gettin' there

One month post op. Doing fine. Rode the trainer with no resistance last night. Was a struggle to get my knee to bend that far. Going to the pool tonight to do some light kicking and laps with a float. Dr. says I can be partial weight bearing in 4 more weeks. Not as bad as 10-12. I'll be walking by the time Jane and I go sailing in the BVI.

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) LIVE from Robert Berge on Vimeo.

There goes my comeback season.

Son of a bitch. Went on a ski trip to Colorado with my wife Jane. Arrived late Wednesday night. Thursday morning, woke up and went to the mountain. Second run and I break my left leg. I've snowboarded for a long time and never ventured into skiing due to the risk of knee injuries. my right knee has been through some surgeries already and I didn't want a repeat. but last season I started skiing and really enjoyed it.
I skied a bunch locally this year at Mt. Lacrosse, - got maybe 10 days in, and I was skiing very well and having a great time. In the accident, I had an awkward slow motion fall. I lost my balance and my right ski was off the ground and I was rotating to my right around my left leg which was still on the snow. I fractured my tibial plateau on the lateral aspect of my left leg. The worse part was is that there was a bunch of depressed bone on the plateau and my lateral meniscus was torn in half.

About a week after the accident I had surgery back in La Crosse. The had to elevate the depressed fragments and sort of piece things back together. In addition, they had to graft underneath the depressed bone fragments so they could be supported by bone. I received a titanium plate and a bunch of screws to hold things together. The photo isn't of my leg but it basically is the same thing.

So now I'm just 1 week post op and doing pretty good. I won't be able to bend the knee for another 3 weeks to allow the torn cartilage to try and heal. I really have no pain at this time. It just sucks being on crutches. Maybe as soon as 10 weeks I'll be able to put partial weight on the leg. That is a long time though. I believe though I'll start PT and working out the leg as soon as I'm allowed to bend it. Also, according to the Dr. as soon as I can make a pedal stroke, I'm free to ride the trainer. Going back to work tomorrow. Luckily my job is mostly sitting down and I can prop my leg up while I work. I already tried it out with Jane - I think it will be ok.

So this means my season is pretty much shot. I'll be riding by summer, but won't have any fitness. We'll see how that goes, but likely won't be doing much racing this year. I was more focused and pumped about having an awesome season on the bike than any time before. Looks like that will get pushed back another year.

The down side to this type of injury is developing arthritis afterwards is almost 100%. Another Dr. made the comment that I will definitely need a knee replacement sometime. Hopefully long time from now. I'm advised to never run or do high impact stuff. I'll do cross again but not this fall, the jumping off the bike might be too much too soon. I can't afford any more injury. At least cycling is the best exercise for bad knees.