Saturday, July 30, 2011

i'm (back to being) a mess part 7

"Indeterminate grade 3 signal intensity in the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus. Allowing for partially obscuring magnetic susceptibility artifacts, ACL graft appears intact."

That up there? That would be my MRI results. What does it mean in English? That my ACL graft seems to be intact (phew) and that I probably have a tear in the back of my lateral meniscus. Unfortunately, my orthopedist is on vacation until at least Tuesday, and my physical therapist hasn't gotten back to me with what she thinks, so I have no idea yet of what the next step should be. I've done some researching (bad idea, I know) and it seems that grade three is generally treated surgically. I also think that since it's been just about two months without noticeable improvement means that arthroscopic surgery is a strong possibility. 

In a way, it's good to finally know what's going on - to know what's causing the pain. However, the idea of any sort of surgery is really frightening, especially living alone and my family being over two hundred miles away. Luckily the rehabilitation for this procedure would be far less painful than the ACL - only four to six weeks. Basically, I will do whatever my doctor recommends if it means that I'll be pain free and can go back to my normal life and activities. 

I'm making a conscious effort to think positively about all of this, which, as you know goes against every fiber of my personality. BUT DAMNIT I'M GOING TO TRY.

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