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  1. #51
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    Jan 2006
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    Burlington, VT
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    186
    My leg is famous


  2. #52
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    WEEK 28 7 MONTHS UPDATE

    good week of workouts and PT. talked to the PT about the pain on my medial side of my left knee....what i thought was pain from the screws in my tibia. Upon further ispection the pain has translated about an inch and a half up the leg away from they screws. PT said the pain could either be screws translating pain, or scar tissue, or mcl problems, lots of possibilities. had some massage done in the area on the inside of my bad knee, real tender. pain goes all along the incision thats right above the skin graft (see my pics), so the closest we have to an answer right now is that it is MORE scar tissue causing some problems.

    good progress made in PT this week. moved from doing squats with a weighted ball to lifting just the bar. 3 sets of 15 (bad knee was was making real big audible POP on every lift first set) finally settled down and my last set felt real smooth. good feeling. I think it may be scar tissue at work or any number of patella problems or something seeing that i havent had anything cleaned up or anything yet.

    throwing 8lb ball with one hand, catching on the other side with the other hand while balancing on bad leg. good for the reflexes and balance.
    40LB hamstring pulls.
    80LB leg presses single leg.
    the hamstring is finally waking up which is a good feeling.

    Real sore with medial pain especially after massage and work out. I notice the pain when my leg is bent and under pressure. getting close to walking downstairs normal. I can hold on to the railing and go down, still not under all of my weight, but i can feel it getting closer. that will be the next major acheivment.
    Last edited by caddah; 04-13-2006 at 03:30 PM.

  3. #53
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    Jan 2006
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    186

    APRIL 15 2006

    had a really good work out and WALKED DOWN STAIRS THE RIGHT WAY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 209 DAYS

  4. #54
    Join Date
    May 2002
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    33,440
    Dude, that's some bum shit. Kreitler called me after he got on the comeback trail. He told me he did some mammalian stem cell injections in Germany and, knowing Kent, worked his ass off in PT. But he said he didn't feel like he had achieved 100% recovery. I turned him on to an orthobionomist and homeopathetic MD who have helped me considerably (I've broken my back a few times, have a lot of disc and bone degeneration and nerve damage as a result). He called me a couple months later and said their treatments did it -100%. Find a German-trained homeopath and get on organic foods. Makes a big difference.

  5. #55
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    Quote Originally Posted by splat
    Dude, that's some bum shit. Kreitler called me after he got on the comeback trail. He told me he did some mammalian stem cell injections in Germany and, knowing Kent, worked his ass off in PT. But he said he didn't feel like he had achieved 100% recovery. I turned him on to an orthobionomist and homeopathetic MD who have helped me considerably (I've broken my back a few times, have a lot of disc and bone degeneration and nerve damage as a result). He called me a couple months later and said their treatments did it -100%. Find a German-trained homeopath and get on organic foods. Makes a big difference.
    Holy crap...stem cell injections. mammalian means they came from an animal or something right. thats some pretty crazy stuff. I'm curious as to what sort of homeopathic treatments you would use for a dislocated knee. it's not really like your trying to cure a disease or something.

    HOMEOPATHIC DEFINITION : In homeopathic medicine, there is a belief that "like cures like," meaning that small, highly diluted quantities of medicinal substances are given to cure symptoms, when the same substances given at higher or more concentrated doses would actually cause those symptoms.


    I don't know how you would give small doses of knee dislocation to help fight the symptoms of knee dislocation, as opposed to a highly concentrated dose of knee dislocation which would cause you to have a knee dislocation. I don't know if I could find a German homeopath but it sounds like it worked for him. I would be really interested to know some of the specifics of Kreitler's surgeries and recovery. He got back so quick. thats partially becuase he didnt tear any arteries or anything like i did, but he probably had a very different set of surgeries etc. If you have any info on that i would definately appreciate it. As I'm getting stronger i can really feel how loose my knee is. It gives out in so many directions its an adventure getting anywhere. I'm really thinking about seeing my OS again to see what he thinks. I really want to get my knee tied together.

    *I know this has probably already been discussed here, but what are some good foods for helpin your knee out a little bit. are there any supplements that I should be using? It's hard to imagine it would help me out that much with my situation, but who knows.

  6. #56
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    186

    7.25 MONTHS 29 WEEKS

    interesting week of PT. Tuesdays workout went awesome. Leg was feeling real strong. wednesday i decided to be a moron and try lifting some logs with some buddies on the beach to make a bench. I think i tore my ass. no matter what i do, I have real bad pain right where my tail bone is. serious pain when going up stairs, sitting, squats, step downs, anything that contracts my butt muscles is killing me. So PT today ended up being a session of scar removal and stretching.

    So no real progress with the leg this week, but hopefully we got rid of some of the scar tissue. my incision on the medial side has gotten better, the fasciotomy incision on the outside is so bad, that you can see it constricting the muscle when ever i flex. real bad over there.

    I feel like Im falling apart, or made of glass or something. The damn dog backed up in to my bad leg too, bending it the wrong way . I'm not sure but i think i have a hang nail on my bad foot too. The foot still swells up from the surgeries and doesnt really fit in to my shoe. I think this is causing a hang nail that is starting to get real painful. I cut out the mesh out of some shoes to make ghetto sandals. hopefully theyll help.

    I'm done complaining, but not too much accomplished this week, just some slight set backs. atleast its nice out.

  7. #57
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    utah
    Posts
    4,649
    Quote Originally Posted by caddah
    *I know this has probably already been discussed here, but what are some good foods for helpin your knee out a little bit. are there any supplements that I should be using? It's hard to imagine it would help me out that much with my situation, but who knows.
    Depends on what you're trying to do. If swelling is an issue - turmeric and bromelain work well as natural anti-inflammatories. Bromelain = eat fresh pineapple.

    For supplements, my personal favorite is SAM-e - it seems to make the most difference. I also take a fish oil supplement, which is supposed to be helpful for your joints as well as overall health.

    And beyond that, I make sure I'm eating enough protein and good food in general so my body has what it needs to rebuild muscle.
    "Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, "Wow, what a Ride!"

  8. #58
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    California
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    is this thread hall of fame for shear courage and fortitude yet? It should be. A few of us in Mason Hall at UVM have seen this thread, and we toasted your leg last night, we're all pulling for you.
    Three fundamentals of every extreme skier, total disregard for personal saftey, amphetamines, and lots and lots of malt liquor......-jack handy

  9. #59
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
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    114
    Sorry to hear about your ordeal Caddah!

    Sounds like your your comming along a little better with each post though. I was just wondering if your doc or pt has recommended swimming? I had my right foot almost completely rebuilt a few years ago, and swimming with flippers on really made a world of difference in my ankle stiffness.

    Best wishes for your recovery!!!

    -Snowmiser-

  10. #60
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    Jan 2006
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    Quote Originally Posted by Snowmiser
    swimming with flippers on really made a world of difference in my ankle stiffness
    Yeah my ankle is almost holding me back right now just as much as my knee is. Its real stiff and Ive been havin a tough time gettin it working like i want to. PT says its my soleous sp? muscle. thats givin my trouble. I have pretty good dorsiflexion, ankle ROM when my knee is straight, but when i try to bend the ankle with a bent knee (i.e. squats, standing up, lunges.....) the ankle has a real tough time moving becuase I'm stretching that soleous muscle that is tight, you can only stretch it out with your knee bent.

    Vinman...whats your take on this??

    Water was out of the question with my skin graft, but now that that is mostly healed up hopefully theyll clear me for the water. the idea of swimming sounds awesome, and i could just imagine the flippers would definately help with stifness ROM.

    SoulSkier...appreciate the fellow UVM support. means alot. I'll cross campus drink to that.........mmmm beer and oxy....priceless

  11. #61
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    spitting distance from Mavericks
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    2,725
    wow- just stumbled across this thread and read through it all.

    caddah - you are amazing. What a totally great attitude, and way to stay positive and keep the energy healthy. I'm sure that will make a huge difference in your healing!

    If you had moments of being hugely pissed off and frustrated, you're very entitled to it. That's a gnarly story, and a crazy, scary injury. It really seems like you've kept positive though, and that's amazing.

    I've been through some injuries that are much more minor and less scary, but still very frustrating, so I can only imagine how this must have felt.

    And yes - chicks do dig scars, so you've got that going for you!
    “Within this furnace of fear, my passion for life burns fiercely. I have consumed all evil. I have overcome my doubt. I am the fire.”

  12. #62
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    318 Powder Lane
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    3,647
    [QUOTE=caddah
    Vinman...whats your take on this??[/QUOTE]
    A tight achillies or solues would definitly give you those kinds of problems. The fix is to basically stretch the achillies and soleus more.

    Hang in there mang you are bound to have set backs like this from time to time. Deal with them and roll with the punches.
    fighting gravity on a daily basis

    WhiteRoom Skis
    Handcrafted in Northern Vermont
    www.whiteroomcustomskis.com

  13. #63
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    30 WEEKS 7.5 MONTHS

    So I've had a rough week and a half. Kinda been in a rut, slump with not as much progress as i have been used to and with some small set backs.... Pulling muscles..... feeling very unstable in my knee....Not to mention I decided to just drop the oxyconten i have been taking for the last 7 months so that will put you in a strange mood. So good to finally be off that shit tho, at my high point i was taking 30 oxy's a day when i first injured myself, i weaned it down to 1 10mg a day, and about a week ago just decided to stop taking it altogethercause i was sick of it.

    anyway i think ive finally pulled out of this rut, PT went great today. I feel like im starting another postive curve in progress after my first real set back ive had.

    20 pound squats while balancing on exercise ball cut in half. theres gotta be a name for that thing
    50 pound hamstring curls
    side ways lunges (these went well, i was able to jump and land on my bad leg and push off pretty well.)
    lots of other balance and stability work

    problems are still with the ankle, we worked on that alot today to try to get it moving. its pretty much essential for going down stairs correctly along with quad strength which im working on alot too. lots of popping still in the knee, but it felt strong today. finally out of the slump and lookin up right now

  14. #64
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
    Posts
    186

    31 WEEKS

    Had lots of paper writing and studying to do over last weekend, so I didnt work out as much as i would have liked to. Going in to PT tuesday i thought i wasnt gonna do that well, But the knee felt real strong. PT went well.

    On thursday i had another Vascular check up which went well. no problems. Went to a trauma appt also to check out the skin graft. Guess i was supposed to wear the compression pants ALL THE TIME. got reemed out for not wearing them. Basically they are treating the skin graft the same as a burn victim. and the only way to keep my graft from hypertrophically scaring (just big lumpy scars) is compression on the area 23 out of 24 hours a day. purely cosmetic, but still they got pissed at me.

    went to PT thursday after the skin graft appt. didnt use my ace badage or compression pants. So for all my excersizes you could see my calf muscles etc through my skin graft(the graft is still kinda attached to my muscles.) it was wierd to see. stretching out my ankle in different directions you could see different areas turn white as they were stretched. which made my PT and i think that maybe the scaring on the skin graft is causing some of the problems i am having with ankle mobility. when stretching out the ankle, the skin graft gets real tight, and if it is still attached to muscle then possibly my graft may be restricting my calf, soleus, hamstrings.....

    got a freind to get me some SAM - e for cheap, as well as some fish oil triple omega somethin or orther. thinkin about trying it out. it says to consult a doctor before takin with other medicine. the only medicine im taking now are baby asprins at night for my vascular situation. anyone know if i could just start taking these things.....seems like it might be worth a shot. I'll probably let my doc know before i start takin them.

  15. #65
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    186

    8 MONTHS

    8 months since injury.

    knee has been feeling real strong and going down stairs is finally starting to get a little closer to normal. still very unstable though.

    tried one of these fuckin things in PT the other day




    the whole motion felt really good just becuase i play hockey and havnt been able to skate for 8 months. But it was definately a strain on ligaments i do not have. really painful at the top of my 'push' off on the bad leg. and a lot of strain on the knee while gliding.

    the day after tryin that my knee was the most sore it has been for a while. lots of pain trying to extend the knee from a bent position. pain right on the knee cap itself...maybe pateller tendon. dont know why but thats where it ended up hurting.

    still makin progress slowly. lookin forward to another OS appt in august...hopefully i will be strong enough to go in for the reconstruction. still a long road ahead.

  16. #66
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    8 MONTHS AND A WEEK

    PT is going real well. knee is feeling strong. worked on mobilizing the ankle ALOT. it is still one of the main things holding me back. no new excersizes but doing better at the ones i have done. if i had to put a number on it I think i would call myself at about 50 percent recovered. still look funny walkin down stairs, i can walk with almost no limp, and if i had to run from to cops...forget about it.

    got a new compression garment for my leg. skin graft is looking good. im supposed to wear this new one 23/24 hours of the day. we'll see ow that goes.

  17. #67
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
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    186
    8.5 MONTHS

    well this weekend will be 8 and a half months since injury. the knee is getting stronger. just alot of pain right on the top of the knee cap when under a load. and the crunching/popping/grinding/noise that comes outta my knee has gotten so bad that i can clearly hear crunching over my squeaky ass stairs when i walk up them. thats always nice.

    it actually feels pretty stable too except for forces in one direction. i have almost no support against a force on my lower leg from the medial side.

    anyway...the big issue is still my DAMN ANKLE. just not moving. my PT is stumped, so anyone out there who might think that have a solution give me a hollar. the problem is stretching my soleus. just cant get to it, my ankel is blocked and i cant get a stretch. which is really frustrating when i didnt injur my ankle.

    with a bent knee, dorsiflexion, or moving the ankle UP towards the knee just does not happen, witch is really holding me back on stairs etc. today i had work done it, trying to mobilize it. my PT was putting all her weight in to it just trying to get things moving. the third time we tried mobilizing it all of a sudden my ankle just POPPED. felt like a bomb went off in my foot. huge loud pop and i could feel it all through my leg. just sounded like something snapped. she backed off for a sec cause she thought she broke my damn ankle, but it just popped and actually felt really good, like a relief of pressure.

    ankle is really sore, but thats the situation as of now.

  18. #68
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    Mar 2004
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    ME
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    stay positive! keep up the good work...
    "A local is just a dirtbag who can't get his shit together enough to travel."

    - Owl Chapman

  19. #69
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    Nov 2005
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    Keep up the good work Caddah! Sounds like you're making progress. Is your graft well enough assimilated to start manually working the scar? I guess your PT should know about that but if you can, you can start loosening the scar tissue from the underlying tissue. I don't know if that's bad with a graft.

    I'm three weeks out of my surgery and I've just started. No flexing past 90 for another week and no weight bearing for another three.

    Any word on your ligaments? I guess you don't even want to think about more surgery right now. Stay positive.
    There's nothing better than sliding down snow, and flying through the air

  20. #70
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    Jan 2006
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    SO things with the knee feel good. I am walking around with almost no limp. I just saw some old freinds this weekend who couldnt believe how good i was doing after what they heard happened to me. I looked like i was completely normal. Walking is no problem. knee is feeling stable and strong.

    Ankle is feeling much better. That HUGE POP at phisical therapy was a MAJOR break through and it is bending much better now. my leg is ridden with internal and external scar tissue that just needs to be broken apart. once the scar tissue in my ankle popped i could feel my ankle free up immediately. walking down stairs is still not normal but going alot better.

    Right now i am pissed becuase i havent been able to go to physical therapy for the last week and a half becuase of insurance shit. paper work bull shit that keeps me from doing what i need to do. one company has to decline before another will accept and thier stupid bullshit is costin me.

    I have been working as much as i can on it, I am lucky enough to have free access to a pretty good gym. So i cant be too mad.

    Things are looking good, and the hard work is paying off. I am looking forward to seeing the ortho in august to pick his brain about how he plans on fixing my knee. I will definately need multiple lig reconstruction if i want to play the sports i want to at the level i want to in the future. It will probably mean alot more down time and rehab, but I want this knee back to good as possible. and every step is interesting when you dont have anything holding your knee together except scar tissue. the graf scar is not a problem is is all healed and not giving me any trouble. the scaring holding me back are the deep incisions that were closed and are binding muscles inside my leg.

    hopefully ill get back to PT soon.

  21. #71
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
    Posts
    186
    STILL WAITING ON F'ING INSURANCE

    NO PT

  22. #72
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    Jan 2006
    Location
    Burlington, VT
    Posts
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    Havnt posted here in a while. Im at 10.5 months post injury. for the past 2 months i have not had any PT because of some really shitty insurance paper shuffling that has kept me from doing what i need to do. I do have access to the university gym so i have working out there on my own alot, but im sure i would have gained alot more with some professionsal help.

    i am walking up and down stairs pretty well these days. there is lots of cracking and popping in my knee that can be heard when doing so tho. I have been riding my bike on pretty level trails, and i have been able to swim, although the kicking motion really hurts the knee. my muscle mass on the bad leg is probably half of the good leg. i go in to see my ortho tomorrow for the big check up and to see where we go from here.

    im hoping for some good news. see if i can get back on skiis this winter or not.

  23. #73
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    Nov 2005
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    Good luck at the Doc tomorrow!
    There's nothing better than sliding down snow, and flying through the air

  24. #74
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    Burlington, VT
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    So I had my check up with the doctor to see where we go from here in terms of my knee injury. He checked me out and said that considering my injury i am doing very well. probably in the top 5 percent of people with similar injuries. I told him that i was not satisfied with such an unstable knee and that i was not willing to change my lifestyle becuase of this. I am 21 years old....way to yound to give up sports.

    Well he put me through a ton of laxity tests. the injured leg is LOOOOOOOOSE. about 1 centimeter of laxity in some directions. Basically 3 out of my 4 major ligaments are completely craped out. that would probably explain why my knee is loose.



    I have for all intensive purposes....NO ACL, PCL, and LCL. the pic about kinda illustrates how these ligaments snapped. when i dislocated the knee, my lower leg rotated in the direction shown. basically my lower leg was perpendicular ( at a 90 degree angle) with my femur. so this just bunched up the medial side, but snapped anything holding my knee together on the lateral side.

    The doctor said that he can make my knee better and more stable. The plan is to reconstruct 5 ligaments total. The ACL, PCL, LCL, and then 2 secondary ligaments on the lateral side. forgot the exact name. illiotibial ligament or something. All would be cadaver becuase of the number of ligaments that have to be reconstructed. 2 would be able to be done arthroscopically. the other three would require open knee surgury. it would take an entire day to do the work. probably a 6-10 hour surgury. he is confident that all grafts would take well. the only one he has had trouble with is PCL's which he says tend to stretch out more than the ACL. over all, the knee would be much more stable.

    immediate recovery would be 6-9 weeks on crutches. 10 degress of flexion added every week up to 60 degrees, than more flexion is ok.

    Its a very big surgury, but something i think i have to get done. Im thinking about doing it on chrismas break. So another season of no skiing, but this has to get done.



    here comparison pic of my good and bad leg. i think you can figure out which is which. even with squats, and presses, it has been very hard to build muscle on the bad leg.



    any experts have a take on this. should i get a second opinion for shits and giggles.

  25. #75
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    Jan 2006
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    Burlington, VT
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    186
    Sugury set up for early december. 5 Ligament reconstruction. prolly looking at another 6 months at the least of recovery. keepin my fingers crossed for NEXT winter.

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