By Andrea Nagel
One of
the benefits of growing up in the northwest is
the abundance of outdoor activities. For ski enthusiasts
like Post Falls native Andrew Draper, our proximity to
several major ski hills shaped his way of life.
As a self-proclaimed ski bum, Andrew spent a good
amount of his time up on the slopes of Schweitzer
Mountain Resort. Eventually he worked his way into
the competitive ski scene, competing locally and
internationally.
Unfortunately, Andrew’s competitive skiing was put
on hold after he injured his right knee in 2011.
“My biggest fear was not being able to ski again,” he
said. “Luckily Dr. King felt confident about my proce-
dure, which definitely made me feel better.”
Andrew tore his right anterior cruciate ligament
(ACL), a ligament used to stabilize the knee, shortly
after competing in the Big Mountain Challenge in Lake
Tahoe. While his injury is common in athletes, there
is always more at stake when dealing with high-level
athletes.
“For me, the biggest challenge is being able to meet
the expectations of my patients and to get them back to
their original performance levels,” said Jonathan King,
M.D., an orthopedic surgeon at Orthopaedic Associ-
ates of Coeur d’Alene. “I see a lot of people with sports
injuries, so ACL reconstruction is a fairly standard
procedure.”
Dr. King performed arthroscopic surgery to recon-
struct Andrew’s ACL. The goal of the surgery was to
restore normal stability and function to his knee, allow-
ing Andrew to return to skiing in about a year.
“It took at least six months before I finally started
getting some lateral movement back,” Andrew said.
“It took me a full year to get back to skiing, but I think
it’s a full two-year recovery when you add in the mental
aspect. I was so afraid of reinjuring my knee.”
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