Conditions + Treatments
ACL Injury/Reconstruction
I had never had any major injuries prior to this year. Back in April of 2016, I went to Lake Tahoe with some friends to snow ski. About an hour into our first day skiing, I tore my ACL. I really had no idea what I'd done to my leg, I just knew I'd hurt it badly! I saw a doctor at the resort, but he couldn't diagnose me with 100% accuracy because he couldn't do an MRI. I reached out to a friend, Jeff Allen, who's the Head Football Athletic Trainer at the University of Alabama. Jeff helped me get an appointment setup with Dr. Lyle Cain for the morning after I returned from Lake Tahoe.
I've never seen an operation quite like the one that is Andrews Sports Medicine. They did an MRI and x-rays first, and within an hour of arriving, I was in the room with Dr. Cain talking through what exactly the injury was and what we should do to repair it. Dr. Cain suggested reconstructive surgery using my patellar tendon. We scheduled the surgery for May 10th.
I had just moved to Tuscaloosa in January of 2016. I took a job as the college pastor/church planter at Northport Baptist Church. The thing about this job in Northport/Tuscaloosa is that it's only temporary. In the Spring of 2018, I will be taking a team from this church to plant a new church in either Phoenix or Denver. Having grown up in Birmingham, I was looking forward to being closer to my family for a couple of years prior to moving off to plant. My family has a place on Smith Lake, so one thing I was REALLY excited about was 2 more summers on the lake with my family.
Having had the surgery on May 10th, that really killed any plans I had for water-sports over the summer. However, between Dr. Cain's incredible skill in the operating room and the irreplaceable folks that did my physical therapy at Tuscaloosa Rehab and Hand Center, I ended up getting to spend some time on the water this summer! It's been almost 5 months now since surgery, and I'm feeling really, really good. I've been jogging regularly again with my lab, Copper, and rarely feel any pain at all.
If I could go back and do it over again, would I wish to have not torn my ACL? Absolutely (mostly because I spent too much money to go ski in Tahoe and not enjoy it!). But I can't go back and change it. I'm so thankful that we live in a world with resources like Andrews Sports Medicine and surgeons like Dr. Cain that are there when things don't go as planned. I'm forever grateful to have been under the care of not only the best in the business, but some of the most caring and professional people I've met.
So thank you, Andrews Sports Medicine and Dr. Cain...you're the BEST!
