Surgery

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blue_murr4

5-Year Member
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
41
Hi everyone,

Some sad news... I tore my ACL and I am getting surgery on March 3rd. ACL recoveries are very long, and usually athletes do not fully recover until 12 months after the procedure. I was wondering if anyone else has experience this/know what to do in terms of the CFA and the medical qualifications process.
Any thoughts would be appreciated
 
blue_murr4 said:
Hi everyone,

Some sad news... I tore my ACL and I am getting surgery on March 3rd. ACL recoveries are very long, and usually athletes do not fully recover until 12 months after the procedure. I was wondering if anyone else has experience this/know what to do in terms of the CFA and the medical qualifications process.
Any thoughts would be appreciated
Click to expand...
Are you Class of 2021 or 2022?
 
My son had a football knee injury and we dealt with much of the fear you are facing. He stretched his MCL badly almost off the bone, bruised his tibia marrow, patellar tendonitis and a mild tibial plateau fracture. All from 900 pounds of football lineman piling on top of him!

It is my understanding that any surgery within a year of DODMERB can result in a fail. But! A waiver can be granted with medical info proving your recovery is complete and total and no lasting impact.

About your knee. Ask if your own tendon to be used. Better success long-term for athletes with healthy young tissue.

Do your best to be prepared for surgery. Get strong, stabilize that knee with PT. Ask for a carbon fiber brace to help you stabilize while you shore up the structures around your acl. When it comes to surgery do everything by the book. Tell everyone who will listen what your goals are. Make sure they know thst you will do whatever is required and ask if they feel comfortable moving you to your next step to your goal.

Remind your ortho what you need your DODMERB info to reflect at every visit so the office can ensure your progress and functionality are charted well. Bad charting can make your waiver more difficult.

PT. Make sure you go before and after. Make sure you use every benefit the PT will get you. If you have a team doc from your school, get them in as part of your rehab team. My son saw our team Chiro after PT 3x a week for Russian Current rehab, accupuncture and red laser light therapy and he healed mich faster than we were told.

If you have any questions or want to chat with my son about knee stuff just send me a message!
 
My DS, 2021 appointee, had a complete ACL tear near the end of football season in 2015. He had ACL reconstruction using his doubled-over hamstring tendon on Nov 23,2015. He started non-contact football practice a little over 7 months later on July 6,2016. He told his coach he would only run in straight lines without cutting for 1 month. He did his CFA in Aug 2016. He didn't do very well on the mile(7:55), but he had close to an average shuttle run. He was strong in all other categories since he was able to maintain good upper body and core strength. He wanted to finish the CFA before taking the physical dings you get playing football. He also wanted to finish the application in September so he could concentrate on school and football. DS did all the necessary PT and stationary bike riding during rehab. He played the football season with a knee brace and was healthy throughout the season. His baseball season starts with it's opening game this Friday. Of course DODMERB disqualified him due to surgery within one year of application, but he was offered a waiver opportunity within 2 weeks and the waiver was granted 3 weeks later after medical info was sent in to DODMERB. DS had an LOE so it was obvious he was a good candidate.
I agree with DesertCaliMom in letting the doctor know in advance that you will be needing all the medical records to apply to West Point. Most doctors will hear West Point and then do everything they can so that you can achieve your lofty goal. As long as the doctor gives you an all-clear for physical activity without restrictions and states that your knee healed perfectly, then you should get a medical waiver if you are a good candidate in all other ways.
I would take CFA in the early January so that it is marked as complete in your file by the end of January.
ACL recovery is a long road, but many appointed cadets have put in the hard work and diligence to conquer this temporary setback. Good luck. I hope your surgery and recovery go well!
 
DesertCaliMom said:
My son had a football knee injury and we dealt with much of the fear you are facing. He stretched his MCL badly almost off the bone, bruised his tibia marrow, patellar tendonitis and a mild tibial plateau fracture. All from 900 pounds of football lineman piling on top of him!

It is my understanding that any surgery within a year of DODMERB can result in a fail. But! A waiver can be granted with medical info proving your recovery is complete and total and no lasting impact.

About your knee. Ask if your own tendon to be used. Better success long-term for athletes with healthy young tissue.

Do your best to be prepared for surgery. Get strong, stabilize that knee with PT. Ask for a carbon fiber brace to help you stabilize while you shore up the structures around your acl. When it comes to surgery do everything by the book. Tell everyone who will listen what your goals are. Make sure they know thst you will do whatever is required and ask if they feel comfortable moving you to your next step to your goal.

Remind your ortho what you need your DODMERB info to reflect at every visit so the office can ensure your progress and functionality are charted well. Bad charting can make your waiver more difficult.

PT. Make sure you go before and after. Make sure you use every benefit the PT will get you. If you have a team doc from your school, get them in as part of your rehab team. My son saw our team Chiro after PT 3x a week for Russian Current rehab, accupuncture and red laser light therapy and he healed mich faster than we were told.

If you have any questions or want to chat with my son about knee stuff just send me a message!
Click to expand...


Thanks!!! I am deciding between patella tendon graft or a hamstring...not sure which yet. I plan to do everything by the book and notify my doctor and PT. Hoping I will be able to return to the field by September but who knows!
 
Ice64 said:
My DS, 2021 appointee, had a complete ACL tear near the end of football season in 2015. He had ACL reconstruction using his doubled-over hamstring tendon on Nov 23,2015. He started non-contact football practice a little over 7 months later on July 6,2016. He told his coach he would only run in straight lines without cutting for 1 month. He did his CFA in Aug 2016. He didn't do very well on the mile(7:55), but he had close to an average shuttle run. He was strong in all other categories since he was able to maintain good upper body and core strength. He wanted to finish the CFA before taking the physical dings you get playing football. He also wanted to finish the application in September so he could concentrate on school and football. DS did all the necessary PT and stationary bike riding during rehab. He played the football season with a knee brace and was healthy throughout the season. His baseball season starts with it's opening game this Friday. Of course DODMERB disqualified him due to surgery within one year of application, but he was offered a waiver opportunity within 2 weeks and the waiver was granted 3 weeks later after medical info was sent in to DODMERB. DS had an LOE so it was obvious he was a good candidate.
I agree with DesertCaliMom in letting the doctor know in advance that you will be needing all the medical records to apply to West Point. Most doctors will hear West Point and then do everything they can so that you can achieve your lofty goal. As long as the doctor gives you an all-clear for physical activity without restrictions and states that your knee healed perfectly, then you should get a medical waiver if you are a good candidate in all other ways.
I would take CFA in the early January so that it is marked as complete in your file by the end of January.
ACL recovery is a long road, but many appointed cadets have put in the hard work and diligence to conquer this temporary setback. Good luck. I hope your surgery and recovery go well!
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for all the advice and I will definitely let the doctors know. Congrats to your DS!
 
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