Deja Vu

Happy 11 months to my PAO-ed Hip!

Yesterday was actually the day, but I just didn’t have a second to myself so I didn’t get to blog. I was out in the field doing wetlands work. I was on my feet in those awful steel-toed boots for 11 hours. I was exhausted, and stiff, and very sore by the time I got in the car to drive home. I was so stiff all night that I had a hard time moving around. The stiffness was everywhere, not just the hip joint. I felt OLD. Really old.

I was absolutely bushed last night so we went to bed a little earlier than usual. I don’t think I moved a muscle all night because I woke up in the same position I fell asleep in. As soon as I woke up, I felt some pain in my hip. I got out of bed and limped for the first time in months. I was really sad. It was an extremely discouraging moment. I got ready and it felt okay. However, after sitting in the car for a bit during my morning commute it was really sore. I had to limp into work from the parking lot. Going down stairs is the toughest. I know “sore” isn’t the best way to describe it…but I’m not sure how else to. It feels very similar to the labrum pain. It’s sore deep inside the joint, not in the groin. It’s like a creaking pain, almost. I don’t know. See what I mean? It’s hard to explain. 

Part of me is hoping it’s because it’s a gloomy, damp day here in RI. The joint is a little bit arthritic and I've had so much "stuff" done to it that I don't blame it for being sore on crappy days. I haven’t felt this much pain in the hip in a long time, though. It feels a bit like the labrum pain, but again, it could easily be a function of being overworked from yesterday and the dampness today. 

I hate to be selfish about it because I know so many of my hip ladies are having loads of trouble with their recoveries. I don’t mean to sound dramatic over a little bit of pain. The main reason for my worries, and for my posting, is that I’m hoping I didn’t do anything to it yesterday while roaming through the woods. It was a tough day in the field. We did a lot of climbing and crouching. I had to lift my leg to climb over waist-high trees more than I care to admit. And it wasn’t rare for me to have to kick down shrubs and saplings. There was even a point where I have to get on the ground and climb under a giant fallen tree. Like I said…it was a tough day. Probably one of the hardest days I’ve had since I’ve been back in the field. 

I don’t know…I could very well be overreacting. I could wake up tomorrow and not have any problems at all. We’ll have to see how it plays out.

Anywho, I go see Dr. S on the 31^st and I just can’t wait to tell him ALL about my successes. I’m so excited to go over everything with him.

I’m sure I’ll post before that appointment, so we’ll chat then.

Thanks for reading,

D

An Emotional Goodbye

Well, that’s it. It’s all done.

Last night I had my very last physical therapy appointment. 

I seriously can’t believe that. Tom and I have spent so much time together over the last year; he’s become like a big brother to me. He’s pushed me on my worst days, and cheered me on on all of my good days. He’s been so great. I feel like I don’t give him hardly enough credit. I am 100% certain that I wouldn’t be doing as well as I am if it weren’t for him. He has been fantastic through all of this.

So, as I left last night, I gave him a big hug and a somewhat emotional goodbye. He thanked me for all my hard work and determination and I thanked him for always pushing me and for his constant desire to see me succeed. I remember (many times) being so annoyed with him for constantly yelling at me “Stop limping!” “Walk upright!” “Follow through on your gait!” “Sit back on those step downs!”…now, I realize that I needed to be constantly yelled at.  When you’re recovering from something so traumatizing to your body, it’s common to want to take the easy way out. He never let me! He pushed me to do things that I didn’t think I would have been able to do even BEFORE the surgery, never mind while recovering from TWO hip surgeries!

I could go on and on all day about Tom. He and I had a great working relationship. He understood how I ticked, and he worked with me perfectly every time I was there. I am so thankful for his help and his guidance throughout every step. He’s really great at what he does!

So, let’s sum it all up, shall we.

I started PT on December 12, 2012 at 7 weeks post-RPAO. From that point forward, I attended 46 PT sessions in almost 40 weeks (in the early parts of recovery after both surgeries, I attended twice a week…and then shaved it back to once a week once I started to feel better). So, 46 visits at $320 a visit is $14,720. This is NOT what I paid, thank the good lord above for good health insurance, but the number still amazes me. This puts my fancy shmancy hip worth at an estimated $75,000 (I’m estimating because I don’t have the papers from all procedures in front of me…I know the basics of what the surgeries cost and am adding a bit for all extraneous items such as imagining, office visits, etc). Which I guess isn’t too bad…considering.

It feels like the end of an era! I guess it really IS the end of an era. What a great stepping stone this is for me and my little hippy. I am 6.5 weeks away from my one year anniversary and I cannot wrap my head around that. I can’t wait for that day, and how bittersweet it will be.
Here's a picture of me on Day 1 of PT:

12-12-12 Walking for the very first time post-RPAO!

 And this is me just a couple weeks ago! 

During a long walk through the Muir Woods forest! I walked 5-6 miles in a day a couple of the days while we were on vacation. Felt GREAT!

In the meantime, I am going to revel in my free time now that I don’t have PT every second of my life (ok, that’s dramatic…but that’s what it felt like!). I am so glad that my life will feel normal, and I’ve got a “normal” hip to go with it. I can’t wait to see what my 1 year appointment on October 31^st brings me! I will be sure to keep you all posted.

We'll talk soon,
D