Madeline Sara: Physical Therapy Update

My Journey with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

"On the girl's brown legs there were many small white scars. I was thinking, do those scars cover the whole of you, like the stars and the moons on your dress? I thought that would be pretty too, and I ask you right here please to agree with me that a scar is never ugly. That is what the scar makers want us to think. But you and I, we must make an agreement to defy them. We must see all scars as beauty. Okay? This will be our secret. Because take it from me, a scar does not form on the dying. A scar means, I survived."
- Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Physical Therapy Update

I went to PT again today (I'm doing twice a week now). It seems like I'm starting to plateau and having trouble gain quad strength.

This week I've been noticing some clicking/popping when I'm walking, but I don't notice it when I'm doing non-weight bearing exercises. Since I only notice it when I'm walking, it's not something to be too concerned about.

Today I got an electrotherapy machine (stim unit) to use at home. The goal with this is to try to turn on my quad, and in the end, gain more strength. I have some exercise that I'm going to use it with, as well as normal quad sets, so we'll see if it helps me gain more strength.

I'm going to start pushing flexion more since my incision is almost completely closed up now. My incision troubles have defiantly set me back. Hopefully, with the stim unit and focusing on gaining my range of motion I'll start to see more progress again.

I'm going to Cleveland tomorrow for a check-up. I'll get new x-rays to make sure my knee (bone work especially) is healing as it should be. They'll also look at my incision and make sure it's continuing to make progress and closing up nicely.

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Up until September of 2006 I was a tenacious soccer player. In a league game I remember racing to the ball as my opponent pursued me. I beat her to the ball, planted my foot and cleared it. As I cleared the ball my knee dislocated. Searing pain engulfed me. I remember my coach carrying me off the field. Little did I know how much my life had just changed.

I was diagnosed with a rare, incurable connective tissue disorder, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which meant that I had to quit soccer. For me, this was extremely difficult. Soccer had always been something I defined myself by, having to throw that all away was not easy. Since then I have seen over thirty physicians, spent countless hours at physical therapy, have had a smorgasbord of medical tests, and a number of surgeries.

My disorder has been extremely life changing. Not only has it ended my soccer career, but it leaves me challenged on a daily basis. In the beginning this was a life change I wasn’t ready to accept and on many occasions it tore me apart. I did not want to live my life as a fractured person. This was not going to just disappear over night nor was it something that I could cry away. This was something that was out of my control and I couldn’t do anything about it. I realized though, that there was something I could do. I had the power to decide how to let it change my life. Right then I had a decision to make, and I had total control over it. This could ruin my life and destroy me, or it could become a positive experience for me and make me grow as a person.

I chose to take control. Here I am now, a few years later and I am very happy with my decision. I can genuinely say I am thankful for what I have been though and all the medical procedures that I have overcome. Because of this I am a stronger person. Because of this I know who I am and who I want to be. And, because of this I have grown up.

Orthopedic Surgeries

June 05- Bilateral Removal of Accessory Navicular Bone (Foot)

January 08- Left Knee Reconstruction (tightening of the patella tendon, MPFL, and surrounding tissue)

October 08-Right Knee Reconstruction (identical to left knee reconstruction)

December 09- Left Knee Re-Reconstruction (patella osteotomy, moving patella tendon to adjust the q-angle, replacement of MPFL with cadaver ligament, and tightening of surrounding tissue)

June 10- Right Hip Scope

June 10 (2 weeks after scope)- Right Hip Open

December 10- Left Hip Z-Plasty & Scope

February 11- Right Knee Re-Reconstruction (identical to left knee re-reconstruction in 09)