Surgery

At the beginning of December, I started having knee pain. The pain got so bad I had to stop running. Before I went home for the break, I saw the doctor, and he diagnosed it as plica. He gave me a dose pack and said I could try running in a few days. I went home, tried running, and the pain was still there. I could barely bend my knee without pain. I came down for another doctor's visit during the break and got an MRI to make sure there wasn't a tear. Fortunately, the MRI didn't show anything. I wasn't able to run for the whole break and was barely able to cross train. When I got back from the break, I got an injection. It helped a little bit, but I still wasn't able to run pain free for more than 5 minutes and I still couldn't bend my knee as much as my other one without pain. I saw the doctor again last week and got an anti-inflammatory. It hasn't done much good either.

After trying every option we know of, I am now scheduled to have surgery Friday afternoon to remove the plica. The surgery is non-invasive and not very serious. I am so ready for my knee to be pain-free. I cannot wait until I can fully bend my knee without pain and run for 30 minutes without pain. I have been cross training ever since the semester started, but it doesn't even compare to running. After the surgery, I will have to take 2 weeks off, and then I should be able to start running again. I know it's going to take a while for me to get back into shape to train, but I will just be thankful to run again.

There are pros and cons to being injured. This is my 3rd injury as a runner. Being injured really does teach you a lot of great lessons. It also makes you appreciate the ability to run. If I had not been injured my freshman year, Renee and I would probably not be as good of friends. If I had not been anemic (not counting this as an injury), I would not have developed the relationships I did last spring. However, injury is also very discouraging and tiring. I feel as if I have lost all of my fitness that I worked so hard at last fall. One thing I really hate about being injured is that I don't feel a part of the team anymore. I feel so distant from the girls because I don't run with them anymore. I can't enjoy long runs or survive brutal workouts with the girls who have helped me come so far in my running. I can't wait to be back running with my teammates!

I am definitely nervous about the surgery, but I am ready for it to happen. I have waited so long for this to heal, and it is finally getting fixed! Renee will also be getting surgery Friday afternoon, so I will have company to recover with :)