Flashback to 2007/2008
Having always wanted to join the police force and go into intelligence when I was younger I was all the way through the Norfolk Constabulary recruitment process, even having had my uniform fitted and then bad luck struck. I had ruptured my ACL and broken off some of my meniscus. At that time it was devastating and I had to make a call, stick to my temporary living arrangement and sit out the 6-8 months and wait for the police opportunity or use my degree and try for a graduate position. I chose the latter and it turned out to be a decent choice.
One year into my career at Capgemini I finally took the plunge to get the ACL fixed and despite only being 23/24 it was a very rough recovery. The operation itself was painful, I was a new home-owner with my Birmingham apartment and the bruising and pain from the reconstruction was excruciating. With all of your network being around football, that also made it very tough, but I got through it and got back to sport.
Week 2 after ACL reconstruction in 2008 (above)
Fast Forward to around 2014
Playing for DCS Rapid around midway through the game my knee made a large pop cracking sound (those who have ruptured know the feeling and sound), for some reason I attempted to come back on twice, only to have to go off each time. I should have known the feeling and known better, but I think deep down I knew it was grim.
I had an MRI at the time and the scan was a big long list of ailments, MCL, ACL, effusion in the knee. After the hell of the last recovery I decided not to have it done, and I gave up all sports which needed twisting and turning since then. I only had a few brief times where the knee had given way, usually after getting lackadaisical after a few drinks.
Straight Lines Only
I figured out in 2018/2019 that I could run perfectly fine in straight lines and that is when my passion for running started. I was able to run completely without pain and without any twisting and turning, the ACL would not be triggered into collapsing me in a heap. I had found my game and ACL was not really on the cards, I was very done with football!
Colorado Adventures
It’s only really when I moved to Colorado I started getting the itch to get the ACL reconstruction, mainly due to the sports on offer here like skiing/snowboarding etc. Still, I was able to run perfectly well and hiking was certainly on the menu with all the amazing walks/hikes/climbs on offer here in Colorado.
As my running game was getting stronger and stronger, the ACL never really was on the cards, despite every winter my mates going up the mountains to ski always put it at the forefront of my mind. Ultimately though, I couldn’t face months out of running as that was now my main source of social interaction and after my hypothyroidism diagnosis and my fat bastard phase, I did not want to go back there.
Tomorrowland 2025
I was absolutely buzzing to go to my first Tomorrowland, it was lifelong dream and I was looking forward to meeting old friends and new ones who had been chatting to in the run up to the festival. So I got to Brussels the night before and of course, night before the festival and catching up with a few of the UK boys, it was time to enjoy a few drinks. A few drinks was going well until the sometimes titled ‘Jager King’ and his mate Simon met some inter railers who I thought looked to be having too tame a night for travelling. So I got the Jagers flowing and Simon got the karaoke cooking and Simon and Sam had the sense to bail at a sensible time, but not me. Anyway, these poor lads were keeping up and seemed great until we got outside and then it looked like a WWII film, bodies everywhere, chundering and groaning – absolute carnage. I was like a field medic going from one casualty to another trying to help. As a seasoned traveller I should have known better (with Brussels being the hellhole of the earth) when a guy went up to two of the lads to check on them, it was a pickpocket. One of the guys realised his phone had been taken and shouted out. Now, I had only met these guys tonight but hey I am a runner and good one… I can catch this guy. Unfortunately in my assessment I had not considered the 12-15 jagerbombs and the cobbled stones in the streets of Belgium and after hitting top gear for that state I decked it on the cobbles. The first thing I noticed really was the cuts everywhere, knees, arms, hands the lot. I didn’t really notice any other damage at that point.
The morning after was a nightmare, scabs everywhere, a busted black toe and a limp which I thought was from the toe. Amazingly, I still managed to have an amazing time at Tomorrowland despite hobbling the whole time and my puny tent not being waterproof.
Back to Colorado
When I got back and the toe had settled down, I was having problems running, it was more of a limp jog so I knew something was up but my parents were due to Colorado and I thought I will rest whilst they are here and then sort when they’re gone. A week or so into their trip I tried to do a keepy uppie with a beachball and my knee completely locked in agony. It happened twice more that trip so as soon as they went back home I got the old MRI scan to find a 50% handlebar meniscus tear which is flapping around and getting caught in my joint, as well as the ill-fated ACL I had known about before. Somehow my MCL had seemingly miraculously recovered from the 2014 MRI.
I know you have to pay for healthcare in the US but with my insurance through work whilst it still costs, the service you get I have to say makes it a bit worth it. I was MRI’d and with a surgeon very quickly but I was warned that they tend not to do many surgeries at the end of the year so it was likely it would be 2026 and that would have a medium sized financial impact for me as the deductible resets on January 1st.
Luckily for me the surgeon saw my Arsenal tattoo and was talking to me for 35 minutes about football and following football in the UK before he even looked at the knee. At the end of this he said that he would get me into one of his emergency slots and it turned out to be 3 weeks later.
The Operation
Having recovered from the first one in my new apartment in Birmingham, I was not too nervous about doing this one alone but I was remembering the absolute agony I was in in 2008 with the bruising and the bleeding. I was finding out that things have moved on quite a bit though
2008 – 3 day overnight stay
2025 – Outpatient, in and out same day
2008 – Sit on your arse with your leg up for 2/3 months
2025 – Get up off your arse after day 1 and get bending/bearing weight etc
I was still sceptical being honest, but my surgery experience was incredible. I got dropped off and picked up by friends, I was checked in, operated on, recovered from general anaesthetic and sent packing in the time you’d an X-Ray in the UK. I also woke up with no pain as they put nerve blockers in now, it was incredible.
2 Weeks Since Surgery
As I write today, I am 2 weeks post-op and things seem good with the knee. There is almost no pain, my swelling isn’t too bad and hardly any bruising. The physio seemed happy that after 1 week I was 105 degrees flex when he would have expected 90 degrees.
The main issue is sleep, with the leg brace I have not had more than 3-4 hours in any night since the operation which is impacting me big time, getting me down, I am exhausted, I feel lousy and I am struggling to function at work. I feel old, look old and I am absolutely knackered. I even missed a work meeting the other day after falling asleep in the middle of the day. Thankfully, the nurse is going to give me a soft brace with metal implants on Wednesday to see if that helps with my sleep. It is not pain, it’s the discomfort of the big metal clump on my leg and I cannot sleep on my back. I am a real wriggler and sometimes wake up with the quilt cover, pillow cases etc all over the room so having this Robocop leg is not working for me.
Obviously I do not know the success of the surgery until I get further down the line and twisting and turning. I was disappointed he had to clean away so much of my meniscus (80% of the horizontal and 10% of the vertical) but I will worry about that arthritis carnage when I am in my 60s.
I have a large program of exercises to do – prog A, side leg swings, hamstring stretches, quad engagement. Prog B is heel slides (ouch), leg lifts and twisted leg lifts. Prog C – swings on the exercise bike (not full rotation) – not been able to do this just yet.
The toughest part is easily the lack of being able to go out and do things, I essentially haven’t been to my clubs since mid-August so that has been really tough. With working from home there is sometimes very little human interaction but some broncos pub visits have helped with that a little.
Timeline
Rather than base this on research, I will just detail what I know for sure today
26th Nov – stitches out and hopefully green light to shower which will make me feel a bit more human
3rd Dec – Physio milestone where I hope to get more flexion than the 105 started with but we shall see
19th Dec – Brace off, technically it is meant to be the week after but that is Christmas. He did say however if I get to 125 flex prior we can discuss ditching the brace early
Physio will go through for 6 months but he has said my target of running not racing Bolder Boulder on Memorial Day (end of May) is a very realistic and good target . I cannot miss Bolder Boulder
I know it;s al to of work ahead but I am so grateful it got done in November so I can recover over the Colorado winter and I am already planning for a massive 2026. I am looking forward to running again but I cannot wait to be able to dip my toe into fat man’s tennis aka pickeball, skiing/snowboarding and other things.
I have had to sacrifice Christmas at home with the friends and family but 2026 is already looking great with my annual NYC, Canada hockey trip, Ultria Miami and Tomorrowland 2026 booked up.
Congratulations if you made it through this – you are officially are bored as me
