Reason #2

So, after waiting the 4 weeks for my thumb to close up I decided I was ready to try playing again, even though my knee was still swollen and bothering me. Ooooh, and I went ahead and decided I could play before I saw my thumb doctor to...but don't tell him. ;)

It was Saturday morning. My team had 2 games that day against 2 really good opponents. So, it was going to be a tough first day back, but I knew I could do it. The 1st game went pretty well, not too many issues with my knee. But during the 2nd game I could feel my knee start to stiffen up. Every time I would sub for 3 minutes it was like I needed to warm my knee back up again once getting back on the field. This was not a good sign.

The game ended and I headed home. By the time my drive was over my knee was significantly bothering me and I was limping with each step. I decided to take it easy the rest of the day, ice it and elevate it. I did the same on Sunday too, but since it was not getting any better I knew I had to make the call to my surgeon. We had talked 5 weeks previously when my soccer team played his team. I had told him my knee had been swollen for 2 or 3 weeks, he checked it out and said, "Get a tight wrap on it and take 5 Aleve a day for a week if it's not better in 2 weeks call me." Well, come on, I don't want to go into the doctor...plus I blew out my thumb so I decided to just wait. After playing those 2 soccer games on Sat I knew it wasn't going to happen and I needed to give in and see him.

At the appointment he said he'd like to scope it. I told him my concern of spending $1500 for the surgery and not finding anything wrong. He decided to give me a steroid shot to try for a less costly approach. Within 2 days my knee felt pretty good! I called the doctor and said, "can I play tonight"? I was shocked and excited to hear, "yes, you may". So, I happily played and that's when stuff inside my knee started getting weird. It felt very loose. It felt unstable. It popped often and occasionally the pops would be very painful causing me to double over. At that point I did what I normally do...waited to see if it would get better. A week and a half later I'm working outside and I'm wearing a lot of clothes to keep warm, plus my heavy tool belt. My kneecap was going all over the place! Every step I was afraid it was going to shift and cause me to double over. And that's when I decided things just aren't right. I had to admit that I needed to consider the option of surgery.

I contacted my doctors nurse, also named Jennifer. She's really sweet and I guess she thinks I'm alright because she knows I'm not trying to get any drugs out of her. So she takes the time to discuss things with me. After telling her my symptoms she said it sounds like I'm experiencing Pattaler Subluxations. It's where the kneecap slightly dislocates for only a brief moment and then goes back into place. I'm waiting a few months, trying rehab on my own in the meantime. But in either April or May, I will be making a trip to get an MRI and will have it reviewed by my Orthopedic Surgeon and discuss having an additional surgery.

I am hugely disappointed. I wanted more than anything to challenge myself to score 200 goals, but it's just not going to work out for me like that. So, I've been recruiting and my Women's team is going to help me! They are donating all of their goals and attempting to reach 200. I'm also going to speak to my Saturday team as well. Combined they need to get 7 goals a week to reach the 200 by June 30, 2009. Good luck teams!!!!! I can't wait to watch you guys make this happen!

I'll be posting their progress on here...so stay tuned to hear about their success!