Today was The Best Day.

This morning, I had an appointment with Dr. Smith, who is the head team physician for Marquette, about my knee. I figured it had been about a year since the pain started, and I for a year I've cut back on my miles, I've stretched, I've strengthened, I've biked, I've ellipticaled, I've tried new shoes. After a year, nothing is working, so it was time for another evaluation.
For the past week, I've been setting myself up to hear that I have permanent cartilage damage and if I care about the long term health of my knees I will stop running for good. I was ready to take that diagnosis with a brave face then cry myself to sleep about it for the next three months.
But there is a reason I set up this appointment with Dr. Smith and not Dr. Grove, who I like a bit more, and usually do my Sports Med. appointments with. And that reason is that Dr. Smith runs UltraMarathons, which means she is running anywhere from 50 miles to 100 miles to 135 miles through Death Valley in a single sitting, to 24 hour runs for distance. Dr. Smith gets running. This was my last ditch effort to see if she would have something else for me to try, because she knows all too well that she can't simply tell me to Stop Running.
So we talked for a bit. And she poked and prodded and found my plica and watched me walk.
And then she said the most wonderful sentence I've heard in a very long time:

"I don't think this is structural. What I'm finding does not indicate permanent damage."

And I, halfway though starting to say, "I guess I will try to take up swimming," just stared at her for a minute. "It's... NOT permanent?"

No. Not permanent. Mechanical. Not structural.
Which means it could be as simple as taking the inserts out of my running shoes and replacing them with a Dr. Shoal's insert that will offer cushioning and not effect my biomechanics.
For you see, I've been wearing the same type of shoe and same type of insert for arch support since I was 15. I didn't really have problems until last year, so I've always just walked into Wasatch Running, held up my running shoe and said, "I need a new one of these, size 8."
It never occurred to me to have someone look at my feet in the past 6 years to make sure I haven't changed. I never thought that while my hips widened and chest developed and rib cage expanded and I packed on muscle that my feet might actually be changing too.
I've been in a neutral shoe for the past 6 years. The next time I need new shoes I'm to get a cushioning shoe made for people who have high arches. That will be fun. I really like the people at Wasatch Running, and running shoe shopping is the only type of shopping I don't hate.

There is some grinding in my left knee under the kneecap. More so than in the right knee. That's a fact. But it's likely not due to degradation of my joint, but rather scar tissue and swelling that never really goes away because I never really give myself a chance to fully heal before I'm off running again.
Dr. Smith even wrote me up a schedule to follow for how I should be running. It looks crazy to me, to walk 3 minutes and only run 2 two for a total of 15 minutes the first week, but if it works, then it works!

I do have an x-ray tomorrow to figure out just what the grinding in my knee is from and if it would be possible to go in and scope it out to clean it up. (Insurance permitting of course). The idea of expensive medical things without my parents around is slightly intimidating, but my dad should be calling me when he gets home from work to talk insurance things.


Then I got back to my apartment and had this email:



*Name blocked so HIPPA doesn't swoop down and get me.
I AM SO STOKED TO WATCH A SURGERY!!!
I'm also loving the fact that Danielle offered the opportunity to me first, even though I am not assigned to this athlete's sport anymore. Usually the people who are officially assigned to the team get to go to surgery, but she was so impressed with me from before Spring break that she thinks I should get to go.
Woot WOOT!