In April of 2002 I had an operation to try to repair the damages done to my knee by the wreck after I discovered that I couldn’t stand on the pedals and continue to pedal the bike because something was funky in my knee. During the operation they discovered there was nothing they could do because the torn ligaments had already healed up and couldn’t be shortened back to their original length. They also discovered this was not the first time this had happened as all the ligaments in my knee were covered in scars where they had torn and healed up without surgery.
Last night I finally put π and e together and said “This is why my knees were always sore as a teenager.” When I was in college I was diagnosed with “chondromalacia patellae” which basically means pain in the knee after a couple of falls where I twisted my knee really badly or landed on my kneecap sideways. Too bad it took me 15 years after the operation to figure that one out. I’m sure the Army doctors who were trying to figure out why I was in constant low-grade pain would have loved to know I could tear ligaments and just go “Ow!” and not fall down.
So a mystery 40 years in the making was finally solved. It doesn’t fix my knees, but at least I know why they used to hurt all the time.
Now I know how I’m unkillable, too dumb to know I’m dead (J/K).
Witch on a Bicycle 