Some people may refer to me as “Megan the Klutz†(I had a book with that title when I was a kid) and sometimes it couldn’t be more true! How many other cross country skiers (a non-contact sport I might add) have undergone 3 orthopedic surgeries in 4 summers (two ankles and now a knee)?? Well, I am the lucky one! My dad says I’m no longer allowed to do the following things:
Football, soccer, basketball, rugby, sahlu (Finnish road hockey), wrestling, orienteering, hiking without really good boots, running down stairs, walking on uneven ground barefoot, and cliff jumping………
My mom, however, just said I should stop acting like a boy! But really, if I wasn’t aggressive and didn’t enjoy running around playing stupid games, I may never have come as far as I have in sport (or I may have been further ahead since I wouldn’t be recovering from my 3rd surgery right now). I guess I’ll never know.
One week ago today I was up at 5am ready to go to the hospital for my 8am surgery. My mom came along as my moral support and once checking in the mandatory 2 hours ahead of time, we sat and waited. I knew what to expect since I had both my ankles fixed before, but this was a bit new, and as the surgeon said when he came to sign the correct knee (a precaution so that they do the right one!) I looked terrified! The surgery I was having was “patellar autograft anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction†( this website tells a bit about it… http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05018.htm ). So, I tried to relax a bit, met with the anesthesiologist and a nurse who led me into the OR. Being in an operating room is quite an experience. You go in, lie on a small table in the middle of a bright room with at least 6 doctors and nurses preparing to cut you open. Then you get a needle and the next thing you know its 3 hours later and in my case….you’re freezing! (some people are mad, others upset…it just depends).
 Finally the nurses sedated her and she was quiet for about 15 minutes and then suddenly she was “STARVING!!!!â€. Luckily I changed rooms soon after and enjoyed a quiet afternoon with my morphine “pain pumpâ€. I have never heard someone her age so loud before! </p>
<p>Getting out of bed for the first time is one of the biggest challenges of all. The sudden rush of blood to the knee and leg is extremely painful. So, I tried to stay in bed as long as possible and only use the washroom when it became desperate. The next morning I prepared to go home but first I had to pass the “stair testâ€. I was taken over to the physio room and had to prove that I could walk up the stairs with my crutches….once I passed, I was loaded up in my mom’s car and taken home, which is where I’ve been hanging out for the last week.<br />
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