flew in today to see me! It was SO great to see him after having surgery!
Got my functional brace on today, but it is still tight. I did 1 lap around the floor of our hotel room putting some weight on my leg with the aide of crutches, but it KILLED! Reached my doctor's goal of 90 degrees on the CPM today. Yea for progress and meeting a goal!
My heel on my surgery leg hurts worse than my knee. It feels like someone took a hammer and hit it. Ouch! Not fun!
Began using my Electric Stimulation machine today - I was SO scared to use it because I didn't know what it would be like. After using it, I really like it! It just kind of feels like that tingly sensation you get when your foot falls asleep. It helps with the pain quite a bit and I use it when I go out and will be sitting for a long time (for example movies, airplanes, long car rides, etc)
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Nervous...
Well, Thursday is just around the corner and I will say that nervous doesn't really begin to describe how I'm feeling. It's been such a LONG wait for the surgery and I have been psyching myself up as much as I can. I know things will be okay, but I have to admit that the thought of how they do the surgery and a donor ligament being in my leg is scary.
The past two months have been very interesting. I've cried SO much(which seems uncontrolable sometimes) and it could be over the drop of a hat. (I am not looking for sympathy by the way, just stating a fact that most of you probably know.) I guess when you go from doing what you love to not able to do anything close to it, you go through a grieving process. Some days I'm depressed and sad that this happened. Other times I'm at ease with it. Then there are days that I'm frustrated and mad that this is going on. It's been such an emotional rollercoaster.
I just know that I'm blessed with the best family and friends to support me. It's been pretty rough being away from home and going through this. People have told me that I'm such a strong person. I don't know if I am as strong as people think I am. I am blessed that things aren't worse than what they are and I'm just holding on to the fact that I will be able to dance, run, jump again even if it is 6 months down the road.
Anyway, I'm rambling and I'm exausted. Just know how much you thoughts, prayers and kind words have meant over the past couple months.
I am just looking forward to Thursday night when the surgery will be over.
Goodnight!
The past two months have been very interesting. I've cried SO much(which seems uncontrolable sometimes) and it could be over the drop of a hat. (I am not looking for sympathy by the way, just stating a fact that most of you probably know.) I guess when you go from doing what you love to not able to do anything close to it, you go through a grieving process. Some days I'm depressed and sad that this happened. Other times I'm at ease with it. Then there are days that I'm frustrated and mad that this is going on. It's been such an emotional rollercoaster.
I just know that I'm blessed with the best family and friends to support me. It's been pretty rough being away from home and going through this. People have told me that I'm such a strong person. I don't know if I am as strong as people think I am. I am blessed that things aren't worse than what they are and I'm just holding on to the fact that I will be able to dance, run, jump again even if it is 6 months down the road.
Anyway, I'm rambling and I'm exausted. Just know how much you thoughts, prayers and kind words have meant over the past couple months.
I am just looking forward to Thursday night when the surgery will be over.
Goodnight!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Chronicle of an Injured Dancer
Hello and welcome to my blog! I decided to create this blog to keep a record of my ACL injury/surgery progress. There have been a lot of people asking me for updates and I thought this might be the easiest way to keep everyone informed.
Let's see...I guess I'll start at the beginning...
I have been a dancer pretty much all of my life. I can still remember dancing around the classroom at age 3 with the song "Hopping Bunnies" playing in the background. Dance has always been a passion and a way to express myself. I have been fortunate enough to dance all over the country including at the 1996 Coca-Cola Olympic Village in Atlanta, Ga, Las Vegas, Disney World, Epcot, Disneyland, etc.
In September of 2008 I auditioned at Disneyland for a role in "High School Musical 3: Senior Year - Right Here Right Now!" and was lucky enough to be cast as a dancer. This was a dream for me. Being a "Disney dancer." I had 2 weeks to pack up my stuff in Kansas City and move out to California. That was scary, but worth it. We started rehearsals and the show was set to open in the end of October.
During a rehearsal in October, I tweeked my left knee during a jump. When I landed the jump, I felt some sort of "pop" and was unable to put weight on it. I was sent to the athletic trainers and then to the Disney doctors. After a few weeks of watching rehearsals and doing some physical therapy, I was cleared to return to the show.
I remember my first day in the show. I was so nervous, but excited. I remember shaking as the gates opened and I rode out on our HSM 3 float chanting "W-I-L-D Wildcats!" One of my friends from Miss Mo was actually in the audience that day and saw my first show.
I continued to perform until March of 2009 when I had to make the decision, would I move back to Kansas City as my job there gave me a 6 month leave of absense or should I continue to live my dream? Since I was offered a spot in the "Pixar Play Parade" as well as my "High School Musical 3" shift, I ultimately decided to stay in California for a while as dancing for Disney was not something I could do forever.
Fast forward to April 30, 2009...I had been performing in both the "HSM 3" and "Pixar Play" parades regularly and had been settled back in California. I was excited to perform the 5 parades of HSM 3 on this Thursday and my high school science teacher from Kansas City was there with his family that day as well. The day was going very well. The first shows seemed to be going well, everyone was in a good mood, had a good lunch, etc. It was time for the final performance of the day. We paraded out of the gate and everything seemed to be going well. We completed our parading to the show stop and concluded the song "Now or Never." When we start the second song, "I Want It All" all of the female dancers are on the ground and we run up on the stage. After a few lines of the song we all exit the stage. My character in the show is lifted from the stage (which is maybe about 3 feet high) by her partner. So, I tapped my partner on the shoulder like always and placed my hand on his shoulders. He puts his hands on my waist, I jump up and he lifts me down.
Here is how it looks (Please note - these pictures are not from when the injury occurred - they are from other performances)-
When I land, my legs are bent. I want to say again that these pictures are not from when the injury occurred.
Well, when I landed the lift during this show, I felt a big "pop" in my left knee followed by a lot of pain. I was unable to put weight on it. I told my partner for the day that I couldn't keep dancing and I limped off to the back of the stage. I leaned against the stage for a few minutes and decided that I couldn't go back out and finish the show. I was hoping that the pain would subside, but it did not and I didn't feel I could put my full weight on my leg. Plus, I couldn't help the tears streaming down my face. (I also wanted to say that it is not known why my knee "popped" - it was nothing to do with my partner, with the lift, etc)
My manager and the choreographer walked me backstage and I was taken in a golf cart to the athletic trainer. Connie examined my knee and while doing so she felt it "pop" a few times. We iced my knee and I was sent over to the "Cast Health" center to get it checked out.
I filled out paperwork and was sent home. I returned the next day to see the doctor. He examined my knee and said nothing felt loose or torn. He restricted me to "seated work only" for a week and sent me to see the physical therapists. I asked him if maybe an MRI should be taken as this is the second time I have had this happen and the injury felt worse than the first time. He said it wasn't needed.
I did physical therapy 3 times that week. There wasn't much I could do except for stretches. They did some deep massage on my hamstring and calf and then did some ultrasound heat therapy on my knee. Overall, I just felt that something didn't feel right. I asked them if maybe an MRI should be done. They said it wouldn't hurt. I also talked to my claim adjuster from the injury and she thought it was a good idea.
So, I was set up with an MRI and they referred me out to a knee specialist. I did my MRI and, even though I'm not a radiologist, I could see that there was a tear in my meniscus. I received the results of my MRI the next week and it said that I had a meniscus tear as well as an injury to my ACL. I had to wait 2.5 weeks to finally see a specialist to see what he said. I was referred to a doctor I have confidence in. He is the team doctor for the Anaheim Ducks hockey team and a consulting doctor for most of the professional sports teams in Los Angeles.
I finally had my doctors appointment on May 27th. Sadly, my medial meniscus was not the only thing torn. He confirmed my biggest fear - I tore my ACL and needed to have ACL reconstruction. This means that I would have at least 6 months after surgery to return to dancing. The doctor said I had a few choices -
1. Not get surgery and change my lifestyle to being less active, - Um, Yeah, not going to work for me
2. Take a portion of my pateller tendon or hamstring to repair my ACL
3. Have a donor tendon put in my leg
After discussing it with my doctor, he said the donor tendon was the best option for me as it was strong and had a faster healing time. I'm not really sure how I feel about having a tendon from someone else in my leg, but I trust the doctor and think it will be better to have only 2 spots in my knee healing (my ACL and meniscus) instead of 3 (ACL, Meniscus, and wherever they would take my new ACL from).
In the next couple weeks, Disney approved the surgery and so that brings us to now. My surgery is scheduled for this Thursday, June 25th. My parents are flying out to help me recover from surgery.
Am I scared? Yes.
Do I wish I wasn't having surgery? Yes, but I have faith in the doctor to make me better and know that, at age 27, giving up an active lifestyle is not a good choice for me.
I'll keep you updated as things progress. As for now, I'm just trying to rest my knee as much as I can and trying to keep my mind off of surgery.
My last day of "transitional work" (meaning the random things I have been doing at Disney since my injury - like folding napkins, making kids meal boxes, being a store greeter) will be tomorrow. I am off on Wednesday, but have my "pre-op" doctors appointment and my parents fly in that night.
Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support through all of this. It has meant more than you know!
Okay, off to run some errands and rest before work tonight! Have a great day!
Let's see...I guess I'll start at the beginning...
I have been a dancer pretty much all of my life. I can still remember dancing around the classroom at age 3 with the song "Hopping Bunnies" playing in the background. Dance has always been a passion and a way to express myself. I have been fortunate enough to dance all over the country including at the 1996 Coca-Cola Olympic Village in Atlanta, Ga, Las Vegas, Disney World, Epcot, Disneyland, etc.
In September of 2008 I auditioned at Disneyland for a role in "High School Musical 3: Senior Year - Right Here Right Now!" and was lucky enough to be cast as a dancer. This was a dream for me. Being a "Disney dancer." I had 2 weeks to pack up my stuff in Kansas City and move out to California. That was scary, but worth it. We started rehearsals and the show was set to open in the end of October.
During a rehearsal in October, I tweeked my left knee during a jump. When I landed the jump, I felt some sort of "pop" and was unable to put weight on it. I was sent to the athletic trainers and then to the Disney doctors. After a few weeks of watching rehearsals and doing some physical therapy, I was cleared to return to the show.
I remember my first day in the show. I was so nervous, but excited. I remember shaking as the gates opened and I rode out on our HSM 3 float chanting "W-I-L-D Wildcats!" One of my friends from Miss Mo was actually in the audience that day and saw my first show.
I continued to perform until March of 2009 when I had to make the decision, would I move back to Kansas City as my job there gave me a 6 month leave of absense or should I continue to live my dream? Since I was offered a spot in the "Pixar Play Parade" as well as my "High School Musical 3" shift, I ultimately decided to stay in California for a while as dancing for Disney was not something I could do forever.
Fast forward to April 30, 2009...I had been performing in both the "HSM 3" and "Pixar Play" parades regularly and had been settled back in California. I was excited to perform the 5 parades of HSM 3 on this Thursday and my high school science teacher from Kansas City was there with his family that day as well. The day was going very well. The first shows seemed to be going well, everyone was in a good mood, had a good lunch, etc. It was time for the final performance of the day. We paraded out of the gate and everything seemed to be going well. We completed our parading to the show stop and concluded the song "Now or Never." When we start the second song, "I Want It All" all of the female dancers are on the ground and we run up on the stage. After a few lines of the song we all exit the stage. My character in the show is lifted from the stage (which is maybe about 3 feet high) by her partner. So, I tapped my partner on the shoulder like always and placed my hand on his shoulders. He puts his hands on my waist, I jump up and he lifts me down.
Here is how it looks (Please note - these pictures are not from when the injury occurred - they are from other performances)-
When I land, my legs are bent. I want to say again that these pictures are not from when the injury occurred.
Well, when I landed the lift during this show, I felt a big "pop" in my left knee followed by a lot of pain. I was unable to put weight on it. I told my partner for the day that I couldn't keep dancing and I limped off to the back of the stage. I leaned against the stage for a few minutes and decided that I couldn't go back out and finish the show. I was hoping that the pain would subside, but it did not and I didn't feel I could put my full weight on my leg. Plus, I couldn't help the tears streaming down my face. (I also wanted to say that it is not known why my knee "popped" - it was nothing to do with my partner, with the lift, etc)
My manager and the choreographer walked me backstage and I was taken in a golf cart to the athletic trainer. Connie examined my knee and while doing so she felt it "pop" a few times. We iced my knee and I was sent over to the "Cast Health" center to get it checked out.
I filled out paperwork and was sent home. I returned the next day to see the doctor. He examined my knee and said nothing felt loose or torn. He restricted me to "seated work only" for a week and sent me to see the physical therapists. I asked him if maybe an MRI should be taken as this is the second time I have had this happen and the injury felt worse than the first time. He said it wasn't needed.
I did physical therapy 3 times that week. There wasn't much I could do except for stretches. They did some deep massage on my hamstring and calf and then did some ultrasound heat therapy on my knee. Overall, I just felt that something didn't feel right. I asked them if maybe an MRI should be done. They said it wouldn't hurt. I also talked to my claim adjuster from the injury and she thought it was a good idea.
So, I was set up with an MRI and they referred me out to a knee specialist. I did my MRI and, even though I'm not a radiologist, I could see that there was a tear in my meniscus. I received the results of my MRI the next week and it said that I had a meniscus tear as well as an injury to my ACL. I had to wait 2.5 weeks to finally see a specialist to see what he said. I was referred to a doctor I have confidence in. He is the team doctor for the Anaheim Ducks hockey team and a consulting doctor for most of the professional sports teams in Los Angeles.
I finally had my doctors appointment on May 27th. Sadly, my medial meniscus was not the only thing torn. He confirmed my biggest fear - I tore my ACL and needed to have ACL reconstruction. This means that I would have at least 6 months after surgery to return to dancing. The doctor said I had a few choices -
1. Not get surgery and change my lifestyle to being less active, - Um, Yeah, not going to work for me
2. Take a portion of my pateller tendon or hamstring to repair my ACL
3. Have a donor tendon put in my leg
After discussing it with my doctor, he said the donor tendon was the best option for me as it was strong and had a faster healing time. I'm not really sure how I feel about having a tendon from someone else in my leg, but I trust the doctor and think it will be better to have only 2 spots in my knee healing (my ACL and meniscus) instead of 3 (ACL, Meniscus, and wherever they would take my new ACL from).
In the next couple weeks, Disney approved the surgery and so that brings us to now. My surgery is scheduled for this Thursday, June 25th. My parents are flying out to help me recover from surgery.
Am I scared? Yes.
Do I wish I wasn't having surgery? Yes, but I have faith in the doctor to make me better and know that, at age 27, giving up an active lifestyle is not a good choice for me.
I'll keep you updated as things progress. As for now, I'm just trying to rest my knee as much as I can and trying to keep my mind off of surgery.
My last day of "transitional work" (meaning the random things I have been doing at Disney since my injury - like folding napkins, making kids meal boxes, being a store greeter) will be tomorrow. I am off on Wednesday, but have my "pre-op" doctors appointment and my parents fly in that night.
Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support through all of this. It has meant more than you know!
Okay, off to run some errands and rest before work tonight! Have a great day!
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