the frustration grows

When I went to the Ortho on Monday, I was envisioning getting the "all clear" to resume running and all would be good in the world again. My Dr (who was behind and seemed very rushed) asked how I was feeling, (without listening to the answer) glanced at my chart/records and did a quick exam on my patellar tendons (not sure why) and then rambled on about insertion points of the quads. He then started going on and on about degenerative tissue breakdown and which tissues have adequate blood supply to promote healing. Long story short, I don't believe he knew who I was, what my injuries have been, or what the plan should be. His assistant did warn me that he was behind that morning and that he had arrived home from Mexico at 1:30 am that morning. Eventually, he got around to telling me to let my pain be my guide and said to go ahead and resume running.
Tuesday night I ran with the Trail Nerds out at SMP and was looking forward to doing two slow loops of 4.5 miles each. Around 2 miles into the first loop, I felt a little familiar twinge in the left knee. Not really painful at first, but familiar enough to cause me to take notice with concern. I stayed with the group at a leisurely pace as the discomfort increased. By the end of that first loop, the discomfort had become moderate pain in the left LCL. I've taken almost two and a half months off to let this heal. I respect my doctor's knowledge and skill, but his lack of personal attention may force me to find another. This has gone on too long already in my opinion.
It felt so good to be running through the woods again. I'm not ready to give that up.