I experienced the oddest accident & injury. My 110lb dog backed right into my left knee while we were casually chatting with a neighbor & their dog. My dog just naturally wanted to play with a dog that he knew. Within seconds the dogs were having a blast. My dog, with full speed backed right into my left knee. I did not have time to react. I heard a pop and I immediately knew that I had seriously injured myself.
Fast forward 8 days:
I was minutes away from left knee surgery. I had the pre-op evaluation by the nurse, she inserted the IV in my right hand, the anesthesiologist was going over what type of anesthesia she was going to administer plus the multiple nerve blockers I had requested which would kill any pain up to 15-18hrs after surgery. My orthopedic surgeon then came in after reviewing the latest MRI, then proceeded to lift my left knee (holding the back of my left leg). It was weird—it was like he was giving birth to my left leg—raising it to the sky. He asked me to hold my left straight as he held & supported it. I was able to do it! He then asked me to do it again & I was able to do it. He asked me to do this same thing last week—it was impossible. This led the surgeon to believe that beyond the patellar fracture, I may just have just a tear in my tendon versus a complete rupture, although I’ve taken 5 XRAY angles and a full left knee MRI.
My orthopedic surgeon immediately said: “I am going to cancel the operation. It looks like the injury is healing itself. I am not going to put you at risk of being cut open, infection, etc if your body is recovering. I want to see you weekly & XRAY your left knee for the next 4 weeks. If it does not heal, we can always operate.” When I go up from the pre-operating table & got dressed to go home, my knee pain changed from the sharp, constant pounding variety that was 8 out 10 to only a 5 out of 10 in my pain meter.
Right before going to the hospital, my pastor prayed the Presence of the Lord over me and I prayed that same prayer over the hospital & the staff. Brett Johnson also inspired me the day prior that “I have no right to worry and that healing is inevitable”. So, all of it came to pass.
- Al Gerona