Why did I need an operation?

Some would say the answer to the question above is simply 'football'.
Ok, I tore the ACL in my right knee whilst I was playing football but it wasn't the game itself that caused the injury.

It happened because I was in a crouched position (as you are supposed to do when defending) and slightly side on to the play. I then pushed off with my right leg whilst turning to my left and having my knees bent. The pitch was sticky and my studs didn't move through the mud.
My lower leg therefore was pretty much stationary whilst the upper leg was turning, causing me to over extend the ligament in my right knee.

I heard a very loud click/popping noise (which was audible on the sidelines apparently) and there was a lot of pain. The comedy moment of falling to the floor and yelling in agony will live long in my teammates minds (so they tell me), especially the banging of the ground with my fist - i swear it helped. It was more of frustration that I knew I was going to be out of action for a while rather than the pain.

I managed to get up, walk off the pitch and even do some light running. I even tried to carry on playing, but after kicking the ball once I knew I wasn't going to be able to continue.

Interestingly there wasn't much pain. Certainly in the weeks that followed, although I couldn't straighten my leg, or fully flex it, I could do pretty much everything else.

To cut a long story short, I saw various healthcare professionals but the knee specialist told me that I had torn my ACL and got an MRI scan which confirmed it. The options were to not have an operation, but not to play football again and be very careful playing sports involving planting the feet and twisting, or have an operation, risk it failing and not being able to play football for 9-12 months.

To be honest, I wanted my body back in working order and didn't want to be restricted now or in later life, so I plumped for the op. Deciding that some pain and a slow recovery were preferable to not playing football ever again!

Here's some interesting websites that explain how the knee works and some common injurieis

http://www.arthroscopy.com/sp05000.htm
http://www.ski-injury.com/

So, my firms private healthcare kicked in and I got a date for the op of 15th Feb.

I'd already booked a ski holiday for the end of Jan, and foolishy had not gotten travel insurance. So without a willing buyer I decided to go. I got travel insurance (and will now be purchasing it annually to avoid this problem again) and also a hardcore knee brace, which I was told I had to wear to avoid causing more injury.

Here's a link to the website of the firm where I bought it from.
http://www.technologyinmotion.co.uk/flash/knee-bracing/index.htm
I bought the flex sport one (the white one) as it was slightly slighter than the Edge brace, and not as rigid. This might have given me more confidence that I should have to go down black runs, so I plunged for the other brace.
This firm were really helpful, and because they are based in Wimbledon I could go and try it on before buying.
It was expensive though, and for a weeks sport seemed like a lot of money.

So with most of my work finished or handed over to colleagues and my flat as organised as I could get it I set up camp at my parents house, where my initial recovery would begin. the hospital I was in was private so I could take my PS2 in, which staved off boredom.

Unanswerered questions

Pre-op is a funny time. I wasn't sure exactly where they were taking the graft from, or how I was going to wash and perform other bodily functions if I couldn't move.

Fortunately the nurses and consultants answered all the questions and the aneasthetist was also very helpful.

At about 2pm on 15th, I took a premed (basically sleeping pills of some description) and some painkillers. This was after the nurses had shaved my knee - using a really funky razor that could be used dry (why aren't these available in the shops?), given me a natty anti-embelism pair of tights, the delightful paper pants and the open at the back dressing gown. So feeling slightly like an experimental animal and very drowsy I was wheeled off to theatre.

At this point, there was much to worry about; I'd set myself on the path of the op and the unknowns such as the level of pain were experiences waiting to happen. I'd done as much as I could to make sure I wasn't going to be bored not working, or being able to move and although there are always risks with surgery I knew that God was with me throughout the whole thing.

My main prayer was that they wouldn't operate on the wrong leg!