Torn ACL - Gymnastics - My Story

Fantastic day today. I went to the doctor for my post-op visit. He told me that out of all the hundreds of patients he's seen in the past 10 years, I have the best range of motion at this stage by far of anyone he's operated on. My range 11 days post op is 0-130 degrees. My graft is really strong and I'm well on my way. He gave me the okay to open my brace so I can bend my knee to walk and I can lose the crutches whenever I am ready.

Here are the pictures from the arthroscopy:



All this lovely cotton candy is what's left of my ACL after shredding it to pieces.




Here is the hole left from where my ACL was removed.




This is the doctor drilling the hole to attach the graft.




My new ACL taken from my patellar tendon.




This is the damage to my cartilage. The rough area is supposed to be smooth like the rest of the cartilage. Luckily, it is over on the medial side of my knee and is not in the center where it would be much more affected by rubbing. I may be able to escape osteoarthritis in my future.