Checksum Arcanius

A week ago I pointedly blamed the LCL for all my troubles, and mentioned that the good news was that the LCL was not the ACL.

Well, it turns out that while the LCL is still not the ACL, the ACL is, in fact, the ACL. This is all a roundabout way of saying that my ACL and my LCL are both torn, as in all the way through and not-going-to-heal-on-their-own. Along with a bunch of bone contusions (or bruising, but contusion sounds more appropriate for this situation), it means that my right knee is basically in just about the worst shape possible, short of any bones breaking, which apparently doesn’t happen to me, ever.

(*Knock on wood.)

Tomorrow I get to call a surgeon to (presumably) schedule surgery on my knee. Recovery afterwards is supposed to be about 6 months to full strength, which is a shorter time frame than I expected to hear — but maybe the arthroscopic surgery is just that good these days? The time line I received was as follows:

1 month to biking
2-3 months to running in a straight line
6 months to full recovery, including ultimate again

This is a heck of a lot better than the 6-12 months for partial and probably incomplete recovery that I was expecting to hear. Was this sugarcoated or are my chances really this good? I guess time will tell.

I’m getting an MRI of my knee later today, and so I should know pretty soon the status of my CLC (or at least by Tuesday, when I next see the doctor — but I bet the MRI tech can give me a preview of coming attractions). The MRI machine I’m headed to is at the UW Roosevelt Clinic, about half way between main campus and my house. That would work out well, except the MRI is between two classes… oh well.

Here’s to hoping it’s not a tear!’

As to the reason I’m up so late, I just finished some code to render 3d structures with lighting and shading. It rocks. CSE 467 is a very cool class.

I saw a Sports Medicine doctor at the UW Hall Health Center today. Both he and a resident he is training came to the same conclusion: my knee is hampered by an injured lateral collateral ligament, or LCL (see picture).

The good news is that the LCL is not the ACL. The bad news is that it still might be a tear; I won’t know until I get an MRI sometime in the next week. I have been advised to not bike (a bummer!) but I am allowed to put weight on the leg, which makes getting around campus in a timely manner much more doable. I have a huge knee brace with metal (!) hinges on right now, and I can walk without the assistance of crutches, although I have those too just in case. I also get to pop 9 ibuprofen a day. Woohoo druggie Ryan!

Actually, its not as bad as it sounds. All the power was provided by my left leg; my right leg was just along for the ride and to bring the pedal around for the next stroke (which took no more than its own weight to accomplish). So I was able to make it to all of my classes and appointments today, although I missed work because I don’t want to attempt driving quite yet and biking a couple of miles doesn’t sound too much fun either. I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow at 10:00 at the Hall Health Center Sports Medicine Clinic on campus; I’ve heard good things about them and hopefully they can set me on the quick path to recovery, which if I am lucky will involve little more than taking it easy for a few weeks. If I am unlucky, well, I don’t know, but that could be months possibly, and maybe even surgery. That doesn’t sound very fun.

Fortunately, my friends continue to impress me with their kindness and willingness to help me out. I’m trying not to rely on them more than is necessary, and their help is greatly appreciated. Its helped me remain in good spirits throughout this ordeal, which really isn’t too much of an ordeal considering how bad things in this world can get. I remain one lucky dude.

This morning, just after the game of ultimate Frisbee started, I went up to try to intercept a throw into the end zone, and came down on my right leg all wrong. The leg hyper extended and my knee “popped” and I crumpled to the ground in excruciating pain. It sucked.

On the bright side, my friends are the best people in the world. They helped me off the field as soon as the pain had subsided enough for me to move, and then they provided ibuprofen, a knee brace, transportation home, ice packs, transportation to and from the Husky game, and a shoulder to lean on all the way.

So, my knee is in really bad shape. I’ll need to see a doctor on Monday to see how bad the damage is. I’m most concerned about making it to school and after that, work. I should be able to drive, but biking may be out of the question, depending on the extent of the damage and the speed of recovery.

Well, I suppose it had to happen sooner or later. Thankfully, my friends rock.

Last Saturday, after Frisbee, a few of the gang hopped into my car to head to Jamba Juice, a nearly weekly tradition. While the 1996 Saturn SL1 sedan I drive had been working fine on the way to frisbee, when leaving I quickly noticed that it was not shifting into second gear, a gear I use very frequently. It felt like something the shifter connected to had come loose — somewhat like the connection between a sink drain plug and the knob used to set it, had fallen off. The problem quickly grew worse — after Jamba Juice, the car would no longer shift into any of the gears that involved pulling the shifter down — namely second, fourth, and reverse. Needless to say, getting out of the UVilliage parking lot was difficult — thankfully, Ananth and Boby were both there to push. Nevertheless, I managed to persevere for the first half of the next week — I park on an upward incline and can therefore back out without reverse. At work and around town, I parked in a way that allowed me to exit by pulling forward. Nevertheless, things were still worsening. On Wednesday, I was beginning to have trouble shifting out of gears. Wednesday after work, I found that I could no longer shift out of first gear at all. So, it was definitely time to visit the shop. The drive to Saturn of Bellevue was a bit painful — I couldn’t shift out of first so the trip involved a lot of slow, high-rpm travel. On flat areas of the road, I would bring the engine up to about 5,000 rpm, which would bring the car up to about 35 miles per hour, then I would coast down to about 15 and repeat. Up hills, I just let the engine run at about 3,000 rpm and took the hit in speed. I finally made it — and even managed to park the car backwards into a stall by using gravity and a little bit of fancy footwork. My Dad picked me up and I ate dinner with the parents before heading into Seattle to pack for the trip to Toronto that I am currently on. On my way out of Cleveland to Toronto, I talked to my Dad and recieved the happy news that the repair cost only $65 — $60 for labor and $5 for the piece that had broken.

Meanwhile, to coincide with my trip, I took my mountain bike, a Giant DS2 ETX into Recycled Cycles for some more planned maintenance. The estimate came to a cool $265 for a new cassette (rear gears), a new middle gear on the front (the old one was bent), a new chain (the old one was stretched and worn), a new rear wheel and tire (both practically falling apart), and a new cable and cover for the rear derailleur (the old one had become frayed and kinked). The repairs will actually total more than I paid for the bike originally, just about a year ago. With the use its seen since then, I think this maintenance is well worth the price.