Sometimes we fall for a reason... literally!

I am a distance runner, in case I forgot to mention that anywhere.  Last November I decided to train for the Buffalo Marathon.  I ran hundreds of miles, weight lifted, cross trained, and felt more confident in myself than ever.  I wasn't running fast, but I was running farther distances than I ever had in my fifteen years as a runner.  I was also running with a purpose - to raise money for the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation.  I couldn't wait to line up on race day in my Dystance4Dystonia singlet, but that wouldn't happen.

My biggest obstacle throughout my training was my left knee.  I'd had chronic pain in it for about four years.  After my longest training run three weeks prior to the marathon, my knee became extremely unstable, leaving me in terrible pain. Two weeks before the marathon, I knew it was over.  I was more disappointed than I can find words to describe.

I went to my orthopedic surgeon who couldn't tell me much without an MRI.  We let it rest with a steroid injection into the joint to get the inflammation down.  I just recently was able to start walking normally again.  Back at the doctor's office a couple of weeks ago, we made the decision to schedule arthroscopic surgery to remove any loose cartilage and smooth out the back of my patella.  

Then a fluke thing happened.  The day after my appointment, I tripped and fell, scraping up the knee I was supposed to have surgery on.  I panicked, "Oh my God, why this knee?"  I tended to my knee and did everything humanly possible to help restore the broken skin so I could be cleared for the surgery.  Despite my efforts, my primary care physician couldn't clear me.  When you have arthroscopic surgery, the skin needs to be completely clear of abrasions to reduce the risk of infection. I still have a scab.

As of recent, my dystonia has been acting up on the right side of my body as well.  I attributed my flare-ups mostly due to lack of exercise; however, over the past week or so, it's been pure hell.  I've been feeling worse than I did before even having Deep Brain Stimulation.  The fixed positions became tighter and more unbearable each day.

Today, I saw my neurologist/programmer in Rochester.  The voltage in my left iPG is 3.66.  3.64 is where the insurance companies will clear you for a new battery, but clinically, I am ready at 3.66.  My neurologist didn't even want to tinker with the settings for fear of "sucking out whatever juice is left in it."  Providing my insurance doesn't give them a hard time, I could be in the OR as early as next Monday.  The hang-up might be my right iPG, which is holding strong at 3.71.  They need to make a convincing argument that having two pieces of different hardware in me is not conducive to treating my dystonia. My '08 Soletra batteries aren't even made anymore.  The technology is much more sophisticated now.

So, my point?  What if I didn't take a tumble and scrape up my knee?  In a month or so, I'd still be recovering from knee surgery instead of having new batteries.  Treating my dystonia and replacing my hardware is much more important than scoping out my knees.  I suppose I fell for a reason... and a darn good one!