acl, pcl,mcl, hamsting, calf muscle torn and major avulsion of the left knee joint
My husband at the time of his injury on Feb.11,2004 was 37 years old. My husband was injured in his work place. A eight inch waterline under extreme pressure dragged him 25 feet and when it had finished dragging him his left knee joint was left hanging by the popliteal artery and front of the skin of his knee. He was medivaced by air ambulance. He was then rushed to emergency surgery. The doctor that night told me he was finished. He would not have the same job etc... The knee specialist had repaired all the muscle that was torn away from his calf at the left knee joint, repaired only two hamstrings, put all ligaments back together accept the ACL. My husband was in a bent cast with no weight to be put on his leg at any time for three months. There were several cast changes. After three months the cast was removed and we starting an aqua recovery program which consisted of just water walking and trying to get joint mobility and then he saw the physiotherapist three times a week for bending a straightening and exercising using the stationary bike and weights. My husband in early June decided to ride his mountain bike down the driveway, at the end of June he gave up his cane. His cast was removed near the end of April. He rode his bike everyday in the summer with our seven year old and myself for one hour, we walked in the evenings every day for fifty minutes and in the mornings he had physio and aqua recovery. My husband worked every hour of the day to get better. He was not to return to work until March of 2005 but returned to work September 7, 2004. I am so proud of this man. He had awful nightmares and was terribly scared of what his recovery was going to be like while he was in his cast. We even had one specialist tells us that if he were in the emergency that night he would have amputated my husband's leg. So, we have a really good ending to our story. Through determination and hardwork and never give up. Aquatherapy is the best medicine and a positive atitude. My husband is still muscle building and swims every chance he has and takes hot tubs for muscle tension. He also wears a generation 2 knee brace at work for stability on uneven ground especially this winter with the ice etc... He is a great man with a happy ending to his story.
From:
dmdesjardins@tbaytel.net
