I completely ruptured my ACL on April 2016 at a ski accident. During the same incident, I had meniscal tears and grade 2 MCL strain. ACL doesn’t grow itself; however, MCL reconnects loosely not as tight as it was before. Meniscus wouldn’t renew itself either. I opted out of a reconstruction surgery.
Why did I opt out of an ACL reconstructive surgery?
I choose to keep my body’s integrity. I saved my body for all those years. Going under a knife and let a complete stranger cut my skin, make me bleed, and drill my bones, didn’t fit with my holistic approach to life. (At the same time, an orthopedic surgeon friend of mine and his nurse wife accepted me as a patient and after surgery nurse; if I decide to go under the knife, I would only let him cut my knee.) I didn’t choose an optional surgery. %12 of ACL reconstruction patients perform perfectly well without a surgery. So, I decided to be a statistic in that %12. I trust my body would activate its plan b and plan c and it would make up for the lost ligament. It has been 17 months. I skied more than 60 days, swam more than 30 miles, biked more than 200 miles. Last month, I even deadlifted 130 pounds for 8 times. I have the full range of motion according to my physical therapist. I cannot run yet. I run on a treadmill with %70 of my body weight at the hospital. My injured right leg is weaker and smaller than my champion left leg. After a hardcore skiing day, my knee would hurt to a point that I would take a day break off skiing. For the last 17 months, I have been doing Iyengar yoga religiously, 1000’s reps of leg extensions, leg presses, cable butt kicks, kettle bell swings, weighted bridge, and baby plyometrics exercises. I feel ready to roll. I feel strong. I feel %80 there. My knee never inflamed since the accident even skiing 60 days last winter. If I am tired, I rest. I take a break.
After a day break, I go back to the mountain and watch those skiers dancing with the mountain. In my early teenage years, I always had a crush on boys who can swim a good butterfly for 50 meters straight. Of course, that triangle swimmers body was a bonus but something about that graceful movement of a butterfly in a pool where lines of back muscle followed by a tight speedo always gave me goose bumps. In 2017, I can proudly state that I have expanded my interests beyond a pool all the way to mountains. Now when I see a good skier swaying on the powder down from the steep slopes making irregular turns, I hear Jason Derulo’s songs he is humming. He elegantly rips the mountain in half. I follow the rail road tracks he left for me to trace. I get the same goose bumps as in my teenage years from head to toe. It is easy to appreciate to sit on the second floor of the Snow Park Lodge and find my inspiration on Champion or No You Don’t ski runs in Park City. So easy…
Well… going back to the subject matter of this post, for my injured knee, I have never used an Advil or ibuprofen, but turmeric pills, oregano oil, Vicks, salt water hot tub, electroshock therapy, magnesium lotion and pills, bone broth, collagen protein, collagen pills, vibration plate.
I devoted my last 2 months for my stem cell research. I attended an informational meeting at East-West Health in Park City; I have watched Dr. Harry Adelson’s speech at the Bulletproof Conference, and his videos. I have been following Regenexx’s research papers for 14 months and U.S. Stem Cell’s training for 6 months.
Different clinics use different sources of stem cells from harvesting from the patient’s hip bone marrow to extracting the fat tissue via liposuction. I am the most convinced the amniotic stem cell is the best. Because it works as well as fat and bone marrow stem cells and more importantly it is not invasive. Obviously, I am all about keeping the integrity of my body. I wouldn’t choose to drill my hip bone if I don’t have to. And amniotic stem cells provide that information.
Anyway, 4 stem cell doctors I consulted say the same thing. It seems like the more doctors I visit, they will say the same thing. (Yes, I sometimes suspect my sanity too.) Because my ACL is fully ruptured, my knee is not a good candidate. Stem cells are unassigned cells. Wherever they are placed, the stem cells would transform into that cell. In my case, there is no ligament and stem cells cannot reproduce a ligament that doesn’t exist. One of the stem cell doctors said that she would inject the leftover stem cells wherever I want such as my forehead- hey I am sold!!
The only strategic recommendation was a hyaluronic acid injection on my right knee to lubricate and maintain whatever left. Other than that, I keep on what I have been doing, listening to my body and silencing my ego.
