This really wasn't something that happened overnight. I originally tore my ACL and had it surgically repaired way back in 1993 as a result of multiple hyper-extensions during high school football at South St. Paul High School as well as playing tennis. Over the next 30+ years arthritis slowly took its toll on that knee. There were cortisone shots, other injections and plenty of times where I just dealt with the pain. It never really stopped me from doing the things I wanted to do - completed a (sprint) triathlon, multiple in-line skiing marathons as well as many 5k runs , but as the years went on, those things started hurting more while I was doing them... and usually even more the next day. Eventually I realized that if I wanted to stay active as I got older, it was time to do something about it.
Once the decision to do the surgery was made (yes, my orthopedic doctor was pushing me to postpone as long as I could bare), I put in the time doing the pre-operation exercises and strengthening of both the knee and surrounding muscles. Looking back, I am convinced that "pre-hab" played a HUGE part in how quickly I recovered. I apparently wanted to give the old knee one last workout too, because just a few days before surgery I was walking all over Austria and Germany with friends during Oktoberfest! Then it was back home and off to Twin Cities Orthopedics for a total knee replacement. Amazingly, I was up and walking the SAME DAY as the surgery. Two months later I was lightly golfing in December, and by January I was pretty much back to playing normally.
Fast forward one year and, while I wouldn't call the knee 100%, the difference is pretty incredible. I'm essentially free of the pain I once had and can certainly bike, golf, play pickleball and walk as much as I want without paying for it later that day or the next morning like before. I'm still hoping to eventually work some light jogging back into the mix, but overall the entire experience has been pretty mind blowing from a medical perspective. Thirty-some years after that original ACL surgery, I've basically been given another shot at doing the things I enjoy without constantly thinking about my knee!
There is one downside to having a few new pieces of hardware in me though. Airports and arena security scanners seem to find me a little more interesting these days. I guess I can finally say I'm officially carrying a little more metal with me wherever I go. 👊😝🤘
