Confession

Oh, this is juicy. I cheated on Dr. McGorgeous. Ugh. After the three options for this tendon were presented, I did what any rational, level headed person who has plenty of experience with this would do. I panicked. I found a doctor. Remember San Fran, that professional football player I know? This is the other surgeon he has used. I had to travel to a different time zone to see this guy. I scheduled the appointment (that happened on Wednesday) at the end of January. This guy operates on a lot of NFL players and Olympians. He's legit. What I wanted was to hear the same three options that Dr. McGorgeous gave me. And maybe which option he is leaning towards. Place your bets now if you think that's what I got.
Instead, he rolled into the exam room with 2 residents and a fellow. Never a good sign when they want the students to see you. By the way, I had sent my entire medical file over to his office when I scheduled the appointment, so Dr. NFL knew what he was getting himself into. The exam was routine. The same tests I've had a million times. Stress tests. Strength tests. Questions. Answers. He definitely took his time with me. After he was done, he sat back and told me my tendon wasn't my problem. Excuse me, what? The tendon? It's a non-issue.
So, what exactly IS my issue?
Remember a million hundred thousand and eleven years ago, when all I had was a torn ligament and a fracture on my talus? According to Dr. NFL, my current problem is that the repair we did to my talus failed. It's still causing me pain, and it needs to be re-repaired. Only, since the first repair failed, now we need to go in with a bone graft. Yeah, that's right. Take a chunk out of my tibia, and insert it into my talus.
Wait, there's more.
The outside of your ankle is a whole bunch of ligaments. I've had two of them repaired. I have not had a specific ligament, called the CF ligament, fixed. It needs to be fixed.
Let me sum this up for you. More than two years after needing a lateral ligament and talar OCD repair done, I need......a lateral ligament and talar OCD repair done.
I told him I didn't believe him. He didn't seem upset by this. He said we would do an experiment. He thinks the talus is my problem. I think it's a tendon. He will numb my talus. If the pain goes away, he's right. If the pain persists, I'm right. So the needle came out, went in, and they left me alone with the instructions "do what you need to do to make it hurt". So I walked around the exam room. I jumped, repeatedly. I ran in place. And nothing....NOTHING I did made it hurt. He was right.
I drove the entire way home in complete silence. For hours. I got home and vomited. To say that I am confused is an understatement. Who do I believe? The doctor I've had for years and ABSOLUTELY TRUST WITH MY LIFE, or this new guy who has met me for an hour? Was that a legitimate experiment he did? What do I do now? If Dr. NFL is right, we are talking over a month off work and 6 months for a full recovery. Ha, I forgot. You already know that because you read my blog. You know exactly what's coming, and so do I. I have no plan for now. I see Dr. McGorgeous the first week in April. I will confess then, and see what he says.