So I have been getting a lot of messages about my blog lately, wondering how my hip is and where things are at, but I have been reluctant to update because life has thrown me a big curve ball. Back in May, my husband passed away. Obviously, life has changed dramatically for me over the last few months and not in anyways that have anything to do with my hip. It seemed like for so long my life was so consumed with all this hip stuff. I woke up to pain, I lived with pain and I slept with pain. It was so exhausting and frustrating, I felt trapped in my life by pain. But, obviously, when you have a major life event, it kind of throws a wrench into plans. So, needless to say, I have not thought much about my hip in the past few months, nor have I really cared. Frankly, if my hip fell off tomorrow, I probably would not care. All the surgeries, all the pain, all the planning, all the physical therapy, etc. it all just seems to useless now. My husband was so heartbroken every time I was in pain, it just tore him up inside to see me hurting. I know that he would be so happy for how I feel now, which is actually fairly well hip wise!
Coming off crutches was a really hard thing. It seemed like it took forever for my hip to gain strength back. I walked with a slight limp for a long while and still to this day have to really think about how I walk so as to not walk oddly. In June I had a check up appointment with Dr. Buly. I stayed at a hotel about 10 blocks away and was able to walk up to the hospital and back, plus take my dog to the dog park a few times a day. I did a lot of driving, up and down the east coast, from Maine to Maryland and back home to Michigan. I did a lot of walking, both on beaches and in the city. I rode my bike 5 miles and then swam in Lake Michigan. I got my first full time job in 3 years! I am able to walk a few blocks for lunch or to the bank. I can work 9 hours a day and then take my dog to the dog park, without wanting to chop my leg off cause it aches so bad. Later this month I am moving my horse to a barn with an indoor arena so that I can start working with her again and hopefully start riding as soon as next month!
Overall, given my increase in activity and complete disregard and lack of caring for any kind of physical therapy program, I feel like I am doing really well. I have a non-union of the bottom most cut, which seems to be the biggest pain generator I still have. I am still taking pain killers, but its minimal comparatively, so I am not worried about it. I still have A LOT of strength to gain and am looking to start working with a personal trainer next month so that I can learn HOW to work out again without hurting myself. I hope that the stronger I get, plus some weight loss, will really improve my situation even more. It seems like there is finally a light at the end of the L-O-N-G tunnel that has been my hip issues. My left hip (non-op) actually hurts more often than my right hip. I have a labral tear and some issues with the left which will have to be looked at eventually, but for now, I am happy to just live life a little without (too much) pain and see where it takes me.
I appreciate everyone's messages and support over the past few years. This has been a long road for me and I never thought that I would ever see the day where I could wake up and not have pain, but it is possible (even with 5 screws in a hip!). I wish my husband was here to enjoy this with me, but for now, I will just try to enjoy it twice as much for the both of us.
