denied again

I finally found out the source of the delay of surgery, it is Cigna. They have denied me again, this time citing insufficient evidence to demonstrate the safety and/or effectiveness of autologous chondrocyte transplantation in the treatment of lesions of the patella. Go tell that to the people walking around, pain free, after ACI. It appears, I will have to send them a not so nice letter, this comes after they flaked on a peer to peer session, with Dr Looney. If you are unaware Cigna, the longer someone waits who has no/decreased cartilage, the greater the chances are of developing osteoarthritis and further bone damage.Thus, leading to total/partial knee replacements. At 26 years old I am not a candidate for knee replacement nor do I wanna be. There I got that out of the way.Dr. Looney is still confident that the surgery will be approved and I am optimistic as well.
I must say my Physical Therapy is going great. I am still seeing improvements in muscle tone and swelling. I still have some pain from the lateral release but full flexion and extension. The pain under my kneecap has improved slighty, which is great, I'll take slight.

I'm going to use this post to congratulate my nephew, Tanner, and his team for winning the City Championship!!! He had the only homerun in the contest, hitting the scoreboard in centerfield. Congratulations!!! Orioles!!!

While watching the game, I wondered if I would be able to participate in competitive sports again.Or if it was wise to even entertain the thought? I love sports and am a big proponent of women's sports in particular, yes, i'm leaning towards another blog, so stay tuned. Anyway, I know Dara Torres, had this same surgery, so I am interested to see how she does. Yes, she is a swimmer, so the knee isn't taking a pounding like running or basketball would. I haven't come across any other athletes who have had ACI, some have had microfracture, with mixed results. Perhaps, its time to sit on the sidelines or coach. I guess I'll have 18 months to figure that one out.

I plan on putting some pictures on here soon, that is if I can figure it out. Now i'm going to write a letter to Cigna.