Amy, age 36
Amy, a mother and a wife, is also vice-president of a large international bank.
I was on a skiing vacation with my husband in Aspen when I took this nasty fall. As I fell, I could feel something in my leg letting go. I didn’t have any real pain, which I now understand is unusual when you tear your ACL, but I knew something was wrong. The ski patrol came and took me down in the ski sled. Then they brought me and my husband, Jeff, over to the local hospital. At this point, I was more angry than traumatized. I was mad at myself for ruining our ski vacation. It wasn’t until my leg stiffened up that I started to feel scared.
In the emergency room, there was so much swelling the doctor couldn’t tell if the ACL was torn or not. He gave me some Vicodin to help with the pain, sent me to their physical therapy department for crutches and a brace, and told to come back the next day. When we went back, they told me it was definitely torn.
This meant I had four days to sit around until the end of the ski vacation. While my husband skied—only half days because of my injury—I called everyone I could think of who might know something about ACL reconstruction. My impression was that people who already had the surgery were happy that they did—a year later they were doing really well, leading normal lives.
Those who passed on the surgery seemed to regret the decision.
Coincidentally, two of my friends had torn their ACLs and had the surgery. They were pleased with the results, but said that I should not underestimate it. They said it was a big operation with a big rehab. I began to figure that it would be bad in the short run, but in the long run it would be worth it.
One of my friends said, “You have to use my doctor.” She was able to get me an appointment for the week I was due to return.
The surgeon was warm and made me feel really comfortable. He didn’t try to push me into having the operation. He said, “If you can get away without a procedure, it’s always better. You may want to try strengthening it first and see how it goes. You can always do it later.” I liked the fact that he was medically conservative, and I knew that he didn’t need the business.