How I Tore My ACL?

I want to recollect upon my journey. I had goal in the beginning of this year to lose weight, so I finally joined a gym. From January until the first week of March, I had been consistently exercising and also eating right. I stopped eating junk food and eating after midnight. I felt very good about myself, because I lost about 30 lbs since last year. Unfortunately, I kept on pushing myself especially when I was running the treadmill in the gym. Whats the problem about speeding up in the treadmill and also going fasting using the bicycle? You strain your muscles and your joints become weaker.Throughout my entire life, my left ankle has always been slowing me down. I still remember every moment of what happened to me the first time I sprained my left ankle. In eight grade when I was 13 years old, I was playing for my volleyball team. I jumping up to spike then I rolled on my ankle. I became too stubborn to go to the doctor and time after time I sprained my ankle from those big cracks on the sidewalks or falling down the stairs. I have a very strong ankle brace that I use and it keeps my ankle straight. I never had a thought in my mind that I would need surgery for ankle. Up to this day I would occasionally twist my ankle and the pain would become very intense as each injury accord. For about 8 years I have been ignoring this problem by avoiding to visit the doctor.

 Unfortunately, I was wrong and this time it wasn’t my ankle that slowed me down. Here’s something I remember from a couple of years ago. Everyone knows I am a big Nets fan. If anyone remembers the breakout rookie, Nenad Kyrstic, in 2007 against the LA Lakers he fell hard on his knee. He’s seven feet tall, but the pain was too severe for him to even walk…He tore his ACL.

 More than 8 years later on March 1, 2012 at around 4 in the afternoon, the inevitable happened to me. While playing an old childhood favorite game of mine, Dance Dance Revolution, at Dave and Busters. I forced my aching body to jump and shuffle around while following the arrows, the moment I jumped I fell really hard on my knee and heard a loud pop. Needless to say the hardest part about this accident was I was out with my boyfriend and my two roommates. I am the type of person who doesn’t want to slow anyone down and I always try to hide the physical and emotional pain. No one really noticed I fell on my knee but I was limping in pain while walking around Palisades Mall. While walking out to the parking lot, I tried stepping onto the ground, but I fell again. This time, it was even more painful. Everyone will say that the pain wasn’t as bad as Derrick Rose or Mariano Rivera, because they had to be carted off the field with the help of many people. Unfortunately, I am very stubborn since I don’t want anyone to know that I am in pain. I refused to go to the ER that night, because I didn’t want my parents to be worried about me, so therefore for about 2 weeks I fought through the pain and it subsided for a while. I went to the doctor after getting my MRI at the end of the month and I found out that I tore my ACL and meniscus. I was very devastated. It felt as if a needle punctured my heart because I had goals for the summer to find a paid internship in the city, work at the Stadium during the concerts and also the State Fair, be able to feel the ocean water beneath my feet, and lastly walk around the city for hours. I love to be able to go out and be active. I wanted to lose weight and be able to be confident in myself again, but unfortunately the doctor said to me this injury would be a long road to recovery due to the physical therapy. 6 to 9 months is a long time. Needless to say, I didn’t want to slow down anyone I was close with because I am very independent. I am always going to question to God why did He allowed this to happen to me. Someday I will know his purpose.

Here is a picture of what your ACL looks like when it is torn:

My knee has lost its stability so basically in pain English this meant that I felt like my knee was going to give out and fall each time I walk. At least once a week prior to the surgery it felt like as if my knee gave out I thought that there was going to be more damage to my left knee.