I am going to preface this by saying that I AM NOT AN EXPERT, this is just my experience and recommendations for what to do after you've injured you're knee.
So you just blew out your knee, eh? If you're an athlete you're probably freaking out and asking; whats next? This process is terrifying and sitting in a hospital bed is never fun, but when you're there and all you can think about is your future slipping away its important to grab control of things you do have an effect on as soon as possible. I'm not lying in saying any of this is easy, but being proactive and getting to work is going to make the process much more tolerable. As you will see in the list that I have outline below, each point in the list is labeled #1. This isn't an accident but rather a nod to the book I am reading right now called, Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable, by Tim Grover. He numbers everything #1 because he believes that when you give people lists, they tend to think of the 10th thing as less important than the first. I agree and argue that each part of recovery is important and must be tended to. As my dad always said growing up, "you must not only look at the flower, you must look at the root." You have to look at everything, not just the one that grabs your attention - each piece builds on the other.
1. STREAMLINE YOUR ENVIRONMENT
One of the first things my dad said to me when he got to the hospital in SLO was, "you're coming home to Truckee right?" I scoffed and argued that I needed to be at school. I needed to be with my friends and my teammates especially right now. I couldn't imagine moving home again. Moving six hours back to live with my parents again at 22. Looking back, it was the best thing for me. At home I had help and most importantly a bathroom really close to the bedroom. I think it is extremely important to immediately surround yourself with people that you know for a fact are on your team.
My parents were amazing. They had breakfast on my bedside stand every morning before they went to work, they fluffed my pillows straightened my blankets and gave me foot rubs when I really needed. The time right after such a violent injury requires help. You can't do it alone, so make sure your find the people you can ask for help from and lean on them.
I ordered a small desk for myself that I am able to use in bed so my laptop doesn't overheat, I can write in my journal, and eat without spilling on the sheets! I had my parents put food in tupperware containers so I could stick them in my pants and pockets so my hands would be free for my crutches. I even ordered yarn online and had my mom go to Michael's to get me yarn for my new found passion of knitting. (For some reason I thought I was going to knit a sweater without any practice or history of knitting.) I also ordered
myself a bunch of pairs of comfy shorts online because pants were out of the question.
All of this is to say that it is extremely important to put yourself in the best possibly situation to not have to worry about much. I could focus on myself and my knee because the environment I was/am in is extremely conducive to my healing. I know some people aren't as lucky to have the flexibility and support that I have with my parents, but I challenge everyone to try and find someone or a few people that you're okay asking for help from. Most people want to help, they want to be a part of your recovery, so let them.
1. GET SCHEDULED FOR PHYSICAL THERAPY
One of the things that I definitely didn't know going into this whole process is the work that you have to do on the front end of surgery. Luckily for me, I had a friend who had torn her ACL the year prior and was able to tell me what I needed to be doing.
Before surgeons will even operate on knee injuries you need a certain level of mobility, for me it was 120 degrees of flexion. I was really stressed because it feels impossible and scary to have your knee move that much especially when everything is so damaged, but it's extremely important. I found a local physical therapist in my town and started going to them twice a week for four weeks leading up to surgery. We worked mainly on swelling and mobility and I did exercises twice to three times a day, every day. I also used an at home stim machine to get my quad muscles to fire and stay active while I couldn't do much work with them. Essentially the more work you do on the front end, helps you on the other side of surgery.
It was astounding, but the week of surgery I was walking with my brace unlocked and without crutches. The human body its pretty amazing.
1. GET YOUR FILMS AND HUNT DOWN A SURGEON
Finding your surgeon is obviously extremely important and you dont need me to tell you that, but one of the things I didn't know is that you need your scans and film of your knee. I wanted as many opinions as I could before I decided who would be operating on me. I spoke to surgeons in Los Angeles, the Bay area and Colorado. This meant sending the films of my knee that I had done in the San Luis Obispo ER, so I needed copies to send to each of those locations. If you're not getting surgery done at the same place you visited for imaging, I highly advise you to get as many copies on CD as you can and then even order more. This way you can mail everything you need overnight to various doctors and get opinions quickly.
After a lot of research and recommendations from tons of people I landed on a surgeon at Stanford in the Bay Area and I couldn't have felt more secure in my choice. Having trust in your doctors to tell you the truth and put you in the best spot to get best has been such an amazing part of my recovery.
1. TALK TO SOMEONE
I cannot recommend getting help on a psychological level as well as physical. I was pushed by a someone I know in the volleyball world to get hooked up with a sports psych and she is amazing. I had tried therapy many times before for various things that have popped up in my life, but none were a great fit until a few months ago. I never understood how useful it could be to talk to someone that isn't in your life full time but also is there to just listen and help.
Being a high level athlete and then having your world come crashing down with an injury like this can (to be frank) f#ck with your head. Thats why I think it's so important to talk to someone. Tell them how you feel, your fears, doubts, worst thoughts and it is literally their job to help.
Athletes already have such a stigma around mental health that it is hard to put pride aside and allow yourself to get support. I never understand why its okay for everyone to go to physical therapy but not mental therapy. When so much of our identity is found in sports it can be crushing when you lose it. I can admit that the have been good day but each of those gets evened out by a tough one. Ive cried myself to sleep, sat in my bed feeling helpless, dwelled on the worst case scenarios, begged for a different situation and put my anger on people that don't deserve it. None of these things are inherently wrong or unnatural. We are human and our emotions are valid regardless of what other people tell you, the difference is in how you deal with them and allow them to live in you. I have learned that more you push away all the bad things that you're faced with the bigger they become and the more you project them on others. Speaking with my therapist has been one of the biggest parts of my recovery and I am genuinely thankful for all the tools she has given me so far.