1 year Anniversary

1 year ago yesterday I had my surgery. What better way to celebrate your new hip than to take it around NYC?!?  I biked & walked all over the place. Standing for hours. Walking in heels. It's just crazy to think how painful those things used to be before surgery. 

I had the most amazing time in NYC. If you've never been you need to go ASAP. So much to see and do. So many different kinds of people and food. Just incredible. 

So it has been 1 full year and I will definitely say that I'm so glad I chose to have all my problems fixed. So grateful to my surgeon Dr. James Rosneck at the Cleveland Clinic go fixing me so I can enjoy my life again. 

38 weeks post op

Well kids I'm a graduate of PT!! They cut me loose today. Chris (the guy who does my re evals each month) told me towards the end of my appointment and I had to get out of there quickly to pick up my car from the dealer, so I didn't get to say my goodbyes. I'm going back next week to bring them all cards and say my real goodbyes. I did hug Terri who was my main PT for the last 9 months. I started to cry but then I ran out of there, so I'll have my cry fest next week. I'm very happy to be done with PT. I'm not 100% healed but I feel great. I know I can do therapy in my own now so there's no reason to keep going. I've been going for 13 months I'm done going there 2x a week!!

My left hip is still giving me some shit. I have a very tender piriformis so I'm a "pain in the ass". My pain is there and on the side where my IT band is. I do have some pain in the groin but I'm starting to wonder if it's my iliopsoas muscle again?!?  

I am sad to leave all of the wonderful PTs behind. That group is amazing and so much fun to be around. So as much as I'll miss them I'm not sad I'm done. 

Day 241

I tried Yoga yesterday and today. If you know me I am not a "yogi". That is not my style and it's not something I've ever been Interested in. My surgeon and my PT have both suggested I do yoga to help with flexibility and my "grandma body". I agree that it's a good idea for my body but I've been reluctant to try it. I tried some videos a fee years ago and I hated it so much I just quit. 

My shoulder has been strained for about 5 weeks now and my unoperated hip has been hurting lately. When I did my yoga routines I found off of Pinterest/YouTube I had to modify a lot for my shoulder and the tightness in my hips but I will admit (and I hate to admit) I felt very relaxed and my body felt great afterwards. Since I can't do a whole lot due to the fact I'm not fully recovered, I need to add some other fitness routines to my life. The elliptical is so boring and I haven't been able to try running yet due to my other hip. My full range of motion is much better, like being able to sit Indian style. So you can see that yoga isn't easy for me. I think it will help me in my recovery &  I think this is something I will learn to enjoy and something I will truly benefit from.

7 mo out

I am 7 mo post op in 2 hours haha. I'm doing really well. There are days (like today) that I will take a step, and I will feel like my hip is giving out or wants to pop, but then it quickly goes away. Just signs that I'm still healing. Nothing crazy, but  just goes to show that labral and FAI repair is a longer recovery than it seems . 

Still waiting for the ok to start running again. We were gonna start this week but last Friday I got on the stair climber at the gym (only for 5 min but I guess that's longer than I should have...it is like 200 some steps) and after that my un operated leg started the bursa pain again. Both of my hamstrings were killing me for a few days. The bursa pain on the left hip comes and goes so idk if my PT will let me try to run yet. This is what's frustrating me more than anything. C'mon hips let me run!!! I guess I need to be more patient but my patience is running thin. 

So I will leave you a photo of what my scars look like.

1 year ago today

It has been 1 year since I tore my labrum. All I did was stand up out of a chair and my world changed completely. It's amazing to think 2 days prior I was dancing/twerking on stage at The Buck Naked Band concert for my bday lol. They're a country cover band from Ohio and they're fabulous check them out 😜 

So as of today my right hip is feeling great and getting stronger everyday. My left hip feels pretty good. Hoping it stays on that path and is back to normal. I seriously cannot wait to run again and I can't wait to not be in any pain. 

So as a treat to me I got my hair did today!! I wanted to go blonde and my husband desperately wants me to be blonde but I decided against it. Maybe in the spring/summer when I'm tan. 

So as I sat in my chair the girl that does my hair made a Starbucks run. Since it's my bday tomorrow mine was free. I highly suggest the Chestnut latte. It's sooo good. 

It's not exactly how I envisioned it but I do love it. Wish the lighter parts were a bit brighter but it looks great and I think better in person. 

So now I'm pretty and moving forward with becoming normal 

It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

So my friend Matt who had this surgery done about a year ago has told me twice now, "that it gets worse before it gets better". Man he wasn't kidding. You all know that my "good" hip has been giving me some problems, but now my right hip (operated) is kinda bothering me. Not anything I'm worried about it's just sore at times. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just healing still. My main complaint is that both of my legs are so fatigued lately. I'm exhausted. I fought to get through 15 min on the elliptical yesterday and I wasn't even pushing it. I was huffing and puffing and taking so many breaks at therapy today. I'm not used to tiring out. I don't like it. 

My PT performed the graston technique on my left hip today. They are these metal tools that the PT rubs all along your muscles to break up scar tissue and help with blood flow. 

It hurts while they do it depending on how tight your muscles are and sometimes they leave bruises so we shall see. I admit I feel better all ready after PT today. 

I guess I just have to suck it up and stay positive. I'm a fighter and I will come out of this on top 

6 Mo Follow Up

I went to the surgeon today for my follow up. I wish I can say that I went in and said "I'm all fixed thanks...no problems to report" but unfortunately I went in with a whole new set of problems....my left hip (un operated side). My surgical hip feels great so that is wonderful news. I am very happy I decided to have the surgery, but that doesn't mean I want to do it again!

I had xrays taken on both hips. After he examined me he showed me my xrays and said that he does see the same kind of anatomy on my other hip. There is an impingement on that side too, but that doesn't mean it needs fixed. The pain that I'm having on the left side changes hourly and daily. At times I feel like it's the same as the right hip but then again it's not. I have full range of motion still. My pain is usually on the outside or the front of my hip. Rarely is it in the groin. Even after examining me he said my IT band is very tight (Iliotibial Band- side of the hip) and everything in there is aggravated for sure. It could be that my left hip is just tired of carrying my right hip (it's been almost 1 year since my tear)  Right now he is going to treat it as bursitis/tendonitis (inflammation in a nutshell) and if it doesn't get better in 6 weeks I'll have an MRI done. He prescribed me with a different kind of NSAID to take (more potent than IBuprofin) called Meloxicam and wants me to take it for 2-3 weeks to see if that helps with the inflammation. He also put in an order for PT on the left hip. 

As I drove home from the appointment I started crying in the car. I had made the decision right then and there that I would not be going back to CrossFit. I know I sound like a hypocrite for not going back when I said I would because "CrossFit did not hurt my hip" but if I have an impingement on the other side and can avoid having surgery again, I'm going to do it. Maybe I'm not built to be doing that crazy stuff after all?? I mean I am pretty little. Maybe it's not meant to be. I just will be happy when I can start runnin again and I'll work in some lifting as I go. 

Stay Tuned....

Day 124

My left hip (non operated side) has been killing me for about 1 week. I had a mental breakdown the other day because I began to panick about having to go thru surgery again. If I have to have surgery on this hip I don't have anymore time off at work to take, nor do I have money to be off work for another 3 months. 

I haven't ran since last Wednesday at PT bc my hips were hurting me. We just did a re eval at PT and he decided I am banned from the gym and PT for 1 week. He is hoping that between work, additionally work in the gym/PT and now running, it may just be too much all at once for me and that I'm not quite ready for it all. 

I honestly believe that my "good hip" has had enough and is torn too. I haven't had the arthrogram on that side to verify but deep down I know that's what it is. I hope my therapist is right and that it's my hip flexors that are agitated and not actually damage to my hip. 

Only time will tell I suppose 

Week 17

I went back to work on Aug 22nd. I work at Summa Health Systems which is a level 1 trauma center so it's always crazy busy. I work in xray. Most people think I just push a button but my job is more physical than you think. I push beds, I pull patients onto tables, I roll/lift patients to get my xray cassettes under them....it can be rough. So far my hip has been good. The first 2 days were hard but I think I just needed to get used to walking for 8 hours and walking on the terrible hard hospital floors. I have trouble pivoting to turn beds around corners and I have a hard time pulling heavier patients or pushing heavier patients in wheelchairs. All in all it's going much better than I anticipated. 

I went to PT today and got to run on the treadmill for the first time. My surgeon told me 4 weeks ago I could start running this week and I've been counting down the days. We went over to the treadmill and my therapist said we can try for 3-5 min but only up to 5, depending on how I feel. I ran for 5 min straight. I started tearing up as I was closing in on 5 min. I couldn't believe I did it and that I wasn't gasping for breath since I haven't ran in almost 1 year. I can try to run outside after a week of running in a controlled setting (on the tmill supervised). I'm so happy to be getting back into running. I've missed it 

Week 12

I went to the surgeon yesterday for my 12 week follow up & I actually saw Dr. Rosneck (about time). He isn't as thorough as his PA (I was with him maybe 10 min) but he knows what he's doing. My scar looks great and I know he fixed my hip so I honestly don't care lol. He said that I am ahead of schedule and am doing great. He said it's time to kick it up a notch with therapy (moving on to phase III...not sure what that entails but it means more than leg stretches so I'm game). I can start running in 6 weeks. That seems like so far away but I'm excited that I'm in the home stretch. I never thought I'd miss running so much. I hope I have some not so cold weather to run in. I am also cleared to go back to work. I go back next Friday. I am soooo not ready. I'm excited to see my co workers and get my full paycheck back 😜 but the hospital is so stressful and I don't want my summer vacation to end haha. Being paid to not go to work has been awesome. Reality had to come some time. I am nervous to go back to work because the hospital is huge. It's a lot of walking. I just gotta go slow and do the best I can. One step at a time. 

Dr. Rosneck said I need to work on my stretching more, to externally rotate my hip. 

I did this today at the gym. Doesn't look impressive but you have no idea how much effort this is taking. It's out way more than it has been. 

So since I'm allowed to advance to phase III, I got to do a lot of fun stuff at PT today. I did real leg presses on a real machine, not the reformer. I did them at 60lbs. I also did calf raises on the leg press machine. I did balance work and squats on a bosu ball. I had this giant smile on my face the whole time. This stuff is way harder than the basic table work/stretches I've been doing. I was actually sweating and my heart rate was up. Pathetic I know but I'm so excited! 

11 weeks Post Op

Although I'm doing amazing since surgery, the struggle is real right now. I'm at a point where I'm feeling good, I'm returning to work soon, and I'm starting to be able to do more physically (squats, arc trainer, lunges). Even with positive progress I'm starting to get depressed again. I am not necessarily gaining weight but I'm getting bigger around the middle. It's driving me insane bc I can't workout like I normally would. I can do a lot more than what I have been, but it's not enough to see the results I want. So my struggle is, my hip feels good, but I still can't do shit!!!  No running, no cardio more than 15 min, no leg day. I want my ass, legs, and stomach back. Clothes aren't fitting right. This sedentary time frame and lack of eating clean (it's summer let's be real...drinking and cookouts/parties) is catching up with me. I saw this yesterday and it made me feel better (for a minute) 

Just impatiently waiting to be normal 

2 mo post op

Today I'm 60 days out and I feel great. I'm so glad I had this surgery. I know I will be better off in the long run. 

Yesterday I started to add resistance to the bike/elliptical. I started doing squats (not past 90*) lunges, side steps with a band, & just in general making my normal exercises a little harder. 

I was at the gym 2 days ago and I got up to 7 mph on the elliptical. I don't think I went that fast before I had surgery. 

I made a goal for myself to run a 5K either in the end of Sept or Oct.y surgeon said we could talk running at 4 mo. I've been doing amazing throughout this recovery so I know I can do it. I may be a little ambitious saying this, but I want to do a 5K around the 30 min mark. Ok honestly I'll be upset if it takes me longer than 30 min. I understand it will probably be around the 30-35 min mark but I'm going to be positive. 

I'm so excited to be getting back to my old ways. 

#dontcallitacomeback 

Gym Time

5 weeks exactly today and I went to the gym for the first time since surgery. Big day. Just 5 min on the bike and upper body stuff. Not a lot but you have to start somewhere 

Day 40 - almost 6 weeks post op

I had my 6 week follow up with the surgeon today. Well, I should say his PA since I still haven't seen the man that actually operated on me. Ugh. Lucky for him I really like her. 

She said I look great and am actually ahead of schedule. She said it was ok to advance to Phase 2 of PT. Basically that means I can start doing the elliptical, stair climber, things like half squats... More intense workouts. So what did I do?? Went straight to the gym!! 

I got on the elliptical for just 5 min. I couldn't go any faster than about 3.2 but I'm ok with going slow. Even just 5 min on that thing gave me a workout. 

I forgot to mention that I stopped using the shower stool when we went to Vegas (obviously) so I've been on my own for a little over 1 week. I still can't bring my leg up to shave or to wash my feet. I just prop up my leg on the tub to shave it and I just bend my knee to about 90* and reach as best I can to get to my foot. Sometimes I use a loofah if I'm not feeling so flexible. 

I'm so excited to slowly start to transition back to normal. 

Day 33 Week 5 PT Re eval

I went to PT today for my re eval. He measured my progress. I can flex my hip to 110* & abduct out at 30* which is at/past where I should be. Abducting is bringing your leg out to the side away from your body. We did more exercises like that today and I got to start doing bridges. He also added some resistance on the reformer. He said that I'm doing awesome and that if he didn't have to follow my surgeons protocol he would let me start doing some more intense things. Maybe next week (I don't have therapy for the rest of this week) 

He said that I'm ok to start going to the gym to do upper body and the bike. Some therapist and drs don't want you to do dumbbell work early on because your core isn't strong like it used I be so you start using other muscles to compensate. As long as I don't feel anything in my hip I'm good to go. 

I get so excited about these little things because that's just getting me 1 step closer to my normal life. 

Ouchie

This is a post that anyone who has had this surgery before can relate to. For those embarking upon it...keep this in the back of your minds. 

I'm almost at the 5 week out mark. Over the past 4 days I have not used crutches AT ALL and I have been driving. You don't realize how much more of your body you're using, even without the aide of 1 crutch. I figured if I am walking great with 1 crutch I must be good to go. NO. I am so tired and sore by the end of the day it's crazy. Nothing unbearable by any means but tired and spent none the less. 

The point of this post is a reminder that I am not 100% yet, even tho I have my moments when I forget I had hip surgery. I feel good and without thinking I go to take a side step or turn/twist and quickly I'm reminded I'm still healing. I accidentally externally rotated my leg TWICE today and that is honestly the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. Going downstairs without concentrating on going slow or with balance will send a jolt up your leg. Just be mindful of the steps you take. Go slow and use cation still....or you will pay for it later on. 

4 weeks post op

Today was a big day for me. We just got back from Vegas last night. My husband rented a scooter for me so I wouldn't have to walk everywhere but that backfired. There are just too many people walking the streets in Vegas it ended up giving me an anxiety attack trying to get around. So I walked with my 1 crutch for 3 days. I did really well. I pretty sure the one day we walked 8 miles if not more than that. I was never in agonizing pain but by the end of the day (which was usually around 3am) I was spent. While I was there my scab fell off. So here is what my scar looks like now. 

I was told by the surgeon not to go in the pool since my scar wasn't completely healed so I just went in to above my knee. When I laid out in the sun I covered my scars with bandaids. I was also told I should take 325mg of aspirin 2x/day over the course of the trip and to wear my compression socks on the plane since there is still a chance of getting a blood clot.

I had therapy today and my PT said they should put in orders for patients to go to Vegas after surgery for rehab purposes because I had better range of motion than I did before I left hahaha. We did my normal stretches and the bike. I got to go on a reformer today. 

It's a Pilates machine that's like a leg press. I did great on it with no problems. She even added some ankle weights when I did my hamstring curls. She also said I could start doing some pool therapy and she mentioned squats in the pool. I heard squats and my heart skipped a beat 😜 Can't wait to do some real exercises!!! In do time....

Today was the 1st day I drove. I was told at my follow up with the surgeon that around Week 3 I could start driving but I was too scared and not ready to try. I drove to therapy by myself and ended up driving all over town today. I didn't use my crutch at all today. I'm going to completely ween myself off of it.  It felt good to have some normalcy again.

Day 18

At therapy today I got to get on a real stationary bike for almost 10min...might've been a little longer than 10 actually. I felt like I was on it forever when she came back to get me. She told me it would be 5min. Oh well I was happy. 

I'm walking on my own without a crutch but my leg tires out quick. I have no problem going to the bathroom or to he kitchen but I'm not ready for a full day without it. I did sweep all the hardwood floors today without any assistance. That went just fine. Any pain that I experience is in my lower quad from being used. I have yet to experience any pain in my hip since surgery. I had a little pinch feeling in my hip yesterday from sitting in a chair for dinner at my neighbors house. Sat in that same 90* bend for a little too long but once I switched positions and got moving it was fine. 

At therapy she even had me start to cross my leg over my other leg. That's a big deal!! I can put my right ankle over my left shin and internal/external rotate my leg. Great progress. 

Just got news we are 99% going to Vegas this weekend for a few days for a last min anniversary trip. We got married in Vegas 6 years ago. Our anniversary isn't until the 27th, so a tad early but anniversary trip none the less. Already looking at Rascal rentals. I wonder if I'll get a SUI???? Scootering under the influence?? 

Going to get a little personal here....along with an update on Day 15

First off, my Aunt and Uncle came for a visit today and brought me this little plant. So cute....wonder how long it will take for me to kill it?? 

I started transitioning from 25% weightbearing to 50% today and did fine with it. Really well actually. We are about to head off for dinner and I went to go to the bathroom before we left. I rested my crutches against the sink and without even thinking I walked over to the toilet. I had a mini panic attack because I realized I didn't support myself. I waited for the jolt of pain, or for the stumble and nothing happened. I freaked out!! I yelled for Andy. I turned around and walked out of the bathroom and into the living room without any assistance. I yelled "I'm walking!!!" I pretty much skipped the 1 crutch 75% phase and just started walking. I was so excited. I took 1 crutch with me to dinner tho. I'm trying not to be dumb about all of this. Go out too fast and falter. When we got home I walked into the house and went upstairs to make the bed. We have been sleeping downstairs in the spare room since my surgery and Andy moved our mattress back upstairs today since I am able to do stairs now. I advise anyone who is having this surgery done, to if possible live on one floor until you are able to bear weight on your leg. I was going to try to be a hard ass and go up/down the stairs right off that bat and I am so glad I didn't. It's a lot harder than it seems when you are relying on one leg and a walker/crutches that you're not used to using. So I continued to make the bed and by the time I got back to the stairs I could feel fatigue setting into my quad muscles. Still no pain in my hip at all but I did start to limp a little. Morle of the story...I am not healed. I couldn't go a whole day without any assistance just yet but the walking I did today proves I'm doing amazing.

 The reason I wanted to make this post (I know I'm post happy lately) is because I noticed a choice of word I have been using throughout this process...Tired. I remember one time in PT before the surgery my therapist asked if I had any pain in my leg while I was doing a certain exercise. I said "no pain it's just...well I don't know....tired" Today as I was walking down the steps I told Andy that my leg was done for the day and that I couldn't go anymore without assistance. He asked if it was because I was in pain and I responded "no. It's just tired". I'm using the word "tired" instead of using the word "weak". Weak is the more appropriate word to use but I guess I have refused to use it. I have always been a tough cookie. I played sports my whole life whether I was fit to play or not. I never sat out a game. (I played softball and volleyball) If I was injured, I just rubbed some dirt on it or taped up whatever was bothering me and kept on going. I don't give up. It's just not in my blood. I am not weak. Never have been, never will be. I might be an emotional mess hahah but I am not weak. I am just getting stronger everyday!!

Day 15 scar picture

That's all haha