Knowing me is not bad luck... I swear! [6+ months post-op]

[Alternate title..." If only Dr. Shapiro gave cash for referrals, I'd be rich!"]

3 days of snowboarding in Colorado and all I had to show for it was a nice scratch on the face (thanks, tree run...), an all-over soreness of muscles I forgot I owned and a lovely bruise on my knee from a chairlift-exiting gracefulness not often seen in those parts! The knees held up great, I felt confident out there and was happy I could keep up with the lovely ladies I traveled with!

And in the spirit of returning to things I love... Last night I had the pleasure of playing volleyball again with some fantastic folks I played with about a year ago, who I really enjoy playing with! The unfortunate part of it all was that one of the girls (Miranda) was out due to a knee injury the week before, so that's why I was subbing. When arriving to the gym I asked if anyone had heard how Miranda's doctor's appointment had gone I learned that she had, in fact, torn her ACL ("NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!").  Boo! Hiss! Dislike!!

Miranda is already set with a doctor (thought I'd happily recommend my own) and it just got me thinking how common ACL tears seem to be. I blame fun, active lifestyles and surrounding myself with people who enjoy the same activities I do! It also reminded me of when my girlfriend, Wendy, got the unfortunate ACL diagnosis on the same day I had my last appointment with Dr. S from my first surgery! That's why I must reiterate - knowing me isn't bad luck. But if we're pals, there is a good chance you enjoy a good soccer, volleyball or flag football game as much as me, and I'll keep my fingers crossed that you won't ever have the pleasure of an ACL reconstruction. But if you DO... I know a decent blog you can reference..  :)

Tearin' it Up (The Good Way!) in Tahoe [10.5 Month Post-Op]

I had the pleasure of being able to go to Tahoe for 4 days of snowboarding last weekend, and just in time for some fresh powder to plow through! I had gotten back on my board in December for a few hours in up north Michigan, but that was no indication of how hitting the slopes for 6-7 hours per day would treat my surgical knee!

Let me take away the suspense and say... it was a GREAT SUCCESS!! Prior to the trip I thought of bringing an ice bag or extra motrin (even some leftover vicodin, in case??) but I threw caution to the wind when packing and figured I'd just play it by ear. In the end, while my body did get exhausted over the trip (as a high elevation, shreddin'-up-the-mountain-all-day-long kind of trip will do!) but I never felt like my knee was the cause of many aches or pains, specifically.

One real worry of mine was being partially strapped into my board when heading for a lift or traversing a flatter trail. My surgical leg is my lead leg, so it was the one that was still strapped to the board. This meant as I "skateboarded" along, my surgical leg was sideways (outside of the foot headed forward, toes pointed right) while the rest of my body wanted to face entirely forward and then push along on the board. This meant extra twisting in my surgical knee and if, god forbid, I lost my balance or caught an edge of the board and took a spill, this knee I've worked so hard on could take the brunt of it. Luckily, nothing of the sort happened, despite the handful of spills I did take over the course of the trip!

There were a few times when I thought my knee was getting tired or twisted too much; even the weight of the board hanging from that leg as we rode lift after lift seemed a little bothersome after a while! But in the end there was no additional soreness or swelling to make me believe that what I *thought* was a little extra pain was probably just the same 'ol feeling.

All this said, here's a little entertainment, and one of the times I was grateful for a few inches of fresh powder to break my fall.... ;)

I guess I can check another fave activity off the list of things I've yet to do post-op. Hooray for a reconstructed ACL!