Hip-hop anonymous - a PAO journal

It never fails. Whenever I leave Target, the thought of being on crutches surges through my mind, and I go back to 2008, when I was constantly on the lookout for handicapped parking spaces, level surfaces and automatic doors. I'm not sure why this location triggers my memory, but each time I walk out those doors and remember what I went through two years ago, I smile and have a little party in my mind for how effortlessly I walk to my car.

Seems too long ago to be two years post-op. But here I am, stronger than ever and a very different person than I was before I knew how to pronounce periacetabular osteotomy. Surgery is a faint memory, hip pain a whisper. I return to these posts and remember the anxiety, heartache and fear. I draw a deep breath, grateful beyond words and calm through my soul. These surgeries saved me. I think of my indecision to go under the knife and scoff at myself for worrying how others would perceive my choice to walk into an elective surgery just to be wheeled out a week later. This is my life. It was my decision, and I'm so glad I made the right one for me. I'm happy to report that the issues I had at the one-year mark have greatly improved and I have practically zero problems or pain. Some things are different, however: Range of motion is about 90 percent of what it was pre-surgery. I can feel the entire section of my thigh, though mostly with a tingly sensation. I still get deep ran...