The Verdict is in!

Hello everyone. I received the results from my MRI today and they confirmed what we expected.

I have torn my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) from the femoral attachment (thigh bone). I have also torn the posterior horn of my lateral meniscus (the cartilage cushion on my bottom leg bone on the outside and towards the back). Let's turn this into an anatomy lesson!

This results in surgery (date to be determined but likely end of January/beginning of February) because #1 I am young, #2 I have a very active job and #3 I live a very active lifestyle.

Here is the anatomy of your knee:

Patella = Kneecap
Femur = Thigh Bone
Tibia = Lower Leg Bone
Cruciate Ligaments = ACL (anterior) and PCL (posterior) make a cross between your bones inside your joint
- ACL keeps your lower leg bone from moving forward away from your thigh bone
- PCL keeps your lower leg bone from moving backward away from your thigh bone
Meniscus = Cartilage on lower leg bone that supports the knee with torsion and tension (looks like triangles from the side and semilunar "C" shape when looking down on it)

Ok, sorry about that but it helps to understand!

Now for my MRI images. I apologize, I tried to draw arrows and it didn't work. Also, I'm not a radiologist so I'm showing you what I believe are the best views, but may not be. I flipped them so you can compare them to the image above to get your bearings.

Your kneecap is to the right and the back of my knee is to the left. See the band connecting the top bone to the bottom bone near the middle of the picture? This is what an intact cruciate ligament looks like. This is my PCL which was not damaged. Now compare this image to the image below.

The main thing to notice is that there is no band connecting the thigh bone to the lower leg bone. This is my torn ACL. For those of you who are really good, notice the darker "ball" in the middle of my lower leg bone and the white "ball" on the back of my thigh bone (it avulsed from my femur).

Again, same knee, different type of MRI. Notice the black band connecting the two bones, PCL intact.

No black band, torn ACL. :(

Ok, this is a little more tough. You're looking at my knee again with the left being the front and the right being the back (different than those above, sorry). The thing on the right bottom is my gastrocnemius (or calf muscle) and what you're looking for is the triangle between the two bones on the right has a small white line in it. That is my torn posterior horn of my lateral meniscus.

Same view of the knee, same white line in the black triangle to the right between the bones. Nice calf muscles huh? ;)

Hopefully this has helped to learn more about your knee and what can happen when you're cross country skiing down a small hill and your ski gets off the track, resulting in planting your foot to regain control and your knee twists and "pops". I'm out for the snow season and possibly the summer sports too. Definitely no kayaking this coming year and likely no major hikes/backpacking.

This can't keep me down though!! I'm killer on crutches and as long as I keep my brace on, I don't look like a flamingo (knee bending backwards) when I walk.

Dad is planning on coming up to assist with Jameson and whatever else I need when I have surgery. I am so fortunate he is retired so he can come up to help with such short notice. My mom and sister are also huge supporters with all of this so thanks guys!! Mom is my dad's travel planner (and had sympathy pain the other day with her knee locking up and in major pain, weird I know but if you knew my mom, you'd believe it!) and Maggie has major empathy as she is on crutches herself right now too!!

So send good thoughts my way for a super speedy recovery! I promise I'll try to be a good patient!