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| October 16, 2010 | | Status update: New Blog: 23 1/2 Weeks and a I am terrified!! | | It has now been 23 1/2 weeks since Dr. Glashow and his assistant Chris Prezzano transplanted a De Novo NT Allograft into my left knee. When I was less than two months removed from having this procedure I blogged that as I began to ramp up the rehab that at times my knee was in a nutshell "HOLY CRAP SORE AS ASS!!!" Well that was short lived and generally, I have improved week to week.
Whenever I do not feel great, I think back to one of my earliest conversations with Chris and Dr. Glashow when they told me that as I begin to use the knee that it would get sore. They were so right. For weeks, we have upped the workouts. During this time, I have had a couple of setbacks. For example, I talked previously about a pop that scared me to death and I have talked about lingering pain near the fat pad. Notwithstanding these issues, I continued to recover workout to workout and I got better week to week.
Why am I terrified? Lately, I have not recovered week to week. In addition, now, I have a very sharp pain running vertically along the medial knee. I also feel pain along the joint line when the knee is supported and sometimes when it was unsupported. In addition, this pain is exacerbated when I load the knee doing single leg curls or step downs. I seriously hope the graft has not been compromised!!!!
The joint has also been swelling more than it has been. In fact, this week, it was so inflamed that I had Dr. Michael Lee drain it. After he took some fluid out the knee felt much better. There was no blood in the fluid and the viscosity was good. More importantly, the fluid has not returned.
Just like the last time I had a setback, Dr. Glashow and Chris were on it immediately. We corresponded via email and again via telephone. Because I am nearly six months into the recovery process, they thought it would be best if I come to New York for another MRI and an examination.
In addition, Nate and Co. have been all over the situation as well. As a result, they shut me completely down this week. I was instructed to do absolutely nothing. I have followed their instruction to the letter. It is still their belief that I have developed a strong Patella Femoral syndrome and that the pain I feel vertically stems from that. This syndrome can happen when the medial VMO does not fire and the IT band continues to get tighter and tighter. As a result, the joint capsule gets stretched things get impinged, and I have pain like I currently am experiencing.
On my way to New York, I am stopping off in Las Vegas where they have a brand new "Open MRI." This MRI allows the Dr. to see the joint under "load" and at extension and flexion. The more information that Dr. Glashow has the better. Once I arrive in New York, I will have another MRI done there that will be compared to the one that I had the last week in July. Here is a shot of the OPEN MRI. I will put one up of me in it next week.
There is a very good chance that Chris and Dr. Glashow will scope the joint on Tuesday. It is my sincere hope that everything will be ok. I seriously do not want to return to Phoenix like this:
Ah - the blast from the past. Below is a shot with me and Chris McCormack at Ironman Germany - the European Ironman Championships - July 2009. Chris is a two-time Ironman World Champion. He was incredibly friendly and I enjoyed a brief chat with him. I miss traveling to events like the European Championships and this longing drives me to recover.
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