Yesterday I got the news that my surgery was approved by my insurance. Which by the way, this has not been an easy thing to conquer!!!! I didn't mention all that as it would have taken 100 pages. Long story short, my insurance isn't easy to get "outside Providers" approved!
So.....I am now approved for the surgery. I will be on a tissue donation recipent list next week and the wait will begin for a new mensicus! Never did I think it would feel this weird....I am essentially waiting for someone to die so that I may get a "new knee." It's not like a heart or lung, but still I am finding it to be really weird. Also due to the fact that the person has to be relatively young and in good health/physical shape. Now when I finally get this it's not like an organ where I am on call as it can be frozen, so the projected date is on or around Sept. 21, 2011.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
How it all started....
I was a meire 13 years old when I recieved my first injury. It was the evening of the 4th of July and I was enjoying a fun game of Volleyball with the other neighbor kids. I went up for the ball, my friend went down for the ball and well my right knee got in the way and POW I was hurt. About 6 months later just before I turned 14 I had my first surgery. It was an arthroscopic surgery. I was told that I had a medial torn mensicus. (out side of the leg...mensicus is the cushion between the bones so they don't rub.) I had this portion of my tear removed. About 3 or so years later I began having problems again in that same area, so an MRI was done and I was told I had another tear, so yup, surgery again. Then a few years later, same thing, and a few years later, yup, same thing......by now it was a total of 4 surgeries on my right knee. By this time I began to question why I kept tearing the meniscus. I was active, etc but didn't seem to really be doing anything for these kind of tears to happen. Finally my surgeon said he thought it had something to do with the allignment of my knees. He called it inward valgous, or "knock knee." Of course it isn't completely noticable by many but was told that this is probably the reason for me to continue to have these tears.
I was told that I may be a candidate for a mensicus allograph (or transplant from a cadaver) so I was sent to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle to see a sports medicine/Orthopeadic specialist. This was when things really began to change.....
I was told that yes the reasons for the continued tears is the knock knees. I was then told that I could not get a mensicus allograph because of the allignment of my knee. So I was prescribed a knee brace, something that reminds me of Forrest Gump, oh and not to mention it was an $850 brace. So off I went with that.
A few months later I decided it may be beneficial to get a second opinon so off I went to see another Surgeon. He is at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.
This is when my life has really began to change..........
I was told that I was a prime candidate for a "femoral osteotomy with a mensicus allograph"....now in english.....a fracture of the femur to re allign the knee and get a mensicus transplant. I was told that I would highly benefit from this until I am old enough to get a total knee replacement. So after much discussion and research, etc I have decided to go ahead with this. And well, this is how I got #1 on my left and #5 on my right.
Yup, you guessed, I had MORE tears in my mensicus. So I was fixed on the left and now have nothing left on my right....the process has begun....read more to follow.
I was told that I may be a candidate for a mensicus allograph (or transplant from a cadaver) so I was sent to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle to see a sports medicine/Orthopeadic specialist. This was when things really began to change.....
I was told that yes the reasons for the continued tears is the knock knees. I was then told that I could not get a mensicus allograph because of the allignment of my knee. So I was prescribed a knee brace, something that reminds me of Forrest Gump, oh and not to mention it was an $850 brace. So off I went with that.
A few months later I decided it may be beneficial to get a second opinon so off I went to see another Surgeon. He is at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.
This is when my life has really began to change..........
I was told that I was a prime candidate for a "femoral osteotomy with a mensicus allograph"....now in english.....a fracture of the femur to re allign the knee and get a mensicus transplant. I was told that I would highly benefit from this until I am old enough to get a total knee replacement. So after much discussion and research, etc I have decided to go ahead with this. And well, this is how I got #1 on my left and #5 on my right.
Yup, you guessed, I had MORE tears in my mensicus. So I was fixed on the left and now have nothing left on my right....the process has begun....read more to follow.
Why am I doing this?
Hello,
My name is Tara and I just turned 28 last week. I am in the process of planning my 6th knee surgery for my right and just had my 1st on my left and the 5th on the right only 3 months ago. Every day I struggle with my knee problems and at times find myself asking, Why me? Or why did this have to happen? Then also finding myself also thinking that I really don't have it that bad compared to some. Nonetheless, I thought starting a blog for others to learn my history and follow the process of my next surgery.
I know that there are many many more young adults like myself that have and are also facing the same issues that I face everyday. I hope that by reading my failures and sucesses, what has worked and what has not worked will help you inform yourself and also find some support that you are not alone in this "adventure!"
So here it goes, my first blog....Tara's knees! Trying to live my life with knee problems.
My name is Tara and I just turned 28 last week. I am in the process of planning my 6th knee surgery for my right and just had my 1st on my left and the 5th on the right only 3 months ago. Every day I struggle with my knee problems and at times find myself asking, Why me? Or why did this have to happen? Then also finding myself also thinking that I really don't have it that bad compared to some. Nonetheless, I thought starting a blog for others to learn my history and follow the process of my next surgery.
I know that there are many many more young adults like myself that have and are also facing the same issues that I face everyday. I hope that by reading my failures and sucesses, what has worked and what has not worked will help you inform yourself and also find some support that you are not alone in this "adventure!"
So here it goes, my first blog....Tara's knees! Trying to live my life with knee problems.
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