Monday 31 May 2010

Me knee update

I have done a MRI and it confirmed that my Anterior Cruciate Ligament (“ACL”) is completely torn. Many people have been asking me what exactly it is and I think this is a good analogy…

Imagine a house supported by a single main pillar. Now, the pillar has completely collapsed and the reason why the house is still standing is because of the walls. Worse, some of the internal and side walls are either damaged or have also collapsed. Imagine the house being my knee.

That’s quite a good explanation, isn’t it? Came up with it myself… hehe…

I am off crutches for now but I can’t really walk normally. I certainly can’t jump and running is out of the question. I can’t imagine myself not running or playing any games for the rest of my life, so I will need an ACL reconstruction surgery. It will take 9 months before I can play again.

Timing has been bad. This injury happened while I am busy preparing to make my brain-drain move down south. But I guess I shouldn’t be complaining after
this conversation.

As the surgery can only be done after the swelling is completely gone, I will most probably head down south first and then fly back for my surgery. There will certainly be lots of flying in the next couple of months.

I hope to find a surgeon who I am comfortable with, currently looking at one who came highly recommended.

With a good surgeon, discipline to do proper rehab and God’s grace, I hope to run next year’s KL Standard Chartered Marathon…


1 year ago…
Smokers like these are moronsShe just couldn’t see itA thought while terminating

2 years ago…
Some things don’t evolveAsk before you hump?

3 years ago…
You are the reasonThe 3 laws (recommended)

26 comments:

Terra Shield said...

Yikes! All the best, Zewt. Get better soon.

Wei Jiet said...

Wish you the best!

day-dreamer said...

Can you fly with your knee in this condition? Must take care o... :)

fufu said...

oh... i can recover from lumbar disk hernia travelling here and there... sure you could take part the marathon next year :) all the best =p

LX said...

Hmmm.. let me recommend you my consultant orthopaedic surgeon Mr Tennent!! Or Miss Middleton. Or Mr Pearse.

secret agent woman said...

Those ACL tears are wicked. Hope the surgery does the trick.

Fi-sha said...

Dearest Zewt

We all pray for your speedy recovery and hope to see you up and running next year. All the best in finding a sensible surgeon ok. Take care...

kyh said...

get well soon!

A Black Cat said...

Sorry about your knee, get well soon!

missironic said...

Owh... that's sad to hear.. Hopefully the surgery goes well and u'll be able to run again at next year's marathon! All the best and take care!

~aSstHa~ said...

drop me a mail if u wanna check out my ortho...

InjusticeSistem said...

Bkful which dr u consult,n don EVER EVER tell dem ur gg down south brain drain....as ur good fren i don mind telling u dis, we hv spies in all govt n private hospital,if dey find out abt u gg south....just bkful man....now tat im inside AMNO, im privy to many info....come join me la, da $$$ is just too good to resist...wats da word in star trek...resistance is futile...

Anonymous said...

All the best zewt! of course you can run the marathon! i'm sure 100%!

The funny thing was, my surgeon told me i could actually jog while my acl was torn, but i didn't want to risk it...

and zewt, why don't you go for surgery down south? granted it's super expensive, but the thing is, down south, they play footie, which is very bad for knees... this equates to all the knee surgeons being very specialised at wat they do!

Anonymous said...

i'm sorry to disappoint you, but your comparison with the house isn't the best. there are a lot more "pillars" in your knee, a whole bunch of ligaments and other things as well. and the "house" will not collapse, only one of it's walls. that is why your leg probably looks like a drawer right now.... it's too in the front because the ACL is not holding it back. right?

my dad tore his ACL has been walking ok for over 20 years.

which type of surgery are you planning to get? the one when they cut a part of another ligament (ankle for ex.) and they screw it into the femur and tibia? it needs milimeter precision to be completely functionable afterwards. be careful.

PinknPurpleLizard said...

Ice it! Brings the swelling down. Do it a few times a day. Wear a proper knee brace and try to keep of it as much as possible.

U should ask the surgeon the following:
- Will I still be in constant pain after recovery? (Know a lot of ppl who have had knee ops and are on frequent doses of Celebrex pain killers)
- How fast will I recover? (Some ppl never recover even to do normal tasks)
- What's your success rate?
- What after surgery care will I need? (For best case and worse case scenario)

U do know who the best doc is in this world. I'm sure He'll help his boy out, Zewt. :)

Unknown said...

Get well soon~!!

Arena Green said...

Hello Zewt!

I haven't caught up with u for a long while and look what I found here? No point asking how u r now, eh?

But am so glad u r feeling positive abt the whole thing. Stay positive always, ok? :)

On another note, I can't say much abt the goings on these day coz I am sooo out of touch. Must get back in the groove somehow and stay in touch with u peeps!

But I wish u well as always and pray that u will always be blessed along with all those who matters most to u.

Shall make effort to drop by more often. ;)

Stay positive, your angels are right up there taking good care of u!

suituapui said...

Just wondering... When you were ready to take off for Australia, you came down with you kidney problem or something...and this time, you're about to move down south, and this happens. Is somebody up there trying to tell you something? Something that you need to resolve and you haven't, something you have to do? Well, like I said, I'm just wondering...

Whatever it is, I pray that the surgery turns out will...and do take care always. Like when I broke my arm and went for surgery, one college principal, when he met me, commented, "Ah well! Itu recon punya barang, can't expect to be as good as new!" LOL!!! God bless, Zewt.

Crankster said...

Take care of yourself, mate.

zewt said...

Terra Shield - sure hope so...

Sapphire Dragon - cheers!

day-dreamer - well, i dont think i have a choice, but latest news... change of plans.

fufu - looking forward to it!

LX - oh... they are based in aussie... i am not going there yet... not that down south.

secret agent woman - it's almost the worst thing that can happen to the knee... but i am certainly hopeful.

zewt said...

Fi-sha - found! and he is willing to operate tomorrow!

kyh - cheers!

Jun-E - no worries, see you in Sg perhaps.

missironic - i am now hoping for this year singapore marathon. but maybe only 5km lah.

aSstHa - found mine, thanks :)

InjusticeSistem - hahahaha... tell me about it, when i was getting the tax clearance, i was already being shown "the look".

zewt said...

anon @ 1/6 7.55pm - i was told that too, but you cant change direction, even a bit. which makes running a bit meaningless. imagine driving a car without steering. oh... when i mean down south, i mean the red dot first :)

h. - hey there... the latest surgeon i talked to will be taking from my hamstring. and they will screw it into my knee. dunno if it is the tibia. having listened to the surgeon, i am very comfortable. and he has a good record. i do understand that there is a risk, but i am ready for it. i guess i am a gambler. :)

PinknPurpleLizard - i am sure He will :) yeah, been asking him a lot of questions... and he has my confidence. hopefully it will turn out well.

Nisya Harisy 71 - thanks :)

Anak Merdeka - no worries, we all are busy in our own ways. some days, i am also beginning to lose the energy to blog. there are so many shits happening you just get numb... thanks for the well wishes.

suituapui - hahaha... someone said that to me too. but this time, i am heading to singapore first. thanks for yoru prayer... i really appreciate it...

Crankster - thanks mate... :)

Ummie said...

So you'll be in S'pore. Permanent? Feel good & Get well soon.

zewt said...

Ummie - well, the plan is permanent. but things might change.

me said...

u shld really think about hanging up those shoes for futsal/soccer. u're no spring chicken, friend.

zewt said...

me - decided on that already ler...