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The surgeon said he didn't want to do anything on the knee at this time. There is a tear in the meniscus but that's common. He saw a spot that was "dime sized" right behind the knee cap that was concerning and he said, "I cannot fix that - the fix is replacing the knee but we aren't doing that right now." Good luck with your game! Take it easy and don't take any crap

Oh, agreed. The surgeon I consulted with about it told me that there is really nothing he could do arthroscopically that would give any benefit. And I'm not to the point where he'd recommend a replacement at this time. He even suggested 4 knee candies of the advil kind for flare ups. I had been a runner but it's been about 3 or 4 years and those days of sustained running are probably behind me. Bonus - getting on the FP field for the first time since May didn't leave me any major muscle soreness like I usually get the first couple of weeks in April every year. The PT and home exercises have at least kept me limber that way.

Frankly, just raw. I took some advil last night and threw some ice on it when I got home as a "it's gonna start to hurt so get ahead of it" kind of thing, but I didn't have any pain to speak of. Walking around just fine today. Pager went off at 7 AM for a hazmat call (gasoline spill at the local bus depot) and walked/stood for almost 3 hours with no issues too. All of that together tells me one of both of these is true 1. My injury wasn't as severe as they originally thought 2. My healing factor is mutant like My pain and limited mobility at the beginning was real. Couldn't bear weight, etc. Rest, knee candy, and ice did a lot of the initial work and the exercises from PT did the rest I guess. I'm still young (mid fifty's) so I'm sure I'll eventually need the replacement.

FP friendly for a couple of local travel teams tonight. 5 innings. No knee pain or struggles holding me. good signs.

Actually, nothing at this point. Kind of yolo and seeing how it goes. I have the recommendations and links above (thanks everyone!) and if I feel I need one, I'll pull the trigger.

To be fair, this was the Special Olympics so we do give a lot of leeway on things. However one of the mantras of inclusion is that we treat all athletes the exact same. The coach tried the "but it's the Special Olympics" with me on the out of the box call. I told him, "Right, Special Olympics. No special treatment though." One of the moms that wasn't mad at me all day did talk to me between games and said, "His dad has been working with him on staying in the box all season and even told him that they would call him out if he was out of the box." So everyone also knew that he had a propensity for that. Anyway, nobody ejected. People went home with medals. My knees held up the whole weekend (torn meniscus injury on Memorial Day), everyone went home at the end of the weekend. Bonus - I got to read the "Officials Creed" at the opening ceremonies.

Yeah, I've been doing the games for about 13 years. Missed a couple with covid closedowns but this is by far the most fun I have calling any kind of ball.

Got on the field last weekend for the first time since my injury. Worked the Special Olympics softball championship for my state. It's slow pitch so the deep squats weren't needed but still a lot of pop up, run, plant, turn, etc. we do. I worked 11 games over the weekend (9 behind the plate) and not a peep out of the knee. Everything else hurt though lol. I have a friendly scheduled for next week with the local FP travel coach. We'll see how it holds up then. Thanks again for the war stories and first hand experience here.

Absolutely. What did I see? I saw my partner make a call that was his to make.

I had three games on this field that day and saw this team twice. The 8 am game where this happened and the gold medal game at the end of the day. The coaches and I got along just fine. The moms were the snarkiest although when they won it all in the end - a great game with their home team winning in the bottom of 7 - they were a lot friendlier. Their leader as I walked off the field said thank you at least.

Working a slow pitch softball tournament this past weekend. Two plays got the coaches and moms up in arms at me. The first one was mostly me having to explain the rule with the second home plate and the peculiarities that go with it. They were still mad though when we got to a batter having his lead foot on the ground at least six inches in front of the batter's box when he hit the ball (turf field, permanent lines so no issue with them disappearing). He hit a fly ball to center, but I called it dead immediately and declared the runner out. There was a runner on third who tried to tag and score, but I sent him back. Here comes the coach. He used all of the "c'mon blue" arguments. It's kids, he wasn't out of the box, etc. Finally he said, "We haven't been called on that all year". This is my favorite thing a coach can say during a discussion after a call because my response will always be, "So, you admit that it's the correct ruling and you just don't want it to apply to you? We're done. Two outs, let's have a batter." I know, softball. Slowpitch even. Sorry

Discharged from PT today. Look out players, this blue is coming back

Appreciate the feedback and suggestions. I'll look into the incrediware (sounds like something out of The Incredibles).

I suffered a knee injury in May. My PT is going well and the doctor does not want to do surgery at this time. I was using crutches right after memorial day but moved to a cane within a week or so. I am off the cane now and I've been weaned off of the hinged brace as of last week. I've been told I can return to the field this summer/fall (on the bases or doing slow pitch softball) while I continue to work on strength and mobility. Yes, I am primarily a softball umpire. Don't hate me lol Do any of you other old fellas use/wear a knee support while working? I know there are a number of different style compression sleeves out there, but I suspect most of them just function as a wallet flush. I'd appreciate the benefit of anyone's experience here. Thanks!

Crappy for the batter for sure, but that's on the coach. If the coach wants to come and argue about it, it will be a short one and a long walk to the parking lot.