AND HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!!
Wishing everyone a day where you feel extra loved, appreciated, valued, fulfilled, and grateful to be YOU!!!!! A day where your heart feels truly, genuinely, HAPPY. Hence, the Happy Heart Day in addition to the traditional Happy Valentine’s Day that is associated with channeling your love towards a special being in your life. Though that IS extremely special and if you have a Valentine, please spoil and love them extra-immensely today!!! (Or send them tons of love in case they may be a distance away….❤️❣️❤️❣️❤️❣️)
However, wherever you find yourself today and in whoever’s company, I hope you fill up your own heart by your self-appreciation, kindness, and acknowledgement of your many accomplishments and everything that made you who you are today. Why not have ‘Heart Day’ be another reminder of how amazing you are? It’s the perfect day, if you ask me. (So is tomorrow..and the next day, too….though there is only ONE Valentine’s/Heart Day holiday so please take advantage!! ❤️💛❤️💜❤️🧡)
Now, if you do not wish to hear about anything knee-related, please stop here and enjoy the rest of your day/evening/night, basking in love and adoration of you, of the company you keep, and hopefully enjoying chocolate and other indulgences that complement this holiday. I completely understand and Happy Heart Day to YOU!!!!!! 💗💜💗🧡💗💛💗
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For those curious where I’m heading in my knee story: In honor of this love-acknowledging holiday, I would like to resolve a bit of the cliffhanger from my last post! (If you have no idea to what I am referring, please take a peek at my last post before continuing so there will be no confusion!) It would be quite cruel of me to keep you waiting even longer, since it has already been weeks because time literally flies! Seriously, it’s crazy – how is it already mid-February??
Now, because this is a holiday and I am talking about my first of many knee surgeries – – not the most romantic of topics, ya know??? – – I will keep this very brief and to the point:
In November 2013, I had my first ACL Reconstructive surgery on my left knee. I was lucky because my knee didn’t swell up with much inflammation, which is incredibly common with an ACL rupture, so my surgery took place very quickly.
Yes, my mission was to heal as quickly as possible and to return to my professional dance career as “immediately” as I could…so, as close to the 6-month minimum as humanly possible. Actually, that was my affirmation as soon as my rehabilitation process began: I am so grateful that I am healing faster and moving better than anyone on this planet has ever healed before me from an ACL Reconstruction! It helped focus me so I could breathe in the extreme discomfort of the recovery, thereby continually and consistently moving forward. And affirmations really and truly work, my friends!!!! I was flying through recovery like a pro!!!!! (A little too good, I find out in quite the unfortunate way….)
Now, this is where I shall pause my story and give you some food-for-thought before I continue on. I would like to share some hindsight thoughts of my own that I wish I had considered before my very first surgery in 2013, if not at the start of this recovery. It is my hopes that you will read these and really take them to heart, if you ever find yourself battling a serious injury, so you do not fall down my rabbit hole of failure and despair. Seriously, people, almost 6 knee surgeries that could have easily been ONE AND DONE if I knew then what I know now?!?!?!?! Do it right from the start, please!!!!!! Don’t make my mistakes. ❤️
HINDSIGHT #1:
Trust your Orthopedic Surgeon with your life AS WELL AS YOUR PHYSICAL THERAPY TEAM and whoever is helping you on your road to recovery. Make sure you do your research, don’t just settle for who is available immediately (because you are in a rush to “get the surgery over and done with), and know in your heart and in your bones that these professionals will give you the best possible care with the best possible outcome. I definitely rushed the process like a fool, frantic to be repaired, healed, and ready to get back to dance. I DEFINITELY paid the price for this hasty behavior.
HINDSIGHT #2:
Understand everything you can about your injured site. Both it’s function in a healthy setting, pre-injury, AND knowing as much as possible about the injury at hand. Ask dozens upon dozens of questions about what is going on in your body with your injury and find out as many possible options available to you for treating the issue. This means making lists of the pros and cons, asking questions about post-surgery and what can be expected, finding out the preferred method of your surgeon- – because you ultimately want him/her to be so comfortable with performing the procedure that it is second nature – – and so on. Again, I rushed this process because I just wanted to be healed and in recovery mode, moving once again towards my goals and dancing professionally. I skipped some major questions in my deciding process.
As an aside, when it comes to an ACL Reconstruction, the patient has two options for the tissue used to replace the torn ACL. It can be an allograft or a donor tissue from a cadaver OR it can be an autograft, where one chooses to use their own tissue, either the patellar tendon or a hamstring tendon. For me, I chose an allograft because my surgeon recommended that, as a dancer, it is better to preserve the tendons and muscles around my knees for peak performance. Plus, I was told that I would heal quicker because I would not need to heal from a patellar tendon or hamstring tendon extraction on top of the actual ACL repair. And that was enough for me! SOLD!!! However……I never asked questions such as how an allograft would heal and hold up over time versus using my own tissue. Or which option would be more advantageous to prolonging my dance career. Or what the statistics are for an athlete with an allograft vs an autograft and their full return to professional sports…And on and on. I just did not ask enough questions.
HINDSIGHT #3:
Being very similar to Hindsight #2, and this is THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE, please make sure to speak with your Physical Therapist about the game plan for your recovery. Again, ask dozens upon dozens of questions so you know as much detail about the plan of your own rehab as possible!!! Also, these are MUSTS: Make sure that your Physical Therapist understands the specific stages of your recovery and what to look for when safely moving you from level to level; that he/she is comfortable with your injury AND ESPECIALLY WITH THE SPORT AND/OR ACTIVITIES TO WHICH YOU WILL BE PAINSTAKINGLY WORKING TO RETURN; and that you feel confident in the guidance and expertise of this Physical Therapist because they will be your leader, guiding you into unknown territory when you are at your most vulnerable. *****This is the one that I regret the most and that I look back and play the “what if” game with myself. Because in my heart of hearts – – – (do you see my theme coming atcha throughout this whole post??? HEART Day!! The word “heart” in multiple contexts! Get it?!?! 😆🤗 Even if you’re nodding, smilin’, or eye-rollin,’ you’re the best!!!😁💕 – – – again, in my heart of hearts, I KNOW that I would have healed stronger than ever before, after this first ACL Reconstruction, had I followed Hindsight #3. And YES, this is so totally unhelpful and does nothing for me now!!!!! I do know this very well. Even still, I did not ask my Physical Therapist ANY questions, I followed her guidance like a good little sheep, and I paid the consequences severely for this ginormous oversight.
My “Hindsights” continue on but that is enough for the time-being!!
Wanna know a secret?? This 6th surgery that I’m about to have in two months? It’s a Left Knee ACL Reconstruction, in addition to a few other scary procedures that we do not need to discuss at this time. More importantly, this upcoming 6th surgery is actually a TAKE-TWO from 2014, after a cringe-worthy mistake that occurred in PHYSICAL THERAPY after my first Left Knee ACL Reconstruction. Which means that this major mishap from 2014, that pretty much set the stage for my many future knee surgeries, will now finally be corrected after all these years. How do ya like that?????? That gem of a story is next on the list so you will hear what went down in Physical Therapy those years ago and why I’m basically back at square one six years later.
Again, please let me help you bypass the YEARS of unnecessary trauma and multiple injuries by my experiences and all that I have learned. And yup, I am TOTALLY going to be a broken record with this because I am so intensely serious about it. I want to protect you from going through this long road of surgeries and torturous recoveries that I have endured, if I can and if you will let me. I promise you, I have got your back.
With that being said, and to conclude this post with a blast of love and positivity:
Until next time!!! With gratitude and lots o’ hearts. 😊❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️