We have an official date for my combined RPAO/arthroscopic surgery. On Friday, February 25th, I (we) will launch back into round two.
This Tuesday we will hit the 6 month marker from my last surgery. Though I have severe bursitis on the left side, if it weren't for this, we would call my last surgery utterly successful. However, there's still swelling on the left side, some pain from the bursitis, and scar tissue build up. Two cortisone shots later (along with PT, deep massaging, constant icing), there has been no decrease in scar tissue. We are all stumped by the bursitis and hopeful it could go away while I'm resting from this next surgery. However, I'll be weight-bearing on this left side now, so we will wait and see.
Last summer I had minimal to no pain on my right side. Since my last surgery and likely due to weight bearing, the dysplasia grew worse along with a labral tear that formed in my right hip. It certainly wasn't the news we were hoping for, but it did help clarify what our next steps would be: take on the right hip now.
We are following Jesus into the unknown now, hopeful that healing will come for both hips and ready to future days without severe pain. Please pray with us.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Welcome, 2011!
Welcome to 2011!
For all you (hip)sters out there, you know what a big deal it is to hit post-surgery monthly markers. Not that we want to wish our days away, but there is so
much pride in saying "I made it through 2 months of recovery" or "I'm at the 3 month mark!" Well...in ONE WEEK I will hit the FIVE MONTH milepost (thanks be to God). This "anniversary" is distinguished by the entrance of snow to Indiana + 
holiday fun + the "okay" from Dr. Scheid (one month ago) to enter the world of elliptical + a long awaited "stay-cation" = GREATNESS.
As you can see from the pictures, Nate and I love playing in the snow. Over the past few weeks, we took snow walks, sledded with niece (very carefully), and flew through the air on the Park Tudor mini zipline. I can't walk long distances yet, but it feels so good to get outside and enjoy myself. The snow is majestic here and reminds us oftentimes to stop and worship our Creator of all things beautiful.
We had a splendid Christmas at home this year. Especially this year, as we reflect on 2010, we thank the Lord for a newly reshaped and on-the-mend-hip to celebrate. We are hopeful the healing will continue with success as we enter a new year. For those of you wanting hip milestone updates, here are a few:
Physical Therapy: I officially graduated from PT last Wednesday! I got a t-shirt from Sarah to signify my graduation! I gave up on water PT early on as I felt it was not as helpful as the land. I feel I should have started in the water earlier and perhaps it would have had greater impact. My PT says my strength and range of motion have improved significantly. I feel this as well. I still find myself wanting to lift my leg (with my hands) to enter the car or to cross my legs. I need to let my leg do the lifting and let the muscles "remember" what their role is again. I am at the gym almost daily doing either cardio (no running of course!) or strength training. My big focus now is to strengthen my hip flexor and to keep working out the bursitis which is inflaming my left side. My IT band is being overworked due to the bursitis, so I'm walking that line between resting/icing (several times a day I ice, especially after workouts) and regaining strength and stamina. The bursitis has been most discouraging. The cortisone shot hurt like no other and didn't seem to help. The PT hasn't helped it as much as I had hoped. I have stretches and exercises to do to hopefully decrease the inflammation and pain. Just in the past week I have felt some new groin pain. I'm so hoping I haven't re-torn my left labrum. So, the next phase of PT is on my own--working hard to abide by the things that have been recommended to me.
Swelling: As stated above, I am still dealing with much swelling now almost 5 months in. Dr. Scheid has said to expect 6 months of recovery so I'm assuming this is all part of the process. I plan to go see him this month and to address the bursitis if it has not decreased. I've been told a person should no get a cortisone shot in the same place more than three times in a lifetime. I'd like to do a little more research on the pros and cons of cortisone shots.
Quality of life: LPAO surgery has been such a significant trauma on my body, mind, and soul. I am continuing to "restore" life again and yet in a strange way, I look back with fondness as I acknowledge the faith-building, life-altering experience we have walked through and continue to walk through. I am grateful for a chance to live with significantly less pain and I look forward to the day when I don't think about hip pain for an entire 24 hour period. Lord, I pray that day comes!
Until then, we are learning to return to LIFE again. For the most part, minus running, I am back to my normal life. Icing my hip and managing the nerve pain has become a normal part of the day. It's still good for us to remember, however, that we are still in recovery mode. Though Scheid says 6 months of recovery is to be expected, my gut tells me it will take a full year to feel my body get back to normal. I will expect this and then be surprised if it turns out to be less.
Next steps and the right side: The not-so-great news to tell is that last week Dr. Meiers officially diagnosed my right side pain with a labral tear. The MRI showed a significant tear and also displays my severe dysplasia on the right side. This was discouraging news, as you can imagine, but confirms the level of pain I've had in my right groin area. We were waiting to see Dr. Meiers in light of the fact that my right side had been weight bearing for 3-4 months and we were unsure if the pain was related to this weight or to a tear. Likely, it is related to both. Either way, we now know we up against the same thing we were/are on the left side.
We are now praying and considering surgery dates (combined arthroscopic and RPAO) for the right side. More to say about this in days to come...
Until then, we try our best to be present in this day, in this moment, and to choose to live with a grateful spirit:
God of fulfillment, never-failing Lord, grant that we may always place our trust in you, that our hope for deeper love, greater peace, and personal fulfillment reside only in you.
For all you (hip)sters out there, you know what a big deal it is to hit post-surgery monthly markers. Not that we want to wish our days away, but there is so
much pride in saying "I made it through 2 months of recovery" or "I'm at the 3 month mark!" Well...in ONE WEEK I will hit the FIVE MONTH milepost (thanks be to God). This "anniversary" is distinguished by the entrance of snow to Indiana + 
holiday fun + the "okay" from Dr. Scheid (one month ago) to enter the world of elliptical + a long awaited "stay-cation" = GREATNESS.As you can see from the pictures, Nate and I love playing in the snow. Over the past few weeks, we took snow walks, sledded with niece (very carefully), and flew through the air on the Park Tudor mini zipline. I can't walk long distances yet, but it feels so good to get outside and enjoy myself. The snow is majestic here and reminds us oftentimes to stop and worship our Creator of all things beautiful.
We had a splendid Christmas at home this year. Especially this year, as we reflect on 2010, we thank the Lord for a newly reshaped and on-the-mend-hip to celebrate. We are hopeful the healing will continue with success as we enter a new year. For those of you wanting hip milestone updates, here are a few:
Physical Therapy: I officially graduated from PT last Wednesday! I got a t-shirt from Sarah to signify my graduation! I gave up on water PT early on as I felt it was not as helpful as the land. I feel I should have started in the water earlier and perhaps it would have had greater impact. My PT says my strength and range of motion have improved significantly. I feel this as well. I still find myself wanting to lift my leg (with my hands) to enter the car or to cross my legs. I need to let my leg do the lifting and let the muscles "remember" what their role is again. I am at the gym almost daily doing either cardio (no running of course!) or strength training. My big focus now is to strengthen my hip flexor and to keep working out the bursitis which is inflaming my left side. My IT band is being overworked due to the bursitis, so I'm walking that line between resting/icing (several times a day I ice, especially after workouts) and regaining strength and stamina. The bursitis has been most discouraging. The cortisone shot hurt like no other and didn't seem to help. The PT hasn't helped it as much as I had hoped. I have stretches and exercises to do to hopefully decrease the inflammation and pain. Just in the past week I have felt some new groin pain. I'm so hoping I haven't re-torn my left labrum. So, the next phase of PT is on my own--working hard to abide by the things that have been recommended to me.
Swelling: As stated above, I am still dealing with much swelling now almost 5 months in. Dr. Scheid has said to expect 6 months of recovery so I'm assuming this is all part of the process. I plan to go see him this month and to address the bursitis if it has not decreased. I've been told a person should no get a cortisone shot in the same place more than three times in a lifetime. I'd like to do a little more research on the pros and cons of cortisone shots.
Quality of life: LPAO surgery has been such a significant trauma on my body, mind, and soul. I am continuing to "restore" life again and yet in a strange way, I look back with fondness as I acknowledge the faith-building, life-altering experience we have walked through and continue to walk through. I am grateful for a chance to live with significantly less pain and I look forward to the day when I don't think about hip pain for an entire 24 hour period. Lord, I pray that day comes!
Until then, we are learning to return to LIFE again. For the most part, minus running, I am back to my normal life. Icing my hip and managing the nerve pain has become a normal part of the day. It's still good for us to remember, however, that we are still in recovery mode. Though Scheid says 6 months of recovery is to be expected, my gut tells me it will take a full year to feel my body get back to normal. I will expect this and then be surprised if it turns out to be less.
Next steps and the right side: The not-so-great news to tell is that last week Dr. Meiers officially diagnosed my right side pain with a labral tear. The MRI showed a significant tear and also displays my severe dysplasia on the right side. This was discouraging news, as you can imagine, but confirms the level of pain I've had in my right groin area. We were waiting to see Dr. Meiers in light of the fact that my right side had been weight bearing for 3-4 months and we were unsure if the pain was related to this weight or to a tear. Likely, it is related to both. Either way, we now know we up against the same thing we were/are on the left side.
We are now praying and considering surgery dates (combined arthroscopic and RPAO) for the right side. More to say about this in days to come...
Until then, we try our best to be present in this day, in this moment, and to choose to live with a grateful spirit:
God of fulfillment, never-failing Lord, grant that we may always place our trust in you, that our hope for deeper love, greater peace, and personal fulfillment reside only in you.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Uuuuugggggg!
Ouch. I have a new love/hate relationship with the Graston Technique. It has been the only thing that has worked to start the process of accurately massaging my nerves. It is absolutely painful but incredibly worth the suffering. My PT and I plan to try this once a week and see how it helps with nerve fibers, tenderness, and swelling.
http://www.grastontechnique.com/
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Woot Woot---Week 11 arrives!
I had a great check-up with the doc last week. I thought he was going to keep me on crutches for two more weeks, but instead, a week ago, he told me to move to the cane. I have two more weeks left on the cane (which he considers to be almost full weight bearing) and then I can hopefully walk without any assistance. The first week I truly needed the cane and felt unsteady. Now I am getting used to it and find myself strengthening more and more. My range of motion seems to be increasing and numbness even seems to be decreasing. That said, I am sitting here with ice on my leg because it feels so darn good.
Jen told me she will get me a top hat to go with my cane. I think our youth at Outreach would get a kick out of this look.
I increased my acetabular coverage by over 20 degress--I was so glad when Dr. Scheid shared this news.
I will start PT on Friday (2-3 times a week for 6 weeks). I will go as much as they'll let me--we didn't hit our deductible for nothing! I hope to try out aquatic therapy which provides an underwater treadmill in a warm pool. This may or may not be that helpful, says Dr. Scheid, since he now wants me to start weight bearing. The pool may help but from the chest down it's non weight bearing.
On a different note, the husband and I escaped Indianapolis this past weekend to rendezvous with my beautiful friends and family. Oh, and Nate got to see, in person, the Nittany Lions prance all over those Wolverines this weekend! A nice treat after 10 weeks of nursing me back to health.
Jen told me she will get me a top hat to go with my cane. I think our youth at Outreach would get a kick out of this look.
I increased my acetabular coverage by over 20 degress--I was so glad when Dr. Scheid shared this news.
I will start PT on Friday (2-3 times a week for 6 weeks). I will go as much as they'll let me--we didn't hit our deductible for nothing! I hope to try out aquatic therapy which provides an underwater treadmill in a warm pool. This may or may not be that helpful, says Dr. Scheid, since he now wants me to start weight bearing. The pool may help but from the chest down it's non weight bearing.
On a different note, the husband and I escaped Indianapolis this past weekend to rendezvous with my beautiful friends and family. Oh, and Nate got to see, in person, the Nittany Lions prance all over those Wolverines this weekend! A nice treat after 10 weeks of nursing me back to health.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
approaching 7 weeks
Day 47 on this PAO journey. It's 10-10-10 and 90 degrees here in Indianapolis. Where did you go, Autumn?
Went to church today and rode the recumbent bike while watching the Colts beat the Chiefs today! I paid for it, though, as I came with a shooting pain down the left side of my left quad. I've been icing for some time now.
Altogether, I know and feel I am getting stronger. The days begin to feel more normal. I return to work for half days starting tomorrow. I can now drive myself around and feel infinitely more independent. I am moving slowly, and taking small steps toward independence slowly. My body tells me I have to. I'm thankful I have not resorted back to my heavy meds even when the pain is intense. Starting Wednesday, I can bear 50 lbs. of weight on my left leg. I am anxious to begin PT and do believe the recumbent bike has helped to keep my stamina and strength throughout this healing period.
As I return to Outreach, Inc. tomorrow, I know I will require more sleep and longer periods of rest. Stress can manifest itself in my body so easily; I will need to "listen" to stress indicators and respect the weaning process.
Went to church today and rode the recumbent bike while watching the Colts beat the Chiefs today! I paid for it, though, as I came with a shooting pain down the left side of my left quad. I've been icing for some time now.
Altogether, I know and feel I am getting stronger. The days begin to feel more normal. I return to work for half days starting tomorrow. I can now drive myself around and feel infinitely more independent. I am moving slowly, and taking small steps toward independence slowly. My body tells me I have to. I'm thankful I have not resorted back to my heavy meds even when the pain is intense. Starting Wednesday, I can bear 50 lbs. of weight on my left leg. I am anxious to begin PT and do believe the recumbent bike has helped to keep my stamina and strength throughout this healing period.
As I return to Outreach, Inc. tomorrow, I know I will require more sleep and longer periods of rest. Stress can manifest itself in my body so easily; I will need to "listen" to stress indicators and respect the weaning process.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Progress
Mom took me on Wednesday to OrthoIndy for my 5 week check-up.
Dr. Scheid pulled up my latest x-ray and was happy to see that my hip "took" and it is healing in such a way that he is content. The first thing we noticed were 5 LONG SCREWS in my pelvis holding it all together. I've known there are screws in my body but now I see them, and it brings another level of reality. The three cuts in bone Dr. Scheid made are still growing back together. It was truly worth celebrating when we saw the comparison between my right and left (operated) hip. The left hip now (minus the screws and breaks0 looks normal...ball fitting into socket and all. Incredible! God has gifted Dr. Scheid with such precision and knowledge.
I can now bear 25 lbs of weight on my left foot, which is really helpful in my crutching endeavors. You basically figure this weight by putting your foot on a scale and seeing what 25 lbs. feels like.
Due to the bone still growing/healing, I can't start PT for another month, but I can continue on the bike as well as some exercises to build strength.
Altogether, we were grateful for the news. I did ask Dr. Scheid for our own copy of the x-ray. Now we can frame it and put it in our front room :)
We continue onward.
Dr. Scheid pulled up my latest x-ray and was happy to see that my hip "took" and it is healing in such a way that he is content. The first thing we noticed were 5 LONG SCREWS in my pelvis holding it all together. I've known there are screws in my body but now I see them, and it brings another level of reality. The three cuts in bone Dr. Scheid made are still growing back together. It was truly worth celebrating when we saw the comparison between my right and left (operated) hip. The left hip now (minus the screws and breaks0 looks normal...ball fitting into socket and all. Incredible! God has gifted Dr. Scheid with such precision and knowledge.
I can now bear 25 lbs of weight on my left foot, which is really helpful in my crutching endeavors. You basically figure this weight by putting your foot on a scale and seeing what 25 lbs. feels like.
Due to the bone still growing/healing, I can't start PT for another month, but I can continue on the bike as well as some exercises to build strength.
Altogether, we were grateful for the news. I did ask Dr. Scheid for our own copy of the x-ray. Now we can frame it and put it in our front room :)
We continue onward.
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