My Torn ACL - The Official Diagnosis

If you want to know how I injured my knee in a foreign country - check out the previous blog post on the full story here: The Knee that Pops

Once I made it back to the states, I made an appointment with a local orthopedist - Dr. Kissel with St. Vincent's Hospital. They asked that I bring the copy of the x-ray with me. The Bulgarian hospital gave it to me for free and it was on a CD.

First Appointment

With the doctor's office, I was able to fill out all the paperwork online. Score! This was going to save me some time. The receptionists were so sweet and were laughing and telling all sorts of stories. I did not wait very long and was called back.

I told the nurse the story and showed him the CD. He took the CD but after a few minutes of trying to read it - the computer would not read it. So off for more x-rays. The technician had me stand in two different ways and lay down for one x-ray. These were done very quickly. 

Dr. Kissel came in and he confirmed the Bulgarian x-ray results - no breaks. This was a relief. He listened to my story and then looked at both my knees. He moved them a bit and said next steps were an MRI. They would order it, I'd have it done and then I'd see him in a week. 

MRI

A couple of days later, the MRI place contacted me for an appointment. I was able to schedule one for first thing Saturday morning. Another wonderful thing since I'm always up early and I would not have to miss work. 

They called me back and took me to a room where I could lock up my purse and cell phone. Luckily a sweet friend told me that the room is cold. I brought a sweatshirt and socks to stay comfortable. I was very glad I had those on.

Since I was just having a knee scan, from my chest up was out in the open and not in the MRI machine. I'm not generally claustrophobic but I think I would be if my head was in there. They put my knee in a cradle and stuffed cushion around it to help hold it in place. Next, they gave me some earplugs. The nurse then left the room and my "bed" moved into the machine. The machine started up and made lots of very strange clicking sounds. 

I tried to sleep since it can take 20+ minutes for the MRI. I guess as I relaxed my muscles twitched because the nurse entered in a few minutes later and said I had moved. Ooops. So when she left I was determined to make this a good session. I stayed awake (bored out of my mind) and kept my left tense so it would not move. After what felt like forever, but was probably 15 minutes - the nurse returns and says I am all good to go. They would send the results to my doctor. 

Second Appointment

This is the day! I'll be able to find out what is wrong with me knee and make a plan to get it fixed. I'm hoping it is a torn meniscus and some therapy will help it. 

The doctor walks into the room with a sheet of paper. It's the results. I'm sitting on my hands at the point. I was so nervous. He reads the paper and the first line is "torn ACL". Sigh. Not what I was hoping for at all. There is more news too - tear in the meniscus and a fracture in the tibia. 

So what are the next steps? The doctor says that the longer I go without repairing the ACL, the earlier I can get arthritis. Nope don't want that. Dr. Kissel recommends coming back later that week to meet with Dr. Cusmariu. Dr. Kissel has not worked on ACLs in a while and Dr. Cusmariu has more recent experience with them. 

Leaving the appointment, I try my best not to cry. This was not the news I wanted but I try my best to think positively.