Bri's ACL and Meniscus Injury

by Brianna
(Pennsylvania, USA )

I am a sixteen year old girl, and a junior in high school.... I play on the jv and varsity volleyball team at my school... I don't consider my self to be a very good player but i attended all open gyms during the summer (except 3) and was improving during each one... My team and i attended a team camp at IUP two days before camp actually started, we all made it through camp with no injuries. On the first day of school camp, my world turned upside down. It was during the first drill, that it happened.. We were doing a drill called Killer, you have to touch ten balls, including diving and one that were thrown out the back of the court. I had gotten three touches and was going for the fourth.. i was running out the back of the court to get a ball, and i just remember grabbing my knee, and falling to the ground crying... I had felt a really big pop and a few more little ones... My sister was standing with her back towards me and she said she heard it pop. After laying on the court for a while until the athletic trainer got to me, the pain was starting to decrease, but not very much. He felt for my acl before i got up and said it was not torn.. I felt most of my pain on the inside of my knee.. So after i iced it down for probably 30 minutes or so he started to really examine it... He thought for sure it was the MCL and I would be able to be back on the court in 6 weeks, but he said we will have a orthopedic surgeon look at it too. So a few days later, i went and saw the surgeon.. He told me nothing except to use the crutches as needed and that i needed to get an MRI... I went for the MRI a few days later, and had the results a few day after that. Little did i know that the extent of my injury was that great.. I went to the doctor that day, hoping it was just the MCL or a very bad Sprain... However, that is not at all what i heard, I had torn my ACL and lateral and medial meniscus, the doctor told me i needed surgery... When i told my ATC what the surgeon had said he was completely surprised, as the surgeon was surprised to. My surgery isn't scheduled yet but i see the surgeon on Monday... I am really scared about having this surgery... I read online somewhere that once you have torn one ACL you are bound to tear the other, what are your thoughts on this, any opinions? Please comment on this so i can maybe feel a little better about the situation!