How It Happened
Posted on: December 26, 2010
My injury happened the second week of November in 2010. I was playing flag football like I had been doing every week since school started.
I was ready to cut past my opponent when I heard 4 loud pops from my knee. The popping happened when I decelerated and planted my right leg, extended, into the ground. Studies have shown that a person is more susceptible to an ACL injury when using cleats.
The next thing you know, I fell to the ground, curled into a fetal position, and was clawing the grass with my fingers because the pain was unbearable. Initially, my right leg was numb; more than 5 minutes later, when I was taken to the sidelines, the stabbing-like pain went away.
I had never broken a bone but I instinctively knew I did not. I went to the ER that same night and the X-rays confirmed my guess. The doctor prescribed two painkillers (one was Darvocet — it was recalled 2 weeks after my ER trip!) but I never bought them from the pharmacy. Instead, I took Advil. I was given crutches and my right leg was put in a cast-like brace (the photo isn’t me) that prevented me from bending. I wore this brace day and night (including sleep) until I went to the orthopedist 2 days later.
Between the time of my injury and my first visit to the orthopedist, I iced my right knee for 2 hours each day in 20-minute intervals without the brace. I lost all range of motion (couldn’t bend at all) and my right knee was the size of a grapefruit. My leg was elevated above the heart using pillows placed under my foot and calf rather than under my knee.
The 21-Year Old and Her Tear 
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