My next appointment with Dr. Peter was scheduled for 8 days later, May 27th. He was a bit surprised at my apparent lack of progress in gaining control of my lower leg. After a careful physical exam he discovered a depression an inch or two right above my patella and right in the middle of my thigh. Depressions are normal in various places around the sides of the knee — go ahead, feel your knees — but the depression Peter found should not have been there.
He immediately said it felt like a blown quad tendon. At that point I didn’t have a clue what a quad tendon was or how important it is in the physical scheme of walking or bending. All I’d ever heard of was ACL and PCL and other ligament and cartilage related stuff.
So I calmly asked what the treatment was. He told me: surgery, and not arthroscopic surgery either. Oops. Not good news.
He ordered a knee and lower thigh MRI to confirm the diagnosis but he was sure what they were going to show. We set a follow-up for the following Wednesday.
I went home somewhat unhappy. On the way (with Hilary) I called the Delco MRI Center and asked for the earliest possible appointment. The first available was 10 days later. Then we went to Haverford MRI on Route 1. We had no better luck there and I didn’t like the place. In some desperation, I called Rothman and set up an MRI for the next Tuesday at their facility which is right down the hall from the main office. That would give Peter a chance to see the results before I next saw him.
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