A little over a year has passed since my last blog entry and it suddenly occurred to me that I have several updates I would like to share (although I won’t pretend to imagine there are people out there still following :) – so I suppose this one’s for me!
Screw Removal a Continued Success
Dr. Schrader did a fabulous job with the procedure and I would definitely trust him again should I decide in a moment of pure insanity to ever have another surgery. The up-sides included the following:
- less sensitivity in my pelvic bone when I have the unfortunate occurrence of smacking it into a counter or drawer or wall (yes, I’m clumsy)
- less ‘snapping’ noises when walking
- he used the same scar line so I look less like Frankenstein than originally anticipated
The inevitable downsides were the numb patch that suddenly appeared at the top of my right thigh and the fact the pinching pain that was present since the PAO was still there after walking significant distances or attempting to jog.
A New Roost
Josh and I bought a house this summer which was extremely exciting. We have a huge backyard and the many many hours we’ve spent trying to weed the damn thing and de-kudzu it, has proved to me that my hip is stronger than I thought! I could not have done that two years ago and if I was really smart I’d say I still couldn’t (but I think I use that excuse enough with Josh) :)
Another One Bites the Dust
I got married! Which does not seem at all related to my hip surgeries – but is exciting nonetheless. The truth of the matter is, the wedding was a great test for just how successful the surgeries were. It was the beginning of really working out again – every bride knows there is the crunch time that leads up to the big day where we strive to look our very best (although some of you I suppose didn’t have to worry about that). For several months before the wedding, I would pop in one of Jillian Michael's workout tapes and jump around the basement yelling at the tv – “damn you Jillian”. My favorite moments were when my mom was here working out with me and we had actually done the videos so many times we had her ‘motivating speeches’ memorized and frequently said them with her with dripping disdain and mockery in our voices. The up-side:
- The fact that I was able to do jumping jacks, jumping lunges, jump squats and every other horrid and painful callisthenic you can think of really made me feel like me again.
- I actually felt my hip flexors gain strength while doing very annoying pike crunches
- I rocked out my leg guitar in my wedding dress on the dance floor – which I credit to the kickboxing portion of JM’s videos
- I wore high heel shoes for the rehearsal dinner (but did opt for flats under the wedding dress)
- Josh and I hiked all over Greece on our honeymoon and I kicked his butt! :)
- My left hip – although dysplastic – did great!
The very big downside is that all that jumping – even though I pushed through it – made my right post-PAO hip hurt – a lot! The clunking has increased, the pinching in the front of my hip has increased, and my annoyance for the very painful surgery and the limited results has increased.
Thinking about ‘Jogging’ Again
I’m meeting another PAO ‘survivor’ for dinner in a couple weeks that just finished a half-marathon. Very impressive Jen and I’m going to pick your brain on how the heck you did that!!! My older brother is competing in the World Ironman Championship in Kona this weekend, so my motivation to get off the couch has increased just enough to get back into my workouts and a goal of more triathlons eventually (the mini kind that I can manage). To start, I have only completed two real runs since my surgery and both have been post-wedding. The first was a trail run with Josh that ended in a significant amount of pain in my right hip and my left knee oddly enough. We only did about three miles but this was not a smart idea. The second was just yesterday with the dog and also turned out to be a bad idea – picture a dog running in every which direction and pulling on the short leash dragging an already bad runner all over the place – not ideal. I only made it a mile and a half and the hip was hurting too much to continue. The up-side:
- Motivation to see Dr. Schrader again to figure out what is up with ‘Righty’ – what is wrong with this damn hip? Can he fix it? No clue – but making the decision to go see him again has been therapeutic in a way.
So that’s about all that is new with me. More later?
