Category Archives: BJJ

Looking Back: July-Oct 2016

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July 2016:

It happened on a Wednesday.  I know, because I went to the karate class after my BJJ class, and that only happens that way on Wednesday.

We were rolling, from standing, and my partner executed a takedown.  I wish I could remember which one.  I surely do not.  I remember falling…and “POP” and a LOT of pain.  I think what happened is I twisted as I fell, and my leg, for whatever reason, was unable to twist with me… and so, this is how I tore my ACL in late July 2017.  I wish I could say it happened in a tourney, or we were drilling some awesome move… but no, I just fell wrong.

I iced it, and then, being able to stand and walk, determined that it was fine, and went to the karate class afterwards.  I did note during the karate class that I couldn’t do any kicks with my right leg as the standing leg, cause I would fall over.  But, whatever, it’ll heal, right?

Sure…

The next week I am limping and it is stiff…but I can walk, so again, I determine that nothing is wrong.  I buy a knee brace and continue with my universe, and modify at class so I am not doing any twisting motions.

I do not go to the doctor at this time because 1.  I train a lot and have injuries from time to time, and 2.  I am going to the Bahamas in a week and I don’t want the doctor to tell me I need a cast or something.  So I endure.

Fast forward to the end of August 2016:

My knee is feeling better, although still a little swollen.  I start allowing myself to do twisting motions in class…I go to throw a left roundhouse kick…and I am on the floor. Ow.  Pain, swollen again.  Crap.  That is NOT supposed to happen.  So, to the doctor I go.

It takes me about a week to find a doctor, as my insurance changed at work, and the orthopedic doctor I had gone to previously doesn’t take the new insurance.

September 2016:

I finally make it to the doctor.  Everything is crazy because I am a teacher, so I was also dealing with the start of school.  I get an x-ray, and tests it…and sends me for an MRI. FUDGE.

When the MRI comes back, it shows I have a complete tear of my ACL and my lateral and medial meniscus.  Surgery is recommended. *sigh* I schedule the surgery for November 9th.  November already has a lot of days off, so I’d have the least disruption to my classroom at this time.

October 2016:

Panic!  Should I really get surgery?  I never bothered to get a second opinion!  So, I do two things.  First, another appointment with the surgeon with whom I scheduled the surgery.  I put together a list of 20 questions (almost literally 20 questions) for him to answer.  Things like, what is going to happen the day of surgery, what happens if I don’t get surgery, why an allograft instead of an autograft.  He was really good and spent a solid 20 minutes with me answering questions.  When my appointment time ran out he offered to let me stay if I had additional questions and he would come back and answer them after his next appointment.  I was satisfied with my answers at that point, and I’m sure he was glad I said I didn’t need to stay, but I greatly appreciated him offering, and that offer made me feel a lot better about the process.

Appointment with the second surgeon.  After examining me, I feel confident he did his best not to laugh at me.  Him: Yes, you need surgery.  He explained his process. I explained I already had a surgery scheduled.  Him: Good, cause you need surgery.  I asked if it was okay that my surgeon wanted to do an allograft, and he said yes, that every doctor has their preference, and there was nothing wrong with doing the allograft vs. the autograft.  Okay, then, surgery it is!

Next Post:  Surgery!

 

Welcome back…again?

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Hi, blog universe!

I haven’t been around in a very long time, despite a couple of attempts to get started writing my blog again.  The past two years have been quite stressful, and although writing probably would have been helpful, I just wasn’t able to get the oomph to do so.  For the past 6 months, I’ve been writing on Facebook about my recent ACL surgery and recovery, and it reminded me that I like to write.  So…I’m going to add in some of my posts from the last few months here, and then continue my documentation of my journey here.  So…enjoy!

Woah, it’s been a year since I posted!

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Hi!  Is there anyone out there?

I have to be honest, I had completely forgotten about my blog, until last week someone commented on one of my posts and I received an email notification.  Oh yea, that blog I used to write…so I approved the comment and then I promptly forgot again.  Then this morning, as I lay in bed, enjoying sleeping in (I am a teacher in NJ and we have off this Thursday and Friday for a teacher’s convention) I came across a blog for a writer that I really like and wanted to follow.

Since the end of Google Reader I haven’t really been reading a whole lot of blogs…but then I remembered that Word Press had a way to add blogs you followed, even non-Word Press blogs.  So…..I dug through the dusty remains of my memory to find my username and password and sign myself in.  *sneeze*  There is a lot of dust in there!

As I scrolled through the sites I have subscribed to (but haven’t read in a year or more), I remembered why I started blogging in the first place:  To find more female BJJ people.  Because I was concerned about doing BJJ, a typically male sport, and I was a girl.  Was there something wrong with me?  And, I was greatly relieved to find this giant community of female BJJ bloggers out there that let me know I was not alone.

In the past year, I’ve gone through a bunch of life changes.  (I know, this is out of left field, but if you are still with me, I promise it connects.  Eventually.)  I was accepted to a science teacher fellowship program for “teacher leaders.”  I made a huge decision to stop teaching the marching band I have taught as my side job for the past 10 years so I can have more time for my niece, nephew, and training. (Time is more precious then money.  Lesson Learned). I received my advanced brown belt in my karate classes, and I am hoping to be able to test for my black belt April 2015.  There has been an ongoing fight in my family to get my parents to move into a smaller, more manageable property (they currently live on 4 acres of land, and are 84 and 78, respectively).

There are a lot of things occuring that I would benefit from reflecting on and sharing with others to help gain perspective.  And maybe there is something I am going through that might help someone else know they are not alone. (See, I told you to hang in there!)

So, I am making a resolution to get back into blogging.  I really enjoyed it when I was posting on a regular basis, and I think that now is a good time for me to get back into the swing of things.  So I am putting “write blog post” in my Any.do calender, and see what happens.  Yay!

See You Soon!