Been There, Done That, Bought the Tee-Shirt

10.24.2008

Been There, Done That, Bought the Tee-Shirt
Brady Recovering Nicely from Antibiotics; rehab not compromised

Remember in Spring Training when it was discovered Curt Schilling had a degenerative right shoulder condition and his doctor told the All-Star pitcher that surgery was his best option? If Schilling had the surgery, his season would have been over but the Red Sox team and their doctors decided on a different approach. Instead of having their star pitcher undergo surgery and be lost for the season, the Sox thought rest and rehab would be best. The situation exploded into a front-line war between Schilling and the Red Sox management. In the end Schilling abided by the Sox wishes and ended up having the surgery anyway a month into the season, thus ending his season.

So New England fans, we have seen this before. For Tom Brady, it is a no win situation. He went to the surgeon his family wanted him to go to and wound up with an infection. We like to think things would be different he went with the Patriots doctors but, fans, we have seen this play out just eight months ago. Say he went to doctors the Pats wanted him to have the surgery and still got an infection, we would all be saying the same thing.

Brady going to a different physician does not change the fact he contracted an infection in his left knee. I’m not a doctor nor do I pretend to be one but I do know that infections from surgery are not all that rare. Because it happened like this, you ask the question would it have been any different if Brady stayed in Boston and had the surgery here? It might have but infections are always possibly when it comes to going under the knife.

Like in the Schilling situation, there is no use crying over spilled milk. What is done is done. It is what it is. Now Brady and the Patriots have to move forward instead of dwelling on the past. Brady should fly back to Boston to let team doctors have a look at his knee to decide the next course of action. The Patriots have invested a lot of money into this guy and they want to know what they are up against and which direction they need to turn to.

One doctor out of Cincinnati, Dr. Tim Kremcheck, told WEEI’s Dale and Holley yesterday “that’s not good” upon hearing the reports of Brady’s staph infection in his knee following surgery. He went on to say next season is questionable for the Pats franchise player and possibly, worst case scenario, the start quarterback’s career might be in jeopardy.

“What will probably have to happen is that they will have to go in, remove everything–including the screws, everything—because everything has to be sterile and clean for (the repair) to take,” Kremchek, whose specialized ranges from arthroscopic shoulder scopes to total knee joint reconstructions and replacements, told WEEI.

It may sound grim but the famous orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews of was consulting on the case with Brady’s surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache. Andrews confirmed what Kremchek told WEEI yesterday that saving the ligament graft from the infection was the most important piece of the puzzle. The renowned Alabama doctor told the Los Angeles Times that from what he heard from ElAttrache, Brady was “winning the battle” and responding nicely to antibiotics and should not compromise his recovery from the injury that occurred in Week One of the NFL season.

Hopefully rehab will go well and he will be back for the 2009 season but if there is a slight blip in the recovery process you know the Patriots and their fans will re-hash the fact Brady went outside the organization for his surgery; thus, will re-create the “Schilling Controversy” all over again. So for right now Pats fans sit back let Brady continue on his road to recovery and root for Matt Cassel to lead the Patriots this season