5 weeks post op

So today I am 5 weeks post op.  Last week was really hard, I was having increasing pain with each day that passed and I was trying to work myself off of crutches.  I felt like I was falling behind in my rehab as even the basic PT exercises were becoming more difficult instead of easier.  BUT...on Friday, I woke up and felt a ton better, I was able to do my therapy exercises in the morning without any trouble at all.  I was so happy and surprised!  It finally felt amazing!  So for the past few days I have been continually feeling better and better, doing my therapy exercises 2 times a day without any issues.  Yesterday and today I walked without crutches at all, all day.  My back today is sore though as I am twisting my pelvis as I have a slight limp, so I am working a lot harder at stabilizing my pelvis with my core, which means I really have to think about every step I take, but it will be worth it as my leg needs this to get stronger.  I also went to the pool today for the first time.  It felt good, albeit different.  I didn't realize how much and quickly I adapted to the feeling of walking in the water without so much weight on my hips until I got out of the pool and the limp was back.  So I think I am going to try and get to the pool on the days that I am not in PT.

In PT I have been working on a few new things, like external rotation, which feels weird as my capsule is really tight, but each day, my range of motion gets better and better and its always nice to see results!  I have started doing abduction exercises with my left leg, which means I have to stand on my right (operated leg) to start some more strengthening.  I was really afraid to do these exercises but they turned out ok, as I did not fall over!  We have also upped the resistance on the bike, so I feel like I am getting a slight cardio workout, which is something new.  In the pool I can start doing some aqua jogging and laps, as well as the normal exercises which just use the resistance of the water to help strengthen.

My pain has been minimal the past 3 days or so, after I got over the awful flare up that I had.  I am already on less drugs than I was before, which is promising!  I am suppose to have a follow up appointment with Dr. Philippon on March 11th, but I have some family issues that need attending too so I will be cancelling this appointment and rescheduling.  I also want to push it out a little so that I can try and fly out there myself and save some money on plane tickets as its starting to get a little too pricey flying out there every 6 weeks!  So, thats about all for now.  This week in PT we will be adding some new exercises, so we will see how the hip does without crutches and some more strengthening!  Each week brings something new, its exciting to see the changes happening!!

Stay pain free and have a great week everyone!!

The day before surgery with Dr. Philippon

Its the day before my hip surgery with Dr. Marc Philippon and I am getting pretty nervous.  Its odd to be here again since my debacle of a trip last time, it almost seems surreal.  I won't actually believe surgery is happening this time until I wake up in recovery.  Seems like any little thing will cancel surgery, which before I never had any issues with.  I have been wishing for this day for weeks and weeks now, but now that its tomorrow, part of me just wants to be home, cuddling with my dog, watching the snow fall.  But I know that this is the first step to getting my life back as I knew it before.  I have struggled for a long time now, coming to peace with the fact that I cannot do many things in life that seemed so easy before.  How many people have to think about how long and when is the best time to do laundry to create the least amount of pain as possible.  I want to ride my horse again, I want to take my dog for a walk and not worry that I will hurt to much to walk the next day, and I want to run.  I want to work on being a fit person, as person who is proud of how they look and feel.  So in some ways I am excited, hoping that this is a turning point in my life, putting the days of chronic pain behind me.  It will be interesting to see how this recovery goes compared to my previous ones, but I know no matter what, I need to keep my spirits high and listen to my body.

So pre-op instructions so far have been pretty minimal, really only consisting of making sure I drink a lot of water or Gatorade.  I have also had to wash for the past 2 days with Hibiclens, which is this awful pre-op soap that they make you wash with.  I say that its awful because its not like normal soap, it has no soap like qualities.  Its pink, makes you smell funny, and does not even suds like soap should.  I have to shower tonight and tomorrow morning with it as well (EWWW).

Our travel this trip was overall very smooth.  We were able to actually fly out of Houghton/Hancock airport yesterday on time, which I really did not think was going to happen, because we were getting some intense lake effect snow so the inbound flight from Chicago had been cancelled, but somehow, by the grace of God, they had just fixed a plane and we were still able to leave.  We got to Chicago on time, had dinner, walked around then boarded our flight to Denver.  Once in Denver we got our rental car and we were off to Vail.  We got in late last night, about 11 PM MST only to find that our condo we were renting was missing the key to get in.  So we decided to get a hotel room for the night until we could get a hold of the condo owner the next day, but ALL the hotels were booked, I mean, there was not a single room in all of Vail.  So we had to go to the next town over and stay in a hotel there.  We finally got to bed about 12:30 AM MST.  Luckily this morning we worked things out with the condo owner and were able to finally get into the condo and unpack.  I love this condo though, its really nice because it has 1 1/2 baths, which I know will come in handy after surgery.  The bed is huge and it has a nice fireplace.  So this afternoon me and my husband are just relaxing, watching some football.

So, tomorrows the big day!  In some ways I feel like it has not even really hit me yet, but in others I feel like its happening too fast!  Here's to new and improved hips!!!  See you all on the other side!