Welcome Back and Hip Surgery updates.

It's been a "little" while. As in a long while. And while so much happened in nearly 4 years since my last post, I will save all that catching up for another day. One of the biggest things though is that I had hip surgery earlier this year. I've gone through a lot and I have learned a lot too. In the coming weeks I will be sharing more details about the diagnosis and surgery itself, as well as some tips and tricks I learned surviving the time at home while living alone. For now, however, I just wanted to say "Hi, I'm Back, I've missed this",  and share my week-by-week updates from weeks 1 through 10. 

January 20: I am HOME! It was a super early morning full of anxiety and nerves. Things rolled super smoothly once there. Pre-Op nurse got the IV started. Surgeon in and reviewed the planned surgery and left his initials on my hip. Anesthesia came in and cleared my airway and went over her part. OR Nurse walked me back to the OR, got me all settled on the table, I was asked to take 4 deep breaths and didn't even get to do the whole counting backward from 100. Next thing I know I was in recovery with the nurse telling me she is getting more pain meds, which is good cause man writhing in pain hurts. Got to post-op, water, some juice and crackers, and oral meds. Wheeled out to mom, dealt with some nausea the whole way home, which I think was mostly positional combined with post-anesthesia. Now just chilling on the couch, literally and figuratively, eating all the snacks very carefully. Thank you all so much for your prayers, well wishes, and offers of support and help.

One Week!
One week since I hugged my mom in the parking lot and nervously walked into the surgery center alone. One week since I questioned if I was jumping the gun and being a wimp and if the surgery would be worth it because it sounded like the Labral Tear was “small”. One week since I threw up in my mom's car on the ride home. One week since listened to the surgeon's voicemail and a flood of relief washed over me when he said “significant tearing” immediately followed by dread when he said “microfracture” which was quickly abated when he said that it would not change my weight-bearing restrictions. One week of PT and Home exercises. One week of reminding myself that just because I am feeling good doesn’t mean I should push my restrictions or that feeling horrible and taking lots of naps does not mean I am behind where I should be. One week of giving myself grace and acknowledging that I can't do it all and that is why is it is important to have friends and community in your life because if you let them, they will be there for you.

One week of tears, deep breathing, wincing and moaning, icing and hope and progress and smiles and pride in small accomplishments. 

Two Weeks!

It’s been 2 weeks since my Right Hip surgery and I am walking without the walker or crutches! Tomorrow we get a new phase in the PT protocol. I have a return to work plan and date. I drove myself to the gym yesterday to get on the upright bike. I can finally shower without having to keep the incisions dry which has meant that the steri strips finally were able to come off, which means the allergic reaction I have been having to any bandage I have put on it can finally start clearing up. There is still a long road to go rehabbing and returning to walking and maybe actually running races again. But I will get there. 

I can’t believe I am already 3 weeks post-op. In some ways it feels like forever ago and yet it also feels like it was just yesterday. I went back to work half days this week. I am now in the 2nd phase of the PT Protocol, we are doing more and new things. The day to day is getting better, not as tired in the afternoon, actually cooked a full meal the other night. Been able to go out for several Half-Mile walks. Still working on the muscle endurance, those walks are tiring and I do end up limping at the end. Still icing and heating and taking Tylenol as needed, as well as the scheduled meds the doc has me on for a little over a week still. Been able to actively work on ROM, and while I have been making amazing progress, it sometimes goes backward. I, and PT, have to keep reminding me that recovery is not perfectly linear and has ups and downs and that it has only been 3 weeks. I know this, it is a lesson I have learned over the years with other injuries, I hear my coworkers remind our patients of this all the time, and even still, it messes with my head. So for now, I keep working the protocol, I listen to my body saying that's enough for now, and I work on giving myself grace. 

Post Op Day 28 aka 4 Weeks aka Phase 3 of the rehab protocol! I ventured into the grocery store a couple times to grab what I forgot to order. I realized I don't hate shorts or how my legs look in them nearly as much as I used to. I made spur-of-the-moment decisions to go for walks. I upped my daily step goal. I progressed my walk distance to a mile today and it was pain-free with only a little discomfort in the end. Very optimistic will be able to keep the walks close to and maybe even push that distance.

Week 5! Seriously, over a month! I am fully back to work, slowly working on increasing weekly walking mileage by 5-10%, the 30 days of twice a day meds are done, and I'm trying not to get too excited and ahead of myself. Things maybe feel almost back to normal. There are still plenty of moments where I feel it, but rarely would I describe what I'm feeling as pain. In fact, any meds I took this week were for headaches, not my hip. Coming up this week, heading downtown which may involve parking not close, and my 6 week follow up apt at the ortho office.

Six Freaking Weeks! Saw the PA at the surgeon's office this week for a follow-up, she thinks things look great! which is good since they are mostly feeling great. Don't get me wrong, it is still really easy for me to overextend myself or freak myself out, but I am slowly learning how to safely push those limits just a little more each time, and more importantly learning when to rest and recover. I realized I'm really not all that upset that I might not ever become a Runner the way we normally define running, but I am slowly getting Walker back, and honestly, there were parts of last year where I felt I had lost that. In so many ways I am feeling like the old me again, yet simultaneously feeling like a whole new me is ready to emerge from all of this.

Week 7!

The one where I start doing squats to the chair and add resistance bands to the side-stepping. The one where a 1.8-mile walk on Saturday makes it the longest walk I have done since June! The one where start lamenting getting tight, when it's the same tight it's been for a couple of weeks and is perfectly normal and is not helped by the fact that I slacked off on my HEP. The one where I find out about a new race coming to town in 2 months and it happens to be my favorite style and I try to figure out how crazy it would be to see if I could walk in a loop for an hour. 

Week 8. I wore shorts to go grocery shopping. I bought new shoes. PT told me a 5k race in may sounds doable. I had my first sub 18 min/mi pace since October, a pace I had only managed a handful of times since last February. Dealt with some muscle tension, but got it pretty resolved. It feels so close to normal that in many ways it is super hard to stay within the protocol. But the protocol and restrictions are there for a reason, and I don't want to mess my recovery up.  

Week 9. The fact that I almost forgot this week's update I think speaks loud and clear. The week started a touch rough, but I was able to make it to a sports event for the first time in over 2 years. I stood for an hour and a half cheering, and wow, that was a lot and it definitely set the tone for Saturday and Sunday. But by Monday things were looking up. I got back at it for upper body weights, including increasing some of the weight. Thanks to spring break, I made it back to Pub Run. The hip is feeling really good. Still keeping my milage increase slow and measurement. Being intentional with changes in position as while changing position is usually the key when something does start hurting, sometimes the actual changing of position doesn't feel great. But overall, things are good.  

Week 10! Guys, I freaking walked outside in public in shorts that don't perfectly stay in place. Progressing to more single-leg strengthening, advancing depth on squats, crosstraining, and being able to actually log PT as an official Leg Day workout. Oh, and also already trying to plan what I want to wear as my "costume" for the Race to Space. I mean, one needs a perfect outfit for their first race back right?