The Million Dollar Question: What The Heck is Wrong With My Knee?

So although the X-Ray findings were abnormal, they did not quite explain why I was having so much pain and difficulty getting around.  "Mild early degenerative spurring of the medial tibial and femoral condyles. Moderate amount of joint effusion."  So... off to physical therapy I went.  The idea was that if I strengthened the muscles around my knee, my symptoms would subside.  Needless to say I was still having problems so I was sent to have an MRI done where the real problems became quite apparent.  It is hard to explain it in my dumb/non-medical terms so I will just quote the radiology report:

"Slight thinning and surface irregularity of the medial femoral condylar cartilage.  7 x 11 mm of full-thickness cartilage loss involving the lateral femoral condylar articular surface.  Chondromalacia of the inferior portion of the patela involving the lateral facet and adjacent portion of the medial facet with full thickness cartilage loss fissuring.  Osteocartilaginous loose bodies in medial gutter."

Eventually my Orthopedic Surgeon suggested a microfracture and explained the procedure to me in layperson's terms.  Basically he would go in with a scope and clean it up a little.  Then in the area that there is full-thickness loss he would poke holes in my bone which would allow the marrow to leak out to create a sort of scab that would eventually harden and act as a cartilage substitute.  What I did not know was that it was that this produced what is called Fibrocartilage which is nowhere near as strong as Hyline cartilage.  Although this procedure is extremely effective for a lot of people, it would be a stretch to make it work (and last) for me.  Also, even if the procedure did take, it is a temporary fix.  

The doc told me that I would be non-weight bearing for at least 6 weeks and I would start PT a week or two after surgery.  So... off I went to schedule my surgery.  May 27th!!!  I was not excited to be off of my leg for 6 weeks (and thus, unable to drive), however, I was excited to possibly have this problem solved so I can start feeling normal again.