Before I start sharing my tips, tricks, and experiences, pre-and- post my ACL surgery, I should probably tell you a little bit about myself and how I got here. (Which is exactly five weeks and one day since I had my surgery.)
Name: Naomi
Born: Toronto, Canada
Current City of Residence: NYC (Almost 17 years)
Age: 45 (But my You Cam Makeup App Skin Age Score is 33)
Occupation: Digital Media Consultant
Interests: Fitness, Fashion, Cooking, Movies, Music, Reading, Travel, Writing, Learning, Laughing, Living, Smiling AND SNEAKERS 
Activity Level Pre-Surgery: Very Active. Working out makes me a nicer person. My clients, my friends, myself, we all reap the benefits from my 5x a week dance-strength interval training classes.
Date of Injury: Friday, August 25, 2017.
How Did I Tear My ACL? It truly was one of those freak accidents. It happened five minutes into my workout. The group was running forward, and someone behind me, kicked the upper right-hand corner of my knee. (Just off to the side and slightly behind, to be exact.) It was an accident.
What Happened Next? Two seconds later, my knee gave out-buckled. I thought that maybe I had landed funny and tried to shake it off. I looked over my shoulder to see a band of UES ladies doing the grapevine and they were moving in my direction-quickly. I had two choices, join in, or get smashed. I went for the latter. My knee gave out and I left the class. I walked home from the studio. I didn’t feel any pain-yet-but I knew something wasn’t right.
Did I Hear a Pop? No, but the music was very loud, and I was so into the class, that I doubt I would have heard it anyway.
When Did I Know Something Was Wrong? As soon as I got home. I live on the second floor and rarely take the elevator. It hurt to go up the stairs but going down was worse-and then my knee buckled-again. By the end of the weekend my knee was stiff and swollen. I made an appointment with my doctor that Monday, had an MRI on Wednesday, and received the results on Thursday, August 30, 2017.
The Results: The MRI showed a full tear in my right ACL. My doctor gave me a prescription for physical therapy. I went religiously, 2x a week, for two months.
How Did I Deal With the News? Truthfully, I was freaking out inside. I have never had an injury that required me to modify my workouts. I had a very hard time processing it at first. It took me a month before I told anyone and I down-played the pain and discomfort I was in.
Did I Work Out Prior to My Surgery? Yes, I did but I completely changed my workout routine. I joined a local gym (With a month-to-month contract). I walked on the treadmill (4.0 mph max) 5x a week for cardio. (In the beginning I was using the elliptical and the upright bike but had to stop because of the pain.) I did ballet barre to maintain my upper body and to try and build strength in my legs. I stopped taking barre class 2 weeks before my surgery. I was overcompensating with the left side of my body and my lower back started paying for it. The knee continued to feel unstable. The sensation made me feel nauseous. It literally felt like a door without hinges, or as I liked to call it, my broken knee.
The Beginning of the End: After two months of extensive physical therapy, the recommended course of action, was to have the surgery.
Date of Surgery: Monday, November 13, 2017.
Now, on the with the show.
