Gov. Charlie Crist's weak left knee forced him to give up governing Florida for roughly 90 minutes Wednesday, while he underwent minor emergency surgery under anesthesia.
The governor had to officially give Florida's reins to Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp from 12:30 to 2:10 p.m.
It's the same knee he injured playing quarterback at St. Petersburg High School at 16. The knee that ended his football career as a walk-on quarterback at Wake Forest University. The knee that made him a swimmer instead of a runner.
"He should be fine, he'll just be on crutches for a couple of days," said the governor's father, Dr. Charles J. Crist, who got a call from his son Tuesday afternoon about the ailing knee.
The whole episode was a surprise. The governor didn't fall or hit his knee, Crist's father said. He felt something "sort of stick" in his knee and to clear it up, he popped it. "Over-extended his knee violently," his father said.
After that, there was lots of pain and instability, Crist's father said.
So the governor saw radiologist Dr. Manuel Rose at his Palm Harbor office late Tuesday night and had an MRI, which revealed he had torn some cartilage in his knee, his father said.
On Wednesday morning, Dr. William Lowry of All Florida Orthopaedic Associates examined Crist's knee and decided he needed surgery immediately. They headed for Columbia Center for Special Surgery in St. Petersburg.
Doctors removed "tears in both his medial and lateral meniscus," according to the governor's press office. The meniscus is the cartilage in the joints that buffer bones that join at the knee. It distributes body weight across the knee joint.
"The doctor told us he anticipates a very expeditious recovery," said Crist spokeswoman Erin Isaac.
Times Staff Writer Steve Bousquet contributed to this story.
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