Knife .v. Knee, Round 1 - 19th Jan. 2013

Under The Knife For The First Time

November 6th 2010

I was up early, 5:30 am to be exact.  I had to be at the hospital by 6:30 am to get myself ready for an early morning operation.  A good 8 hour sleep was required as well as no food or drink within 8 hours of my check in but I don't usually eat breakfast anyway so this wasn't much of a problem, although I did struggle without a drink of any form!  I was given my own room along with the delightful gown and hat that you'll see in and around hospitals everywhere, oh, and the "paper" underwear, not quite your Calvin Klein's but I had no choice.

Frequent visits from the nurses were about the only thing happening, an operation seemed years away but it came around quickly.  All the checks were done, then double checked, my mouth was about as dry as Gandhi's flip flop and I was basically just awaiting the shout.  My Mum & Dad went to pick up my brother, as I'd been told my operation wouldn't be for a few hours yet, but as you might have guessed already, not long after they left I was asked if I was ready to go!  Walking down to the operating room was quite scary, something I'd never done before and the nurse was trying keep my nerves settled as I approached the empty room next to the operating theatre.  For this operation I was being placed on local anesthetic, far less powerful than what I would be given on my next operation but this would only take around 1 1/2 to 2 hours and was only minor in comparison to possible reconstructive surgery.

The surgery I was having today was a "simple" arthroscopy, which is a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which an examination and slight treatment of the cartilage damage is performed using an arthroscope, which is a type of instrument used to examine body parts internally.  This procedure is commonly used in situations similar to mine for torn floating cartilage, torn surface cartilage and trimming damaged cartilage, of which I had all 3, unfortunately.

Simple Diagram Displaying The Arthroscopy Procedure

Once the procedure was finished, I awoke in the recovery area, somewhat groggy and drowsy still as the anesthetic was wearing off but still in effect.  As I was taken back into my room, I was still half asleep and the drugs had clearly worked anyway!  I was left to wake up a little and then given some food and drink, long awaited admittedly, after the "ban" prior to the operation.  I was paid a visit by Mr.Shah who updated me with the outcome and explained that the operation had gone well and everything was as expected and that I should be released from hospital in an hour or so, which was music to my ears!

Dispatched, with a crutch in each arm, I was told to keep it rested and basically not move or do anything for the next few days so everybody in my house basically became a servant, especially my brother.  I was on crutches for around 2 weeks and light physio began in order to get my knee/leg moving again but as mentioned early, everything I did was only light work as my knee was still inflamed and healing, it was just basic movements and bending that involved light pushes and heavy antibiotics to reduce the pain.  Nothing major was done in terms of the ACL damage I had suffered, it was more of a look in to see the extent first hand and to clear the rest of the damage and the physio I would receive would be mainly to keep my muscles working as crutches took away their main use.

Physio, Physio, Physio! A lot Of Time To Be Spent On A Physio Bed Over The Next Few Years

If you've not worked it out, I would require another operation at a later date, although this date wasn't clear or booked in as of yet.  I tried to do a bit more than I should have done regarding moving about and going places.  Although I don't mind spending time at home and inside, I much prefer being outdoors and I was becoming frustrated with the limitations that I had placed upon me already, even though I'd only just had my first operation, so this was something I needed to get used to over the next 12 months or so.  My first venture of sort would be to watch England .v. France at Wembley, a first visit to Wembley for me, something that was booked well in advance of my injury, otherwise I clearly wouldn't have made such a journey.