Adventures, Tips, and Technology » Activities

ACL Reconstruction Surgery

Trent M — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 00:05:16 +0000

Note: this discussion has MOVED. Click the link below to complete the quick form and see the new website…

IMPORTANT – If you’ve had ACL surgery, please share your thoughts on these quick 9 questions… Share your ACL Surgery feedback

Valuable data is now being collected and results will be posted to the link above on Dec. 8th ! Too bad we didn’t have this info before having surgery!

Yesterday I had my ACL reconstructed. The surgery went well and I feel better than I thought- not feeling much pain. It was performed in Vancouver, WA by Dr. Roberts of Rebound, a well-respected surgeon in the Portland area. He previously did Trailblazer Greg Oden’s knee surgery.

The new makeshift ACL was constructed from a hamstring graft, but Roberts has his own unique way of fastening it. As I understand it, he doesn’t just use bioabsorbable screws, but a couple of titanium screws and washers, along with a 55mm x 3mm titanium pin placed in the lower femoral bone. This gives the new ACL (hamstring) something secure to loop around and tie back. He said he’s been doing these for 10-12 years and believes it’s the best fixation.

My right knee was injured when I was playing ultimate frisbee. The surgery came after a lot of thought and research on which graft to choose: patellar vs hamstring.

The rehabilitation will be quite involved. I have quite a laundry list of tasks to do, including various strength-building exercises, constant icing using a fancy Game Ready ice machine, and making multiple trips to the physical therapist. I think it will be worth it.

My 2008 in Review

Trent M — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:54:26 +0000

This was a year of significant change. It feels like it was two years in one. In chronological order, here’s a summary of my significant events in 2008.

Moved to Longview, WA
Started a new job
Navigated through some challenging issues with Turbo Photo
Found a new group for playing racquetball
Joined a walleyball group
Went snow skiing 5x
Camped in a snow cave
Taught salsa dancing a couple times
Performed at a tango/cha cha dance recital
Volunteered as ESL tutor at the library
Made a difference at my workplace- revised the logo, website, and increased traffic 6x
Maintained a blog
Hiked every weekend for 6 weeks in preparation for climbing Mt. Hood
Took a LCC course
Saw the supercross in Seattle
My car was totaled by an uninsured drunk driver
Bought a motorcycle
Won a settlement in court from a fraudulent car transaction
Reconnected with an old friend
Learned more about programming PHP, including a breakthrough with data mining
Played in an ultimate frisbee league
Tore my ACL
Became president of new Toastmaster club
Joined a local photography club
Posted drum videos to YouTube and received more than 25k views
One of my websites doubled in popularity- received 700+/day visitors
Started yoga
Enjoyed a vacation in Cabo
Visited family
Chose to have knee surgery in Feb 2009
On the schedule to teach at LCC
Had a photography vacation in San Diego

Workplaces

Trent M — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 00:47:20 +0000

Here are some of the places I’ve worked…

Ultimate Accident

Trent M — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:44:36 +0000

I was a part of an ultimate frisbee league up until Aug. 28th, when I injured my knee. I flew through the air like superman to catch a disc (like the image above [me in black]) and upon landing, rolled my ankle and tore my ACL. I was unable to walk the next few days and used crutches. This type of accident was a first for me.

Fortunately, now I can walk around again, but the knee is a little unstable. An MRI this week will determine the status of the ACL (yep, practicing my acronyms). There may not be any blog posts in the ‘Adventures’ category for a while.

Update: I decided to have ACL reconstruction surgery…

Family Motocross Riding

Trent M — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 02:50:45 +0000

Here are some pictures taken of my brother and family on 9-13-08.

My Car is Totaled

Trent M — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:02:48 +0000

At 11:15pm last night a drunk driver crashed into my car, which was parked out in front of my place. No one was hurt except the drunk driver, who was arrested a few minutes afterwards. He somehow pushed my car about 75-100 feet down the street then kept driving with a missing wheel until he was caught a few blocks from here.

Although the engine and front portion wasn’t affected as much, there was too much structural damage to salvage. My car was considered totaled and hauled away.

I guess I won’t be driving to work today.

Calgary Tower See-Through Floor

Trent M — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 01:34:50 +0000

The Calgary Tower in Calgary, Alberta, Canada installed a clear, see-through glass floor! It’s 525 feet (190 meters) over the city and kinda freaky.

1. Starting to test the glass. Is it safe? I hope it’s thick enough.

2. This is nuts. I can’t believe I’m now stepping out on this flimsy piece of glass- probably manufactured at 4:59pm on a Friday.

3. Ok, this feels weird. All my weight is now on the pane of glass.
If it breaks, I’m history.

4. Quick proof of the feat, before fleeing to safety.

5. Tourists standing on the glass. One teenager jumped up and stomped his feet down as hard as he could on the glass. To his fortune, nothing happened.

6. Hovering above the city.

7. View of the Calgary Tower from Downtown.

Stats:

Glass thickness: 2.25" (5.7cm)

Strength: Can withstand 4,000 pounds (1,800kgs)
Distance to ground: 525 feet (160 meters)