Knee surgery for Jos

Published on 17 August 2004 by Huub Rothengatter

A couple of weeks ago Jos went karting, but luck was not on his side. He touched another kart during an overtaking manouvre which caused Jos' kart to roll and he hurt his knee. It seemed no too serious but the knee kept bothering him. He seems to have torn his front and back ligament in his knee. He will have to undergo surgery tomorrow.

Jos is optmistic: "Ah well, I'm in good hands. I will be operated on by a Belgian surgeon who has to upkeep his reputation with these kind of procedures. He operated professional motorcross drivers who were back on their bikes 4 month later. Motorcross drivers' knees are subjected to worse conditions than mine. Next week I will start revalidating. I will be fit in no time."

Jos walked round with a sore knee for a couple of weeks assuming that it would heal itself. "I overtook someone and he suddenly moved to the right. Our wheels touched, I got stuck behind the gearstick and rolled over. My knee was quite painfull but I thought it was only slightly bruised. We decided to have x-rays taken, to be sure but those did not show anything. The pain kept bothering me. Two weeks after the accident I wanted to be sure but I could not go to my sports doctor, because he was on holiday. He was only able to see me about a week and a half ago. He thought there might somethig wrong and sent me for an MRI scan, this would show everything. It appeared more was wrong than we though.

The delay in diagnosing Jos did not worry him. "The surgeon said it was not a problem. My knee has been rested for 4 weeks and all the surplus fluids and blood are gone. That is an advantage for the operation." After the procedure, which will be under general anastaetic, Jos will need to visit his physiotherapist and start revalidation. Jos is very confident. "The first week I won't be able to do anything. The knee will be packed in a brace and I will be on crutches." Jos is not worries. "I am in top shape. The level of fitness will influence the revalidation process. It will be over in no time. I will be ready in time for next season.!"

Thorsten Hendriks