Jennifer, age 13
Jennifer tore her ACL while playing basketball for her school team. Jennifer’s mother, a hospital administrator, was in the stands watching the game. In a conversation that took place 20 weeks after reconstructive surgery, Jennifer and her mother discussed what the accident, the surgery, and the rehabilitation were like for them.
MOTHER: I was watching Jennifer’s basketball game when suddenly she fell down on the floor, clutching her knee. I had the intuition that it was something serious—not just a quick trip to the emergency room, wait a few days, and you’re better.
JENNIFER: I didn’t know what was wrong with my leg. I think that I cried more because I was scared than because of the pain.
MOTHER: In the emergency room, the physician didn’t think it was her ACL. They gave her a brace and crutches and told us to see an orthopedist in a couple of days.
JENNIFER: I went to school the following day on crutches. All the kids were really nice to me.
MOTHER: I work at a hospital and I know that the surgeon recommended by the emergency room was really an expert in knees. At the appointment, I was very impressed with how comfortable the surgeon made us feel. From the exam, he couldn’t tell for sure, but he said that he smelled an ACL. The results of an MRI would tell us the next step. I knew that the MRI would not be a big deal for Jennifer.
JENNIFER: I only had to go into the MRI up to my shoulders. I just closed my eyes and listened to music the whole time.
MOTHER: We didn’t get the results until we went back and spoke with the surgeon. He said that it was definitely torn.
JENNIFER: I was extremely upset, because I knew it meant that I’d have to miss both the basketball and softball seasons.
MOTHER: We had already decided that she would have the operation if it was the ACL. If she were elderly, then it would have been different. But athletics, especially basketball, are very important to her.