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Me and My Knee
Published: 5/14/2011 3:26 PM
Last Modified: 5/14/2011 3:26 PM

A large portion of my career as a sports writer has been spent learning and writing about knees.
Other people’s knees. The knees of football stars. The knees of basketball and baseball players.
I have become a semi-expert on anterior cruciate ligament (acl) and medial collateral ligament (mcl) injuries and rehab over the years.
But, I never really felt their pain. I didn’t really know.
I now understand. I really have felt their pain. Literally.
I’m back after five weeks on the disabled list. I was sidelined by a right knee replacement. As the sports media loves to say, I’ve been on the shelf.
I have a whole new appreciation for the pain and rehab after major knee surgery. From those first few steps the day after surgery to finally getting the courage to get rid of my walker.
From the daily exercies of rehab and the knee flexing machine. From a lot of pain pills to once a day.
It is a long, difficult and often painful rehab to regain the use of my new right knee and return to the first tee.
Now, more than ever, I realize what a miracle it is that some athletes come back from major knee surgery to become all-pro or all-american. Amazing. Simply amazing.
There’s no mystery to me why Tiger Woods is struggling to get back to dominance. He’s had four knee surgeries. Four. I can’t imagine.
The simplest thing, walking to the kitchen or the garage, became cause for celebration in my house.
The folks at Eastern Oklahoma Orthopedic Center, who have taken care of literally thousands of northeastern Oklahoma athletes over the years, have become my second family over the last five weeks. Dr. Chris Browne did the surgery. Dr. George Mauerman, the longtime team doctor at the University of Tulsa, and Larry Egge, a longtime Tulsa area athletic trainer, have been pushing me through rehab. Twice a week, Don Dohlman of EOOC physical therapy, bends my new knee into some form of a pretzel.
Since the 1970s, I’ve talked and written about knees. What kind of knee injury did he suffer? How long do they expect him to be out?
It was different to ask those same questions about myself. When can I return to training for my Everest expedition?
My best friend, Steve Lloyd, had knee surgery 40 years ago and he came back strong enough to win state wrestling titles as a junior and senior in high school.
One of my younger brothers, Bob, suffered a knee injury in one of his final high school football games back in the 1970s.
I thought I understood. Now, I really do.



Reader Comments 1 Total
Linda Shields (last year)
Very happy to see your articals again John.
Best wishes.

The Shields
1 comments displayed


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Klein's Korner

Tulsa World senior sports columnist John Klein is in his fourth decade of covering sports. He started his newspaper career at The Daily Ardmoreite in 1977 and moved to the Tulsa World in 1978. He served 10 years as sports editor for the Tulsa World before being named to his current position in 2005. He also spent five years as the Southwest Conference beat writer for the Houston Post. He has won many writing awards and is a former Oklahoma Sports Writer of the Year.

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