So, I've got a torn ACL...now what?

After Halloween weekend 2005 I had to take some time to absorb my torn ACL diagnosis.  Questions like 'what comes next?' and worries about surgery and rehab were swirling in my head.  I was 21 years old and knew I had a long road to recovery in front of me.  Since I was so young and active, the question of to get surgery or not wasn't really a question.  More difficult was to decide when and where the surgery would happen.  I was in my last year of undergrad and living in Madison while my parents were 2 hours away, near Green Bay.  After some deliberation I decided to get the surgery done at home over winter break.  So, with that decision at the beginning of November 2005, I had 2 months before the surgery date (early January 2006).  Since my knee injury was pretty traumatic (meaning it involved the ACL as well as both menisci), I had quite a bit of swelling and limited range of motion (ROM).  This delayed surgery date seemed to actually be a blessing in disguise, I now had 2 months time for some PT to maintain strength and get some ROM back before going into surgery.