I saw Dr. Stan James one last time to discuss my options since my knee was still not healing. By this time, it was clicking and popping and after spend only a few minutes with him, I was referred to surgeon Dr. Matt Shapiro to get a second opinion. Two weeks later I met with Dr. Shapiro. He said he's bet against Dr. James before, but usually loses. It may be Chondromalasia, or a stress fracture. I told him it felt like neither since I had had both these injuries in the past. He felt the same way and thought I should get arthroscopic knee surgery to see what was going on inside my knee. I asked what my other options were. "3 months no running and extensive physical therapy and cross training. We've got a great gal working for us with a lot of experience with PT, Yoga, and Pilates who I think would be a good fit for you." My gut said no- I had already taken 5 weeks of no running and it did nothing. I had been doing PT, Yoga, and Pilates for the past 2 months, almost everyday with no pain relief. I knew I could not bike or elliptical, and sometimes pool running bothered. I did not think this girl could help me and deep down, neither did Dr. Shapiro. He told me he thought I was already doing most of the things that the PT would have me do and it may result in still getting the surgery at the end of the 3 months. It was time to go inside my knee and find out what was going wrong. I would get surgery the following Monday (6 days later).I left his office, got in my car, and called my mom crying. I had just made a very "adult" decision and I didn't know if it was the right one. I drove home and went for a run. This was the last week I'd be able to run for a long time so I was going to get in what I could with the minimum amount of pain. Later I went to work, unable to focus on the tasks at hand. My mind was in constant turmoil. I was constantly second guessing myself. The week seemed to go by so slowly, yet at the same time, very quickly. I felt like I had lots of time to doubt my choice, but the surgery date was just around the corner.
Saturday and Sunday I ran with very little pain. My speed had finally started coming back and I was comfortably finishing runs in the mid 7's. Now I was really second guessing myself. What if something went wrong and I was never able to run again after the surgery. What if they didn't find anything wrong inside my knee and I had to run with pain for the rest of my life. What if... what if... what if!
Sunday night Kevin and I went out to dinner and got Sweet Life afterward. I wanted to go out with a bang in case I never woke again. I know, it sounds extreme for minor arthroscopic knee surgery, but this was new territory for me. I did not sleep well Sunday night at all, tossing and turning. I woke up several times to go to the bathroom. I was thirsty but could not drink. The night seemed to last an eternity.
5:30AM finally arrived. I woke and showered. Kevin and I headed to Slocum and I checked in on the 4th floor. They took me back and had me change into a purple gown with dog paw prints and purple footies. I asked if men had to wear the same gown- I had to admit it was pretty cute! They took my vitals and got an IV hooked up to my hand. The nurse had a hard time getting it in my vein and that was probably the only discomfort I had with the whole experience. The staff was super friendly and most of them had come from the Midwest and we talked about Wisconsin. Dr. Shapiro came in and said hi. He wrote on my surgery leg something to the effect of "cut here", and said "see you in surgery. He seemed so calm as he walked off in his Columbia vest and coffee in hand. I had originally refused relaxant drugs, but now I was second guessing that decision. Kevin was asked to leave and the nurse wheeled my bed down the hallway into the operating room.
The operating rooms was cold. There was a bright lamp overhead and monitors all around. There was a small table with a tray and surgical supplies. All the nurses and doctors were wearing masks and gloves. They were very friendly and greeted me, but I could barely choke out a "hi". They moved me from my bed to the surgery table. One of them put a hose blowing hot air in my gown to keep me warm. The anesthesiologist told me he was going to put a mask blowing pure oxygen over my nose and mouth and start giving me the anesthesia in my IV. I took deep breaths and after a few seconds started to feel dizzy and noticed the edges of my vision closing in. I remember thinking, "here we go."
I woke up after having crazy dreams to a nurse wheeling me down the hallway back to the recovery area. The first thing I said when I came to was, "was it the Plica." The nurse said she didn't know, she was just a nurse, but she would get the doctor. She gave me water- which tasted so good after not drinking for hours. She handed me a pictures of the inside of my knee and said the doctor would explain them. I was still super tired and foggy- so it was hard for me to tell what I was looking at. Dr. Shapiro came in soon after. "Was it the Plica?" "Yes, Stan James does it again!" "YES!" I shouted. I was thrilled that it was what we thought it was and that I made the right choice getting surgery. Dr. Shapiro explained the pictures to me and showed me how bad the inflammation was. He explained that my recovery would be 6-8 weeks since I had a lot of synovitis in my knee (perhaps I shouldn't have been running all week leading up the surgery). He also told me that the surgery took a total of 21 minutes! Successful and fast!
Kevin was invited back in and the nurse explained to both of us the things I would need to do over the next few days to speed my recovery. She asked if I had any questions and I asked if I could have a coffee. She got me a fresh cup of coffee, which tasted horrible (sort of like cheap stir in coffee or Dutch Bros). She helped me get dressed and the wheeled me down to the car. I remember everything, but at the same time I was very out of it. When we were going down in the elevator, it felt like were going up and I was confused to why they took me down to the first floor to do the surgery and taking me up to the forth floor to leave.
Once outside, I was helped into the car and started making phone calls. I called my mom and my boss to give them updates. Then I called my friend Liisa who has been putting off Plica surgery for 2 years telling her it was the way to go. Kevin picked me up a Starbucks Americano that really hit the spot. Once we got home, he helped me inside and got me into bed. We propped up my leg and began the 30min on/30min off icing routine.
The rest of the day I stayed in bed, only getting up to use the restroom. It was hard to just sit all day, but I had no pain or leaking. Kevin ran to the grocery store and the pharmacist to fill my prescription for pain killers just in case I needed them. We watched a movie and he made me dinner. It was nice having him there to take care of me and rub my foot when it started to tighten up. I took off work Tues. and will most likely do the same Wed. to ensure a speedy recovery.
So far I have had no pain and very little discomfort. Today I start moving the knee and putting weight on it, so I may be more sore tomorrow. I'm not concerned though. I am just so happy to have figured out what was wrong with my knee and to have fixed it. Part of me is still discouraged with how this happened wants to walk around with knee pads on from now on (just kidding!). I have learned from this experience to trust my gut and that God is looking down on me. He blessed me with great doctors, a correct diagnosis, and a speedy recovery. I cannot wait to get back on the roads and training smarter and healthier than ever before! My next goal is a 3 hour marathon and a 7:10 pace 50K.
