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On March 12, 1999 I was having a good
day. I was 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and a triple. I came up for
my fifth at bat and hit a slow roller to third. While sprinting
toward first base I noticed I couldn't even see the bag. The first
baseman was huge and covering the whole base. The throw from the
third baseman went inside the baseline, which led to the first baseman going into the base line, and
then into a solid collision with me.
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Locking myself up in the
immobilizer.
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Right before we collided, I
planted my right foot into the dirt. After I ran into him, my body
was twisted to the left, but my right foot remained planted. This
caused my right knee to be bent sideways at a very extreme
measure. I went down in extreme pain, at first worrying that I had
broken my leg. Since we were short handed that day, I switched to
playing first base. I was able to hobble around and I assumed that I
had just twisted my knee. After icing it up that night my knee was
still hurting and I was hobbling around for a while.
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After this kept up for a few days I realized
that it was worse than just a sprain. After getting medical advice
from various friends and associates I made the trip to the doctor
(probably should have done that a little sooner). The doctor told me he
was 99% sure it was a torn ACL. After an MRI it went up to 100%
sure.
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What the scar looks like 2 1/2
weeks post-op.
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I had heard of torn ACL's from pro
sports, but not from anyone I knew. After doing some research on the
subject, I came to the realization that I was in for a huge ordeal.
The surgery is pretty basic nowadays, but the rehab is a real pain.
You have to learn to walk again, because by the time you're able to stand
up again, your muscles are so weak they have forgotten how to work.
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As I write this, I am one day over 3 weeks
post-op. The normal pain has been gone for a little while now, but
the pain in physical therapy and in my own exercises continues to
grow. It's all worth it though, because this is really an example of
"no pain, no gain". I just can't wait until I can bend my
knee all the way and all I have to worry about is strengthening it.
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My Physical Therapist putting
the pressure on my knee.
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More important now is what they call
"extension", which means getting my leg totally straight (It's
only a couple of degrees off now). One exercise for this involves me
laying on my stomach on my bed and hanging my leg off of my bed and
strapping Cheree's purse on to it to help weigh it down and force it to be
straight.
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Speaking of Cheree, she has been a huge help
in all of this. Whether it has been driving me around, making meals
for me, or helping in some of my exercises I really don't know how I could
have done this without her. She has even put up with sleeping on an
air mattress at my place just so she could be there to help me.
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Getting the electro-shock
treatment.
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One major goal is to be able to play baseball
again next season. It's hard to sit on the sidelines every game, but
if I didn't have the surgery I'd have to deal with not playing the field
or running on the bases for the rest of my life. Luckily we've
picked up some good new players this year and everyone is hitting the
cover off the ball. For anyone who may be reading this wondering if an ACL
surgery is right for them, you just have to ask yourself if you'll be OK
living a less active life for the rest of your life.
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Sure, the recovery is grueling and at
times you wonder why you put yourself through this, but in the end when I
can run do everything without worrying about my knee it will all be worth
it. What's the best advice I can give? Probably something a
friend told me. "No matter how much your therapist is hurting you, do
what they say, it's all in your best interest."
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Icing down after another fun
day in physical therapy.
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