The End of the Road? « Life’s A Long Song

The End of the Road?

I sure hope so.

It has been a long and exhausting journey. It started 5 years ago when I was dancing on a Wednesday. I don’t remember how exactly it happened, but I remember waking up the next day with my left knee swollen and I was in great pain. After several doctor visits and failed attempts to remedy the problem through physical therapy, I had my first surgery, March 2002. It was a minor surgery and I was back on my feet in no time, however the pain was still there. After more and more and then some more physical therapy I had my second, and more invasive surgery in January 2003. Still the pain remained. By this point the pain had become stronger and more frequent and I began to despair. I felt like I was being abandoned by a God who I knew loved me, but I couldn’t understand why He would allow me to suffer so much. Going to Biola made it even more difficult as often I felt like I had to put on a mask and pretend everything was alright, when it really wasn’t.

Finally at the end our limits having seen every well-known knee specialist in the Southern California area from USC and UCLA all the way down to Scripps in San Diego, we discovered Dr. Steadman in Vail, Colorado. Dr. Steadman has done surgery on practically every famous athlete and is the best knee surgeon in the world. My dad and I decided to take a trip to see him in June 2005. He prescribed a series of injections which would be followed up back home in CA. After the injections did not work, we returned to Dr. Steadman in April 2006 and he recommended surgery, a lateral release of the patella and release of the pes tendons. It is a pretty involved surgery and just about a week ago, I returned to have this operation. I had a pretty nasty reaction to the anesthesia, which doesn’t normally happen for me, and I struggled with nausea for several days after the operation. I feel stronger everyday, but I continue to worry, what if the problem was not fixed? I continue to hope in God and pray that finally, I will be at the end of this painful injury.