Sue: It's the American Way

In a Washington Post February 28 article, I read in dismay that, "Relatives of the four girls whose decomposed bodies were found last month in a Southeast Washington rowhouse have hired lawyers to pursue claims against the D.C. government for failing to prevent months of neglect and abuse." This action is adding insult to injury to these children's death and making worse a horrific situation where 4 innocent children were murdered by their accused mother.

The family, including Mamie Jacks, the accused's mother, Jessie Fogle, grandmother of two of the children, and one of the children's father (name not disclosed), who were no where in sight for months and years, while these children suffered day after day only to be murdered, now want money from the District of Columbia. Did Jacks, the father, or Fogle not wonder where their children/grandchildren were on holidays; did they not wonder how the children were doing in school; did they not visit them or the mother; what about a simple phone call. No, they did nothing, and, now they want money - blood money. How so disturbing and disgusting this is. What about their negligence and turning their backs on their very own family? I will hold my tongue on how I feel about these people.

As for our legal system, I don't understand how the courts can even consider this. While the government should be expected to protect children and ensure their well being, they can not possibly be responsible for the day to day care of every child within their jurisdiction; that is the parents' responsibility. Unfortunately, many children have parents who neglect this responsibility and the extended family needs to overtake this task. Some very, very unfortunate children, like these four murdered children, had nothing. And, now the people who did nothing, want something. What does this say about society and our judicial system.

P.S. Two additional law suits in DC, while not as disturbing and heart-wrenching as this one, are equally appalling as to how far the courts allows these actions to proceed:
Roy Pearson, a Washington, D.C., Lawyer Sues Dry Cleaners $67 million for Lost Trousers and Raelyn Campbell sues Best Buy for $54 million for a lost computer

Maybe a should sue Nestor's, the place I bought my ski boots and had my bindings adjusted, because my bindings did not release and accordingly, when I fell, I tore my ACL? What do you think?

The Waiting Game

I had my follow up visit to the surgeon today. It has been over 5 weeks since I tore my ACL and I was having the visit to see if surgery was destined for me. Well, I still won't know for several more weeks, even months. I go back again to my surgeon in 5 weeks. I still don't have full extension and will continue to do physical therapy twice a day to get full extension and strengthen the quad -- it's amazing how this muscle vanishes so quickly after an injury. I'm still limping a bit and my knee is still swollen.

After full extension, more PT (a few more months) until the knee is nice and strong. Then I can start to do normal activities like running, biking, etc. If the knee gives out, that means one thing - surgery. I could be one of the fortunate few where the knee does not give out and can do most physical activities except "level 1" activities such as basketball, soccer, anything that involves pivoting and stopping and going. I can live without these. Skiing even could be an option but I doubt mentally if I can get back on the slopes. The risk isn't worth it to me. I'm hoping cross country skiing is okay as I love being out in the snow and mountains. If the knee gives out and I don't have surgery, I could make things worse, i.e. tear the MCL and then I'd be in real trouble.

As far as surgery goes, I really, really do not want to have it. Besides the pain and 4-6 months of rehab, there's the inconvenience of not being able to do anything for myself post-surgery. I can be on crutches anywhere from 5 days to 2 weeks or longer. Bending the knee (I still an not able to kneel) will be difficult making ordinary tasks (bathroom visits, feeding the cats) not easy. I won't be able to drive for a month forcing me to depend on people to take me to PT, the doctor, grocery store, etc. The house will be a mess as cleaning will be neglected. And so on.

Then there's the first hand accounts of some folks who have already had the surgery and have shared their experiences with me. Such as:

• "Dr. __ said that if I didn't get surgery I would get arthritis a lot earlier in life and I would have trouble going back to being athletic. The recovery and pain since surgery is probably the most difficult thing I had to do in my life, I'm not going to lie. I was on percocet for a week and then vicodin for about 5 weeks after. It's really a personal choice, I guess. If you think you can do like 5 months of rehab after surgery then go for it."
• "As far as post op recovery, I'm not going to lie--surgery is tough and the first couple of days after are very hard. I pretty much used crutches to get around. By about a week I was down to one crutch around the house and I'd take two with me when I went out or going up and down stairs. It took about 4 weeks till I was comfortable without the crutch at all. I would also have to make sure I iced and elevated extensively after I did any walking or working out--and this will continue for months. At first if I walked for 2 minutes I'd have to ice for 20, then after a week or so I could walk for 4 minutes and ice
  for 15 and so on."

So, that's it in a nutshell. More as time progresses.

To Have Surgery or Not -- This is the Question!

I go back to the surgeon on February 26 to find out how my knee is doing and what is next. I started not wearing the brace inside to see how strong the knee is. Each step, I fear that the knee will give out. As long as the knee continues to hold its own, there are basically two options: continue physical therapy a few more months to strengthen the knee/supporting muscles (i.e. quad, hamstrings) or have ACL surgery and continue a more tedious physical therapy regime for 4-6 months.

I've been reading and reading about this and there is no clear cut answer - yet - for someone in my position (only tore the ACL, not an athlete, not a spring chicken, willing to give up "level I" activities -- basketball, soccer, skiing, etc. - sports that involve pivoting). As far as the yet part goes, I can wait and see if my knee gives out. I still want to run, bike, do yoga, go to the gym, etc. to stay fit so I'll need to gradually add those activities back into my schedule. If the knee does give out, then surgery raises its ugly head again.

Waiting, though, means doing months of PT now only to do 4-6 months more after surgery. If I take the chance and wait for surgery, I delay getting back to my normal activity level and this whole process is just drug out. If I elect surgery now, I should be back to normal activities in about 1/2 year. But, surgery involves risks (80-90% success rate, infection, problems after surgery, etc.), pain, inconvenience (crutches, depending on people to do just about everything for me, taking off from work, giving up social activities for awhile, etc., etc.).

Let's see what my surgeon says next Tuesday.

3 Weeks & Counting

It has now been over 3 weeks since I tore my ACL. I'm dismayed that my knee is still swollen and it lags behind the other knee. I'm doing PT twice a day to get my extension back but it is discouraging as results seem so minimal. Where will I be at this time after surgery? It probably will take me 6 weeks to get to the point I am now. This is certainly not an easy injury to deal with. The ice that awaited me after work on Tuesday was another joy. I was so fearful of walking as I did not want to fall an do further injury. My knee slipped twice and that was more than I could take.


I was going to drive up to Pennsylvania on Wednesday but because I still have a delayed reaction time with my right foot, I decided to postpone until Thursday, when hopefully the roads will be all clear. I drove up last year, exactly a year ago, during the now infamous "Valentine's Day Storm" and did not want a repeat. It took me 10 hours instead of the average 4.5 hours. I had my 2 cats and was so happy to reach my destination at 1 am. I was on the phone with my Dad who was giving me road updates. At one point, outside of Harrisburg, I needed to decide to take I-78 or I-81. My dad said I-78 was backed up for 10 miles. I knew 81 was closed several exits ahead but I hate delays and thought I could take the back roads the rest of the way so I decided on 81. Good decision! While travel was slow going (the only other vehicles on the road were snow mobiles), I found out the next day, I-78 completely closed down and people were still stranded. Most folks did not get moving until noon. That would not have been fun. It was less fun for the PA DOT as an investigation was ordered to find out what happened. Hopefully, something like this will not be prevented in the future.

I Can't Even Pedal!

After two weeks of doing hardly any physical exercise (I usually do something every day) except for a few knee & quad stretches and arm exercises with heavy hands (thank god I didn't throw them out), I actually looked forward to going to the gym. The PT told me I could use the stationary bike; yeah, finally some aerobic work. That joy ended when I was barely able to lift my leg to get on the thing. She told me not to go beyond level 1/2. Well, I didn't even need to enter a level; I had difficulty simply pedaling with no resistance. I was SO discouraged. I can't even imagine what post surgery will be like if this is how it is now. Getting up steps on crutches frightens me to death. It's amazing how much we take for granted. I have a new found respect for anyone using crutches, a wheelchair, artificial limbs, etc. My hat is off to you.

An End to My Skiing Days

A friend of mine moved to Denver in the summer so I immediately made plans to visit her in the winter to get in some skiing. We went to Keystone, close to Breckenridge and Vail, over Martin Luther King's Day weekend. It had been extremely cold there but on Saturday it warmed up to the high teens/low 20's. By Sunday, the sun had come out and it was beautiful. On the mountain top, it was clear and the mountain peaks covered with snow were all around us. A magnificent sight. We found a great intermediate run and I was so relaxed skiing down it with a picture postcard view in front of me.


After lunch, we decided to try it once again. Little piles of snow were forming all on the run and I happened to run into one. But, instead of turning, I ran into it like running into a brick wall, I fell and my ski did not release causing my knee to contort in quite an unnatural position. I felt a pain like I never felt and was so thankful my friend was behind me to come and take my ski off. After getting my breadth back and waiting about 10 minutes, my knee felt fine so I got back on my skis only to find out my right knee would not support me. I tried to slip slide down the slope but no luck. Only one option: Ski Patrol!

What an amazing group of people. What would skiers do without them. Thank you, thank you, thank you to the Ski Patrol. My "rescuer" arrived fairly quickly given the logistics. He splinted my leg and got me in the tobaggon. He had to take me down the slope I was on, then back up the chair to another mountain and down another slope (which probably was a least 2 miles long).

Keystone has a medical center on-site and that's where I ended up. 4 hours later (missed the Packers/Giants game), no broken bones but probably had a torn ACL. An MRI when I came back to DC confirmed this (Goal #2 - Find a surgeon and get a diagnosis). Flying home was no fun (2 planes) and I was not able to walk well so I needed a wheelchair (one quick way to get thru security!). I also had to contend with skis, boots and luggage. I was never so glad to step into my house (Goal #1 - Get home) thanks to wonderful workers at the airports and my friends who drove me to DIA and picked me up at DCA.

Two weeks later, I'm still wearing a brace and limping. I'm taking PT to make the knee stronger to get it ready for surgery (Goal #3 - strengthen the knee and fully extend). Surgery (Goal #4) needs to wait until the swelling goes away and I can get full extension - at this point my knee is still swollen and I can't fully extend my leg. This down period is nothing compared to what is to come post-surgery (Goal #5 - recover from surgery) - not to mention the 4-6 months of PT and rehab (Goal #6).

When you are active, this type of injury is so depressing and frustrating. I usually do something everyday (run, yoga, work out, bike ride, etc.) and this inactivity is killing me - not to mention the pounds that surely will come. Plus being dependent on people (groceries, rides to the doctor, etc.) adds more stress. And, let's not forget that I just bought new ski boots for $380. Anybody need a pair of almost new ski boots?

I was wondering if I would indeed try to ski again next year (you can do this, lots of skiers, and other athletes, return to their sport of choice). But, I also have problems with my left knee, which has already given out a few times. The risk just out weights the benefits for me so my 20 years of skiing will now only be a memory. I'll be happy to run and ride my mountain bike again and I am looking so forward to that day.

Read more about Torn ACLs & Surgery on Adam Kalsey's Blog.