See Hear Speak No Evil

Jun 09 2009

Bridge (ACL) – Going to the doctor…

Published by Bridge at 9:05 am under health

Two weeks after my ski accident my knee was still swollen and hurt. I also couldn’t straighten it all the way. I did some research on the internet and decided I must have torn my Meniscus (wrong). I admitted to my husband that I needed to actually go to a doctor and that my knee was really hurt.

How do you choose a doctor though? I had no idea.

I knew of only one person who had recently hurt their knee. The wife of one of my husbands past coworkers named Geena. I emailed her for advice. She gave me the name of her doctor and told me why she chose him. I decided to give him a try.

In hindsight I should have done more research on orthopedic doctors. I should have actually talked with physical therapists about which doctors they would have chosen. I have since learned my doctor is very conservative in the post operative process. He wants no weight bearing for an entire month. That means I have to use crutches and not walk. Other doctors get you on your feet as soon as you feel up to it. Who knows which is better in the long run?

The doctor I chose was Dr. Brad Larsen from Alpine Orthopedic. At my first appointment I actually met with his Nurse Practitioner Lance. They started the appointment by taking an X-ray of my knee from a few different angles.

Lance then manipulated my knee to see if he could tell what was wrong. He then had me do a series of exercises to see what my range of motion and strength was. His opinion was I either had torn my ACL or my Meniscus. Basically the same opinion I had. He pulled up the X-ray and gave me good news in that my bones were not broken. He then scheduled an MRI for later that week.

I left the office without knowing what was wrong. Plus I was going to have to wait for the MRI and then wait for the results. I hate waiting.The Uninvited release