Follow-up with surgeon and overall update

My absence has been noted.

Which is enough to guilt me into taking the extra minutes out of my day to report on my status.

On May 12, I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon, Dr. Mayo. Two new sets of X-rays (and who knows how much radiation) later, I got two thumbs up for pelvic bone healing.

As far as the other issues I'm having, I didn't get any concrete answers. Dr. Mayo was very clear, however in saying -- as he has in the past -- that I will never have completely pain free hips. I've learned to accept that fact, mostly because experience has proven he's right.

This is what we talked about:

• Right hip burning in the "Captain Morgan" position. No progress has been made here, and Dr. Mayo said the culprit likely was the iliopsoas (ill-e-o-so-az) and the rectus femoris (one of the quad muscles). He put me on Celebrex for a month, with no change. Next step would be an injection into the muscle, but I'm not ready for that yet.
  

• Tailbone. This problem is getting much worse, and Dr. Mayo hooked me up with a new guy, another osteopathic doctor in pain anesthesiology. No great news to report since then, but more on this topic later.
  

• Hip care. From here on out, I'm supposed to steer clear of high-impact activity. Also, no squats, lunges or leg presses at an angle more than 70 degrees. No high resistance on a bike or elliptical unless I've built up my speed first. Dr. Mayo wants to see me again in two years to check up on things.

And that was that. I feel as if the book has been closed on this hip story of mine, even though the story is not yet finished. Overall, I'm doing very well, and yes Terri, the reason for my absence has been because I've been so busy getting out there and living my life!

6 months post op RPAO

These past six months have gone by not quicker or slower than my first PAO, but definitely differently.

More inconspicuously, perhaps.

I've focused less on the little milestones and even the big ones. Without a second pending PAO, I've had my mind more free for other things.

Strange, though, that I've thought less about this recovery when it hasn't gone as well as the first. Unfortunately, I'm not as far as I was with my first PAO. This is where I'm at.

• Zero pain when walking or having been on my feet all day.
• Zero pain when jogging or jumping.
• My "Captain Morgan" problem remains. While I can lift my leg on my own to get dressed, get into the car, it's painful. I still use my hands to help to avoid pain.
• Still an uncomfortable feeling when lying on my right side. No pain, just weird.
• My range of motion is not great. External rotation is especially hard. No sitting cross legged or the like.
• Still get the deep itchy, shooting pains in the incision every now and again as the nerves come out of hiding.
• Numb and tingly patches are smaller, but I still don't like touching the skin cause it feels so strange.

I fly back to Tacoma next week for my follow-up appointments with my surgeon. I'm anxious to hear if anything is going on with the right hip that I should be concerned with. Maybe it's just taking longer to heal ...

See where I was at 6 months post op LPAO.

1 year post op LPAO

Happy anniversary to me! A year ago, I was lying in a hospital bed, numb from the waist down. Today, I feel so many things ... grateful, relieved, happy and normal. And let's not forget what I'm not feeling: pain.

One year post op, my left hip feels better than it has in more than 1o years. Sometimes I'm amazed at what medical knowledge and technology has done for me. Seems crazy that cutting my hip apart in three places and screwing it back together has been so beneficial!

At this point:

• Zero pain in my hip when walking, jogging and jumping.
• Deep groin pain when lying on my side and doing any external rotation (clam-shell type movement).
  
• Numb patches are gone, replaced by a tingly feeling on my scar and within a three-inch radius. (I still don't like touching my skin here.)
  
• Range of motion is about 90 percent of what it was prior to surgery.
• Clicking in the joint has increased considerably. I hear/feel it with almost every step, which does make my hip sore after about a half hour.
• I consider myself fully recovered!
  

The recovery process was challenging -- though mostly long -- but I'm so happy I went through with the surgery. Yes, it has been worth it!

Metal detector test

As I prepared to walk through security at Denver International Airport last week, I wondered if the additional seven screws in my right hip would be enough to make the metal detectors screech.

I flew quite a bit after my first PAO and six subsequent screws. Through DIA, Chicago O'Hare, Washington Dulles and Seattle/Tacoma, the detectors remained silent. But what would happen when I doubled the amount of metal?

Nada.

I'm happy to report that I had no problems at DIA or the Milwaukee airports.

Guess I'll never have to pull my pants down to show the security guards my scars. ;)

5 months post op RPAO

Since I missed my four-month update, I guess you're actually reading about two months' worth of progress on my right hip. Truth is, there wasn't much progress at the four-month mark, but I think I'm starting to get somewhere now!

I now can:

• Stand from a squatting position with very little trouble.
• Walk with no pain and no limp. I take hour-long walks and can spend all day running errands, cleaning house, shopping without pain. However, I still feel a little soreness in the joint a day later if I push really hard.
• Jog at 85%. No pain, but the gait feels a little funky.
• Jump and dance.
• Lift weights at 50-100%, depending on the type of exercise.
• Play volleyball! I subbed last week and return to the league next week. Boo ya!

Issues remaining:

• Tenderness on the skin around the incision.
• Random burning/stinging moments deep in the tissue from nerves
• Speaking of nerves, still numb in the thigh, but not completely. Enough to feel the slightest sensation, but not enough to be able to get at those deep burning itches!
• Pain when lifting my leg Captain Morgan style (as addressed in my physical therapy post)
  

Just yesterday, while walking out of Target with my hands full of bags, I thought of how lucky I am to walk ... unaided ... without pain. I'm glad I haven't taken my pain-free hips for granted yet. Such a wonderful feeling.

Physical therapy graduation

Dun, da da da, dun, dun.

Today, I was kindly told by Jennifer, my physical therapist, not to come back. While I'm not at 100 percent, she said there was nothing more she could do for me. At four and a half months, I'm happy to be finished with this part of recovery and hopeful for continued improvement.

It's funny, though; I've had to eat my words about physical therapy this go-round. My progress -- which started out so promising -- stalled significantly these past two months. Which meant not two physical therapy sessions, but nearly a dozen over three months.

The not-so-great news is that the pain I'm still struggling with (lifting my leg Captain Morgan style, i.e., going up stairs, getting into the car, getting dressed) may be impingement rather than muscle pain. Jennifer is fairly certain that the joint capsule is just too darn tight, causing moderate pain and a lack of flexibility.

That information took the air out of my sail. Impingement isn't something that can be fixed through strength training or stretching, though the latter may help a bit, Jennifer said. This may be the best my hip gets, though I'm still holding out hope that it will get better.

Another milestone reached!

My leave of absence

Though it's been 31 days since my last post, I've thought about this blog every day since.

Something inside me has not wanted to come here. Not wanted to think about my hips, my frustration, my pain. I guess I figured if I didn't face any of it, didn't post on my blog or tell the truth to those who asked, it would somehow go away.

It hasn't.

Don't get me wrong; nothing major has happened in the past month. I'm dancing, shooting hoops, taking long walks. But my tailbone pain has hit me hard both physically and emotionally, and I've stalled with my progress on my most recent PAO, registering moderate amounts of pain every day.

I've been at this whole hip thing for a long time, it feels. Everyone says to me, "It must be great to have all that over with." Or, "I bet you feel fantastic!" Or, "All back to normal now?"

I smile, I nod. Because no one really wants to hear otherwise.

So I've been quiet here as well, and I apologize that I haven't posted about my progress. And, yes, there has been some, despite the melancholy nature of this post. I'm doing well overall and will expand on that soon.

I'm grateful for this blog and those of you who read it. Because when the time comes that I have something to say, I know someone will be there to listen. Thank you for being there.