The Dreaded ACL?

ACL is the...(let's see...can I spell this?) anterior cruciate ligament. A classic skier's injury. Bad luck for Si that the season hasn't nearly started, yet.

On Saturday, he joined a soccer league and played in his first match in almost 20 years. He was pretty nervous about signing up: would they all be a lot younger? Would they be cliquey and not want him around? Would it be hyper-competitive?

Turned out to be perfect: wide range of ages; co-ed; laid back. He had a great time, at least for the first 20 minutes. Then he was charging down the field, leaped up to kick the ball and came down in a divot caused by one of the sprinkler heads. They make deep holes sometimes, which people fill with pebbles and/or spray-paint orange. Not this time. So, down he went, with an audible POP from his knee.

The party I was holding with six of my colleagues was supposed to start in about five minutes when he dragged himself into the house and flopped down on the sofa. Simultaneously mixing salad dressing, setting up drink glasses and folding a load of wash, I administered the usual: ice, elevation, compression, and 800 mg of Ibuprofen.

That was yesterday, and I have to say it looks pretty bad. I have hurt my knee a bunch of times, but I haven't seen anything quite like this. And, frankly, I would rather have it be me than Simon. Not because I want to carry his pain in blind adoration; but because, as a patient, he sucks. Refused to go to InstaCare ("They don't know what they're doing."); only wants to see his regular GP; tells me Ibuprofen doesn't work for him and stops taking it, then sees that, without it, his knee blows up like a balloon and starts taking it again; he can tell me nothing about where it hurts or what kind of pain it is - it "just hurts, everywhere."

[exasperated growl]

Worst of all though, is the attitude. Si is kind of a "glass half empty" sort of guy at the best of times. So now, we have the whole mental thing going on. You know...

"Why did I think I could play soccer? I'm too old for it, and this is the price I pay."
"This is it for me. No skiing this winter. Maybe I'll never ski again."
"I was just on WebMD. Some of these injuries are impossible to recover from. 'Permanently limited mobility' 'Permanently limited strength'."
"You know, if the ACL is completely torn, it's impossible to fix. You never recover."

I can point out to him 'til I'm blue in the face that the hole in the pitch could have tripped up a younger guy in the same way; that it might not be the ACL; that, even if it is the ACL, we live in Utah, where ACL injuries are common and there are so many orthopedists per square mile that you can't turn around without bumping into one.

He doesn't want to be reasonable. He wants to have a pity party, and I'm cordially invited. In fact, my presence is required.

I will tell you the only thing that has comforted him. Nothing appeals to Si more than a little schadenfreude.

I guess, that at the Real Salt Lake match this past weekend, our star forward, Fabian Espindola made a goal. He likes to celebrate by executing a back flip, which he did this time, landing wrong and breaking his ankle. And the goal was called "off sides" and didn't count any way.

Si clipped that article and has taken it off to bed with him. Probably going to slip it under his pillow.

I suspect we have a long haul in front of us. He's going to try to get in to see the doctor first thing in the morning. If this requires surgery, it's going to be a loooooooong winter.