Torn ACL, MCL, Meniscus Journey (college)

I wish I blew out my knee doing something cool, but I jumped for a rebound. I heard a pop and grabbed my knee on the way down and landed on one foot. The first 5 minutes were unbearable pain — rolling on the ground — but afterward you get a burst of random energy from the adrenaline rush. I tried running but my knee just gave out. Friends took me to the hospital and an x-ray showed my bones were fine. The doctor assumed at worst an MCL tear.
That night I couldn't sleep from the constant pain. I called my parents, they picked me up, and we went to see an orthopedic surgeon the next day to get an MRI done. Then came the bad news — torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus.

We booked the surgery but my knee had too much damage, so I was required to do PT before the procedure. The requirement was that I could bend my knee to a 90 degree angle before going under. I was able to walk but only with a massive knee brace on. I went back to college, finished my semester, and moved out of my dorm. The days leading up to surgery were filled with PT and watching ACL surgery videos on YouTube. I do not recommend that last part.
For ACL surgery you have to choose a graft — meaning a new ACL is created from different tissue. The options are autografts using your own tissue, such as hamstring, quad, or patellar tendon, or allografts using donor tissue. I went with an autograft from my quad tendon because the quad has the best recovery outcomes and for young individuals autografts are generally recommended. My doctor harvested tissue from my left leg quad to build the new ACL.

Surgery day meant no food or water for at least 12 hours beforehand. I didn't feel scared until they started drawing blood and hooking me up to the anesthesia. My heart began to race and the fear hit an all time high. But it didn't last long. Before I knew it I was out. I woke up an hour later unable to feel my left knee at all. I was wheeled to the car, got home, and passed out. That night and the following days were brutal. The amount of pain is immense — genuinely the hardest days of my life.

The very next day after surgery you have to start PT. If you don't, your body will essentially begin to shut down that part of your leg. I started on a stationary bike. Think about trying to bend your knee on a bike when your entire left quad was just harvested and your knee is freshly reconstructed with a new ACL and stitches across the meniscus and MCL. I couldn't bend my knee so my whole body would lift off the seat trying to pedal down. To get the muscles contracting again they hooked electrical currents to my knee trying to force movement. It was painful and extremely uncomfortable. That was basically my life for the next month while on crutches.

A month later I was off crutches but still in the massive knee brace. Walking on two legs again felt strange — the knee just didn't feel right, though part of that might have been mental. I was cleared to walk but no jumping or running for 9 to 12 months. PT only got harder from there. They would push my knee inward to make sure I could bend it just as far as the other knee. Extremely painful.

PT lasted almost a full year while I was back at college, eventually down to just a knee sleeve. The sessions gradually returned to normal activities — jumping, running, cutting, single leg balance — though it remained mentally and physically draining at times.
Finally my doctor and PT cleared me to run and jump again, about 11 months post surgery.

Post Journey Note
It is extremely hard and painful but the experience will make you mentally much stronger. If you want to come back just as agile, do PT every single day and push through the mental blocks and fear.