Personal Narrative: My Knee Surgery

In November of 2010, I was playing basketball in the fifth game of my senior season. It was just like any other game. However, I would soon find out otherwise. It was late in the game; I drove into the lane and got fouled hard. I was knocked so off-balance that I speared the floor with my knee. As soon as my knee hit the floor I heard a “snap” that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Little did I know at the time, that would be the last shot of my high school basketball career. Not long after my injury, I consulted a doctor. After getting an x-ray and an MRI, the doctor informed me that I had completely torn my ACL and would need to have surgery. An ACL tear can be a very devastating injury. The anterior cruciate

While in the hospital, mentally preparing myself for surgery, I had the opportunity to talk with the doctor who would be performing the operation. “Although getting to where I am today was quite the struggle, it was worth every second,” he briefly told me before rushing off. To this day I have a titanium plate and seven screws in my arm; however, I also have a new yearning to become an orthopedic surgeon like the one who had reconstructed my shoulder. After the surgery on my arm I was able to start physical therapy with one of the members of my ward.

According to Su et all (2009), knee replacement is an effective way to find relief of pain and improve mobility, but most importantly giving the patient education and skills during early recovery. In comparison, all articles focused on the need of improving mobility after surgery. Assessing the patient’s abilities and the need for physical therapy and keeping an eye out for complications. A main focus was pain relief and that recovery for each patient varies, but it is important to get them ambulating with assistive devices soon after surgery. My patient at Kindred, had continuous assessment and an interdisciplinary team that assisted in her road to

I wake up and I am not entirely sure where I am at. I am laying in a bed and rolling around as someone is pushing me. The door infront of me opens manually and I am pushed through the door still not knowing what is going on. I have a sling on my arm, but I cannot feel it at all. My right arm is numb from the shoulder down, but as I am rolled into my room I see my mother, father, and grandma sitting and waiting on me. I remember now; I just came out of shoulder surgery that could possibly make or break my baseball career. The doctor comes in and explained what happened in the operating room, and explains that everything went very well. He had no complications and that after I get food in my system that I could leave. Everything was happening

Hearing the pop of my knee was the last sound I wanted to hear while kicking a soccer ball during tryouts junior year. I fell straight to the ground, and knew instantly something was terribly wrong. To this day, I recall how heartbroken I was when I heard the news that I tore my ACL, and I never thought it could happen to me. Just the thought of not playing sports that year was emotionally difficult because sports have always been a part of my life. I could not imagine a year without participating in athletics, however at the time I did not know it could have a positive impact on me.

During my sophomore year of highschool, I was running track and I had a promising season in front of me. However, I was unable to reach my goals. I was forced to quit running for the remained of the school year due to a knee injury. The muscles holding my knee caps in place were not developed enough, and it was causing me great pain. After quitting track, I went into physical therapy. I was in physical therapy for over a month and I then had to continue to strengthen my legs. The next school year I was still facing the same problem, only smaller. Now, around two years later, I have finally overcome this problem and I am completely healthy. The injury was very frustrating, however, I put in the work and I am finally back to one hundred percent. I would not say that I’m glad the injury happened, however, I did learn the value of continuous hard work because of the

As many know, I had surgery this past week. Surgery is extremely rough, especially for those who have been constantly battling their problem. My knee has been a mystery for my doctor for over two years and I can not fathom why this crazy mishap happened to me of all people.These last two years have been the worst years of my life due to unexpected illnesses and surgeries.

When I woke up, I had no idea where I was, until seconds later when I realized almost everything in the room was white. My hair was pulled out of my bun and I was wearing a patient's gown. There was a lady in baby blue shirt with little snoopy dogs on it leaning over the bed with a clipboard in her left hand, and a pen in her right. The instant I moved my head to look around, I regretted it and let my head flop back down, then regretted that even more. My whole right side of my body felt like it was being burned and stabbed right there on the spot. I moaned and I heard my mom's voice, just a little too

My sophomore year of high school, I tore my UCL. I thought that my playing days would possibly be over and I wouldn’t be the same baseball player again. I went to the doctor in Memphis and they told me my options, it was either quit playing or have the procedure. I didn’t really know much about the surgery at the time but, after the surgery I had to know the steps. It was a long process as I had the procedure in June and wasn’t cleared for baseball activities until December. The therapy was long, hard, and difficult but I made it through. You have to be dedicated and hard working to make it through the process. I returned play my junior year and played the full season. I have had little to no problems with my arm since. The surgery changed and saved my baseball career and I’ll always be thankful for Dr. Jobe’s fantastic

In fact, the postoperative group experienced a successful result. The comparison of patients who had surgery prove that gains in health and physical ability persevere for several years. For example, postoperative patients’ improvements in hearing, breathing, communicating, and mental functioning exceeded the results of others. Although the postoperative group had the worst scores for breathing due to the greater necessity placed on the cardiorespiratory system, this finding is interpreted as a sign of successful treatment. (Rissanen et al., 1995). Overall, physical ability was significantly improved in the postoperative groups. Major improvements were shown for pain, sleep, and mobility. Activities of daily living (ADL) were significantly enhanced after

First I explained my knee dislocation and operation. Then, in return, she told me about her brain tumor and numerous operations. Her storytelling skills were spontaneous. Although I expected her to be pitiful of her condition, her tone was lovely and she embraced her condition fully. I admired her for her bravery and the beauty of innocence within her character. When my therapist began to approach me, she surprised me with good news. I had, finally, received clearance to walk without crutches. Immediately, I began to walk, but within my first few steps, I began to cry. I was overwhelmed with joy that although my knee still had a torn ligament, I was satisfied with the performance it was doing. After completing a set of balancing exercises, I saw my new friend. She waved at me and in seconds, I felt guilty and embarrassed. Unlike my new friend, who embraced her special qualities, I hated mine. However, I realized that my depression and self-hate were unnecessary and immature. I admitted to myself that I had become desperate for an opportunity to escape my reality. That I wanted to deny the reality of my injury, and live in an imaginary

I had my fourth knee surgery this past winter and my goal is to let go of my fear. I have one more sports season left before graduation. If I complete the full season, it will be the first time since my sophomore year that I have done so. I know that I will not be able to achieve the goal of playing a full season without letting go of my fear, and after four consecutive seasons on the sidelines I have come to fear more then just injury. I have come to fear not having the talent to play at the high school varsity level. I fear that the coaches will only see my as a injury waiting to happen and not as an athlete. I fear a season spent worrying about what could happen oppose to whats happening in the moment. I fear another season on the sidelines.

These have all been shown to beneficial following knee replacement surgery. Two studies performed by Bade and Stevens-Lapsley found that strength training of the quadriceps and hamstrings following TKA resulted in better long-term outcomes and better performance in functional activities.5,6 Ebert et al. found that manual drainage massage was beneficial for reducing pain and increasing knee ROM after knee replacement surgery.7 According to Brugioni, patellar mobilization is critical for maintaining adequate knee ROM after undergoing a total knee replacement surgery. Gait mechanics and ambulatory endurance are often altered by knee surgery, and therefore, requires gait training to be corrected. Bruin-Olsen et al. found that a specific walking-skill program had better outcomes than traditional physiotherapy after TKA.9 Finally, Storey and colleagues found that indoor and outdoor walking tests moderately correlated with functional walking ability following TKA, which is important to keep in mind when choosing the right clinical objective

I began my physical therapy and work hard to create muscle in my left hip. That same year my teacher who was the soccer coach motivated me to join the Bluffton girls’ soccer team. That year I work hard in physical therapy and soccer conditioning to play for the girls’ junior varsity team. I would jog everyday with my dad after school and do physical therapy exercises at home. After 6 months of conditioning I manage to run a mile in 7 minutes and 44 seconds. Finally I was back doing what I love, playing sports. This surgery was impact my life because it was complex with an extensive care. My doctor stated that I would not be able to play any sports after the surgery. But with the aid of my soccer coach, parents, and friends who motivated me to keep going and work hard to achieve what I loved; playing soccer. This challenge inspire my career ambition to become a biomedical engineer specialized in Orthopedic Bioengineering. This specialty uses engineering to understand the function of the bones, joints and muscles; they also focus on designing replacements. By graduating from Mercer University as a Biomedical Engineer I would be able to help other people like me who have orthopedic problems

For some people having surgery is something they will never have think about, but for me it’s always been a part of my life. By my first year in college I had already had seven different surgeries and already new that I would have more throughout my college career. My most memorable surgeries are the ones that I had on my lower back, two in total. One of them was when I was in high school and caused me to miss an entire year of gym class.