This journal exists to document that work honestly, day by day, to show what recovery actually looks like.
I’m 42 years old, Polish, and living in Brazil. I’ve been an athlete my entire life. I started playing tennis at the age of 7, competed through my university years in Scotland, and today I play at a high level (5.0 USTA equivalent), including recent Masters ITF competitions. Sport has always been part of my identity. Beyond tennis, I’m passionate about sports that involve rotation, speed, and impact: kitesurfing, surfing, wakeboarding, snowboarding, skateboarding, and golf. I’ve built my life around movement.
The Turning Point
Five years ago, a wakeboarding accident partially tore my ACL. At the time, we chose a conservative path. Physiotherapy helped stabilize the knee, and while I experienced occasional instability, I was able to keep playing and living actively.
That changed recently.
While playing competitive tennis, I tore my meniscus. The tear was initially small, I could still walk normally, and despite my doctor recommending surgery, I decided to wait. We tried a conservative approach using Hymovis injections, aimed at treating a medial meniscus tear.
The day before the procedure, everything collapsed. A simple movement - cleaning a table - caused the meniscus to tear again, this time as a bucket-handle tear. My knee locked completely. I needed emergency surgery.
During that process, my doctor addressed the long-standing instability and strongly recommended ACL reconstruction alongside the meniscus repair. I underwent both surgeries at once.
That moment marked a clear before and after.
"This journal documents what came next: the physical struggle, the slow progress, the setbacks, the doubts, the discipline, and the emotional reality of recovery. "
It’s written day by day, week by week, to make this path clearer and less lonely for anyone going through it.
If you’re at the beginning of this journey, in the middle of it, or somewhere years after surgery still trying to make sense of your knee and your confidence, this journal is for you.
You’re not broken.
You’re rebuilding.
The Goal: Return to the court