On March 9, 2026, I had reconstruction surgery on my left knee. It was a drastic procedure that took 2-3 hours to complete, and it was dramatically painful after the pain-killers wore off. I had a ACL tear the month before, and it didn’t hurt as much, but walking, and turning were certainly an issue that stuck with me for weeks. I had my surgery at the St. Cloud Surgical Center by St. Cloud Technical and Community College, and it was a first time, nerve wracking surgery for me to experience.
After my surgery, I had a brace on with crutches for support, they usually give you a t-scope brace which is locked at 0 degrees for flexion and no extension. I used crutches for three and a half weeks before trying to do full weight bearing with no assistance. I want to show people a different perspective of what it’s like to do therapy after an injury.
On February 23, I had my MRI results done, and I found out my ACL was torn, along with my partially torn MCL, bone bruises, and multiple stretched muscle tissues. I wasn’t shocked, but I was upset and thought it was just a knee sprain.
I first had my therapy session the day after, and it felt nice to get rid of the tension and tissue that was not able to work at bending. I had my mom help me with most exercises and my dad usually helped me with raising my leg and helping me ice it. I interviewed my dad for what it was like to help me, he said this:
My mom usually helped me with waking up, making breakfast, and helping me get in the shower. I usually thank her for helping me. It was a long two to three weeks, and she was happy to help me. I interviewed her about being concerned for me, she said this:
The Orthopedic Sports Center is the place I usually go to for sessions and it is right next to the orthopedics for other appointments and have a lobby to sit and wait.
The recent session I had was on May 22 which was this past Friday, and it was a good one. I was on the bike, did step ups and step downs, and had an icing session for 15 minutes.
I want to thank the therapy team for a good, and amazing immersive experience. The few appointments are in a few weeks, and I think physical therapy should be for everyone to experience when injured, or sore. The reason I wanted to do a media project like this was to make people have a different opinion on physical therapy.
