On the morning of Thursday, July 8th, I arrived at the Same Day SurgiCenter of Orlando to have reconstructive knee surgery!
My anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, had been torn and was going to be replaced with a graft from a strip of tendon under my kneecap.	An arthroscopic view of my torn ACL
I had been dealing with my injured knee for two months, and I was anxious to have the surgery done and start on the road to rehabilitation. A little nervous too. I was happy to have my parents and my girlfriend, Sarah, at my side.
Sarah visits me as I am prepared for surgery	In pre-op, I slipped into the standard hospital gown. The nurse started administering fluids and medications through an IV, and my leg was shaved in preparation for my knee surgery.
Then I was rolled into the operating room. The anesthesiologist injected more medicine into me and then told me to breathe in as he placed a mask over my mouth. And that's all I remember.
When I came to, it was two hours later! The surgery was complete. My knee was wrapped and immobilized. I was groggy. But I didn't feel too bad.	An arthroscopic view of my ACL graft
My Mom and Sarah visit me after my surgery	My knee with the incision stapled closed (You can see where I had to write "YES" so they wouldn't operate on the wrong knee.)
The surgery was a success. And, from my point of view, very easy, since I was unconscious for the whole procedure. I felt great when my family drove me home. However, that all changed when I woke up the next morning...
Posted: 7/11/2004

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