My Knee
Back in February, I hurt my knee pretty significantly. I was playing basketball during lunch at work when I drove to the basket. I left my feet just inside the free throw line and made a sweet pass to a team mate for an easy lay up. When I came down on my left knee, there was a sharp pain. The best way I could describe it would be to imagine that a dozen knives where inside my knee and trying to poke their way out. I kept my weight off of it for a few minutes and started to walk it off. The pain subsided to the point where it was bearable and I tried to play some more. There was some pain whenever I landed on my left leg as I ran but nothing that would have kept me from continuing. The big problem was when I tried to move laterally. When trying to make a move to the side to stay in front of a player that I was defending, I could feel my knee separate and the pain was extreme every time it would happen. After a couple of times, I decided that it was better if I just walked off the court before I did any more damage to it.
For the following week, I couldn't walk without a limp. A couple weeks after that I could finally begin to walk without any pain. The logical thing would have been to see a doctor and have the knee checked out. I called my insurance to see if that sort of thing was covered. They basically told me it was but it wasn't. I had to incur $5000 worth of expenses before they would begin to pay for any treatment. Anything above the $5000 would only be covered by a certain percentage which I can't recall. Needless to say, once I heard the $5000 number, I figured I would just let it heal on it's own.
Now it's late June and I haven't been doing much exercise for the last 4+ months. I've easily gained about 20 lbs. and I don't feel very good about my health. I tried playing basketball a few times but each time I didn't feel the knee was strong enough to really go for it. Last night, I went out and played and it was the first time that I felt that I could run up and down the court with a bit of confidence. I am still no where near 100% yet. The knee is probably closer to 60% of normal and most likely will never be 100% healed but it was good to get out there and score a couple of baskets. I figure by this time next year, I will be back to my old self. I just need to work off this extra weight and continue to exercise to get that knee and leg strong again.
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