Mike Berthiaume, 31, a Franklin firefighter, was transferring a patient at the hospital when he suddenly felt pain in his knee.
The injury would cause him to miss work, his one true passion, for the next year.
“I basically just twisted my knee the wrong way, it was like a compression and twisting injury, and from there it just escalated,” said Berthiaume.
He was injured in March 2018 and quickly learned he would need surgery, which would take him out of his beloved job as a firefighter for a year.
“I enjoy working, so I think that was the hardest part, it was looking at the rehab being a year-plus, it was hard,” said Berthiaume. “I had one thought in my mind — to get better.”
Berthiaume’s surgeon, Dr. Kai Mithoefer of Boston Sports and Shoulder, recommended an innovative treatment called MACI that uses a patient’s own cells to repair knee cartilage damage instead of using traditional metal or plastic devices.