Category Archives: Uncategorized

PT, DEN, BSP – OMG!

Leave a reply

Holy guacamole – so much has gone on since my last post. Physical therapy started, I flew for the first time since my surgery, I met with my Ear Nose and Throat doctor about my persistent sinus infections – and these were just the highlights.

20130218-195536.jpg

Until we meet again…

Its been 10.5 weeks since my PAO surgery and I’ve been doing well – I’m able to walk unassisted when inside and use my crutches to get around outside. Oh, and the wheelchair went back to the rental shop, not to be seen for another 3 months (until the next surgery!).

So, I figured that if I could walk, I was pretty much back to normal. I figured wrong. I have a lot of pain and difficulty doing things other than walking. For example, if I am sitting and my legs are extended in front of me, it’s really hardand pretty painful to lift my leg, even a few inches. The muscles in the front of my thigh are super weak. I have noticed increased in the joint, expecially when I sit with my hip at greater than 90 degrees for more than a few minutes. Also, the muscles in my backside are super weak and shake when I do many of my exercises. I still have trouble putting on socks or buckling shoes and I have a really hard time falling asleep because I can’t get comfortable. My left hip aches ALL the time, near the greater trochanter on the femur and in the areas of my labral tears. One thing that’s freaking me out is that I still notice the sharp ice-pick like pain in my right hip when I do certain movements. While it is only 10.5 weeks since the surgery, I am a little concerned about how this is going to affect my next surgery (which is 12.5 weeks away). I need my right hip to be strong because I will be depend on it exclusively while my left hip recovers.

Physical Therapy. Started PT on the 7th and had 3 sessions so far. The focus of PT is to strengthen my core, my glute and thigh muscles, and to stretch the joint. On my off days I do my exercises at home. I feel really strong at the PT offices but when I try to do the same exercises at home, it’s like my strength evaporates. I am also super sore because of the increased exercise. I know that it’s helping but it still feels like a setback to be sore and in pain now when I felt so pain-free at 6 weeks (although at 6 weeks I was not weight bearing and almost totally inactive).

20130218-195402.jpg20130218-195410.jpgDenver – There I went I flew to Denver to attend my cousin’s wedding this past week and had a great time and was truly happy to spend time with my family. I was able to sit in a bulkhead seat on the airplane (which permitted me to extend my legs and avoid joint stiffness) and got the added benefit of sitting next to two French Mastiffs from the Westminster dog show! I used wheelchairs to get me through the airports (BEST choice ever) my family drove me get around once in Colorado.

20130218-195442.jpgDragging luggage through the airport (like carrying a shopping basket at the grocery store or walking the dog) is incredibly difficult when on crutches. In general, travel was harder than I’d anticipated, both physically and mentally, even at this point in my recovery.  I am sore and still worn out a few days after getting back.  That said, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Balloon Sinuplasty. Aside from all the hip drama, I suffer from severe allergies and persistent sinus infections. After having met with an ENT and having a CT scan I am scheduled for a balloon sinuplasty this Friday. It was either that or a traditional surgery and since balloon sinuplasty is less invasive we decided to try that first. Click the link to learn what a Balloon Sinuplasty is and what it does — What is Balloon Sinuplasty? — there’s also a useful animation. At this point, my head is so full with hip related anatomy and physiology that I don’t have the mental capacity to learn the intricacies of sinus surgery. I’m not looking for a miracle, just to be able to make it through the Spring allergy season without having a meltdown.

20130218-195506.jpg
Wheels on the bus go round ‘n round!

In other news, February 24th will be the half-way point between my two surgeries — time to start getting ready for May 8th and my SDD surgery. Yikes!?!

Finally, I am happy to report that I got approved by Access-a-Ride, the MTA’s paratransit system.  I used the service for the first time to get to my ENT appointment and will use it again on Friday for my BSP.

Tiny fall, big reminder

Leave a reply

I have been both surprised by and proud of how positive an attitude I have had leading up to and following my surgery. I’ve honestly been really upbeat and feeling really good in general, hitting recovery milestones with flying colors. I believe that my positive attitude has gone a long way toward my recovery.

Unfortunately, a positive attitude can only get me so far. I also have to be careful to not overdo it and not forget that my hips are still really unstable. And when I do forget? Well I fall down, just a little.

I was putting some things away in a lower drawer in my apartment this evening and was in a squat position. It’s never been painful for me to get into this position but standing up from it, unaided, has been a practical impossibility even before I had surgery. Couple that with a terrible sinus / allergy problem that has made me dizzy several times today. So I tried to get back up today and basically fell backward, landing on my left (non-surgical) hip and cutting up my hands on a drawer. I was really surprised by how much I was shaken by it and had to take a few minutes of sitting before I could climb my way to standing. Both hips have been sore and aching a little extra as a result but I’m sure it’s just from being jarred – no long term damage.

Big small

Thank you, dear Matroyshka dolls, for helping to explain the difference between something tiny and something big.

It made me think though about how uncareful I have been when I am home. When I leave the house I am super cautious, use my crutches, wear sensible shoes with good traction, and never go too fast. When I am home I wear slippery socks and seldom use my crutches or walker and I find myself forgetting that I absolutely should be doing so. I forget that I’m not truly better, even if I can get around my little Brooklyn apartment.

So I’ve learned from my tiny fall — I still have a super positive attitude but it will be tempered by care.

Next up? Physical therapy starts on Thursday followed by early morning appointments with my ENT and allergist on Friday to get this evil sinus / allergy problem figured out. Onward and upward!

I think it’s working!

Leave a reply

Quick little report of positivity.

20130202-211518.jpg
This is the non-actually-waving cat family that came home with us and is currently staring out my front window.

My husband and I took a cab into the city and found ourselves with 3 hours of unanticipated free time between events in Chinatown — not enough time to really go to another neighborhood and find something to do but too much time to hang out in a tea house sipping bubble tea (almond milk with tapioca, my fave).

We decided to wander the streets, searching for glasses and waving cats. I was on crutches and since this was my first time to really walk around on the crutches for any long period of time, I was worried my right hip would start to really hurt or give out on me.

Whoa was I wrong! My right hip held up like a champ!! Pretty much no pain, and really no pain within the joint (a bit of muscle pain but that was just from my hip actually working). My right hip felt stable and I realized that I could not remember the last time my right hip did not hurt or ache after walking more than a block or two (probably years). Here was evidence that my reconfigured hip is really working!

My left hip, however, was a different story. The joint ached and felt weak and unstable, just as it always had. The more I walked, the worse the pain and instability. It was a significant and noticeable difference between the hip that was operated on and my left ‘virgin’ hip. It’s just as bad as before my right hip was operated on, possibly worse because the pain in my left hip started faster than before. In any event, I am really excited at the prospect of someday soon having 2 hips that feel good enough that I can wander hours through Chinatown, pain free.

Here are a few candid shots from the yummy dinner with my husband’s wonderful family!

20130202-202835.jpg   20130202-202901.jpg

6 week follow-up – NEWS!

7 Replies

So much to report! This is going to be fact / text heavy but I want to make sure I get thru all the details.

On Thursday, I met with Dr. Sink at HSS (full disclosure, I asked – he was cool using his last name on the blog) for my 6 week follow-up, although it had been exactly 7 weeks since my surgery. I took a cab to the appointment since I was not yet comfortable with the idea of taking the subway (and would have been exhausted since HSS is about the length of 7 avenue blocks from the subway).

When I first got there, I had 2 x-rays taken and was immediately whisked into an exam room. Dr. S’s nurse and PA came in to talk to me initially, to see how I was feeling and how recovery had been going. I was in a really good mood — in fact, I’ve been in a really good mood for most of my recovery (which likely has more to do with not being as hyper-stressed [from trying to juggle school / work / social life] than with recovering from an invasive operation). In any event, we had a good chat and they seemed pleased with how I was doing.

Dr. S. came in a few minutes later and we started talking about how my healing was going. I told him that I felt really good, that I was using the crutches when I went short distances and a wheelchair for long distances (walker when at home). He looked at the x-rays and confirmed that 1) the bone was filling in really nicely along all of the breaks, 2) that the head of my right femur is now sufficiently covered by my right acetabulum, and 3) that the angles (between the center of the head of the femur / hip) created the perfect 90% angle that he was looking for. He seemed really psyched about that and I was pleased to know that the surgery appears to have turned out really well. He also confirmed that I have 5 screws (I had only noted 4) and that I was ready to move onto physical therapy 1/2 x week x 8 weeks. More on that later.

We then started talking about my left hip, what type of surgery we would be looking at, especially since the surgery is scheduled for May 8th. As a reminder, although my right hip had dysplasia (which can only really be solved by a PAO), my left hip has acetabular retroversion, mild femoral retroversion, cam and pincer impingement, the neck of my femur (between the ball and trochanter) is too short, multiple labral tears, a hairline fracture of the acetabulum and what appears to be a hypertrophic (overdeveloped) labrum. We had always discussed an SDD for the left hip but at my last few appointments, Dr. S suggested that the left hip might need a reverse PAO so I was curious what he would say, having now reconfigured my right hip. After some discussion about the coverage of my femur (which looks good, side to side), he feels that an SDD is the best way to go. What this will mean is that the incision will be on the rear side of my left thigh, 8″-10″ long, and during the procedure Dr. S. will literally remove my femur from the socket, shave down the impingements on the femur and acetabulum, repair the labrum, break the trochanter and either move or remove a part of it, remove and reattach muscles, and I don’t know what else, but not necessarily in that order. As much of an invasive procedure the PAO was, this actually sounds worse. But strangely, I am totally not concerned.

The plan is that I will meet him in 6 weeks, after my PT, to see how I’m doing. Things may change and the surgical plan is fluid but at this point, an SDD is the plan. Dr. S was great, explaining all of the reasonings for doing this procedure and showing me the x-rays and MRI scans. I was at his office for about and hour and fifteen minutes and he was in the room talking to me and my husband for the majority of the time.

After my appointment I met with a physical therapist who gave me some initial exercises to perform at home. I was shocked to be told I could be full weight bearing on my crutches (and am permitted to use only 1 crutch or a cane when at home). Some of my exercises require that I stand on only one leg – the operated leg – and I was really surprised that I was able to do all of it with no pain (although my muscles are way weak). I’ll start PT in Brooklyn next week.

Finally and un-hip related, I went and had a CT scan of my sinuses / maxillofacial bones to see if there is any reason I am permanently congested / have terrible allergies in spite of allergy shots + major pills. My ENT thinks it might have more to do with the fact that I have a very small nose and that the sinuses are so small that there’s simply no space to move around. There has been suggestion of sinus surgery to see if there is some space to be opened up. I seriously need a break from surgery, not more! We’ll see what shows up those reports.

I feel like you seriously deserve a prize if you got all the way to this point in the post. I hope my honest to goodness gratitude is prize enough, but seriously, thanks so much for reading. Onward and upward (or, actually, downward since I need to do my PT exercises before bed). G’night!

Check-up tomorrow!

2 Replies

As of tomorrow (Thursday), I will be 7 weeks post-operation.  Normally, following a PAO, your second post-op appointment is after 6 weeks and at that point, the doctor takes x-rays and says “wow!  look at that bone!  you’re ready to start PT and putting weight on that leg!”

20130130-190058.jpgSince my second post-op appointment will be 7 weeks post-op, I kinda just started pretending (imagining? dreaming?) over the last week that I had met with my doctor and that he had said I could put some weight on my leg.  So I’ve been illicitly gimping around the apartment, using only one or, dare I say, no crutches…

See how shocked and judge-y I am of myself!  Bad Emily!  No weight on that leg!

This method of getting around isn’t pretty and I am absolutely positive I would kill myself if I tried this outside but to be able to get around my Brooklyn apartment without banging my walker into each and every door and frame is my own little piece of heaven.

But, even better than that (and this is the really exciting part) — I have my follow-up tomorrow!  That’s right – at 10am, I will be at Dr. S’s office, getting x-rays and discussing how I have been and if I can (legitimately) put weight on my leg!  This is a big step and a really important meeting, not only for my right hip, but expecially for my left because in addition, we will be discussing what surgery I will have on my left hip!  Will it be a reverse periacetabular osteotomy (a reverse PAO)?  Will it be an Open Surgical Dislocation and Debrievement (an SDD)?  Will it be a combo of both???  Could it be a PAO with arthroscopic procedure??  Yes, it will be something and yes, I will have something broken (pelvis if PAO, femur if SDD, both if a combo) and yes, it is gonna suck but I am SUPER EXCITED!  Every surgery means I am one step closer to being better.  Honestly, let’s do it all.  I would be happy(ish) to have a combo surgery if that means I don’t have to have another surgery later (until the eventual hip replacement but let’s not get into that).  Anyway, it’s only a few hours away and I am psyched.

sinus problemsOh, and after that I’m having a PT evaluation at HSS (yea!) and a CT scan of my sinuses because of evil allergies / problems which is, however, a totally different story (until I have to have some sort of surgery which would be so totally par for the course).  But let’s not put the cart before the horse. (I did not draw this; however, based on my drawing skills I understand any confusion).

I’ve been reluctant to post anything new because, really, I am at home about 90% of the time and am either working or watching TV so there’s not much to say.  However, Guy and I took a trip to the mall (Short Hills mall, at my friend Patrick’s request) and Michaels Crafts and Macaronni Grill this past Saturday and it was fricking fantastic.

20130130-190112.jpg Guy, amused by the fact that we are at ‘dining’ at Macarroni grill (where we go EVERYTIME we leave NYC).

20130130-185957.jpg

Me, pretending that I am too cool to go to the NJ and the mall (but secretly picked out my outfit days in advance and took the time to curl my hair).

 

 

20130130-190017.jpg

Exhausted and weighed down with bags at the end of our day.  Wheeling around the mall on the hard marble and tile floor = fantastic, a breeze.  Wheeling over the plush, sumptuous carpeting at certain high-end clothing stores my husband loves to frequent = like getting stuck in a mudpit.

20130130-190132.jpg20130130-190140.jpgFinally, here are the planters I made with all the ‘flowers’ I purchased at Michaels.  Watering be damned – these are gonna ‘live’ forever!

Wish me good luck tomorrow and I’ll be sure to update soon!

Not so good, but I like it!

2 Replies

Tomorrow is six weeks since my surgery and for, like, 95% of the time, I have been inside this house.  And I really don’t mind, I don’t — I like it, I mean, I have stuff to do and work and it’s really not bad and I’m not in pain, just stuck here.  But it’s January and it’s really cold so going outside sounds pretty miserable which makes staying inside and recovering sound pretty good.

So in this free time, I started reorganizing my music, which I NEVER listen to, because when I work or study I need total silence (or brown noise – http://simplynoise.com/ – like white noise but deeper) but I have time so, what the heck.  And I realize I have all these songs, one off songs, weird things that I keep coming across and thinking “why do I have this? When did I buy this.”   And then I play them, and they all have this energy in common.  This happy, rocking, fun beat energy and I realize, all these one off songs are the songs I used to listen to when I used to run.  Before all of this hip crap started and the doctors told me not to and that I might not ever again.  And I haven’t run in a really long time so I forgot about the music.

But now, now I remember how much I used to love to run.  I don’t know exactly what it is — it’s really hard on your body and, let me tell you, I am not a good runner.  I’m not fast, I don’t want to BE fast, but I LOVE that time when I am outside, on my own, with these silly pop songs bouncing through my head as I run to the park or a friends or even to the bowling alley (seriously).  I’m not good at it but I like it and it makes me happy.  And you know what else, it makes me really happy that I had this surgery because (fingers crossed), these surgeries will mean that I get to run again.  And I will never be a good runner but I’ll be out there and I am so excited about that!

 

Five Fantastic (F)weeks

1 Reply

It’s been FIVE weeks (and two days) since the big PAO and I am doin’ pre-tty darn well. Gaining strength in my operated leg and have been able to start putting a little bit of weight on it.  Yea!

Life is gaining a bit more normalcy.  I had brunch (at Aita, the restaurant across the streetand one of the few reasons I get out of the house) with some friends who sweetly came to visit me and thereafter I crutched my way to the nail salon for a mani/pedi combo. Blue and green sparkles!

20130119-151802.jpg         20130119-151824.jpg

Sure, I admit, I am pretty much exhausted now and am going to have to take a nap but it was nice to start to feel like myself again, even if only for a few hours.

On the recovery front, one thing that’s been happening that I hadn’t expected is that I’m getting a lot of cramping and Charley Horse sort-of sensations/pain in the muscle of my right thigh. From what I understand, it’s caused by my body trying to activate the muscles and tendons that have been out of commission for the last several weeks. I think that the fact that I’m feeling this is actually good thing because it means that I’m continuing to recover but at the same time, they can be super uncomfortable and last for a while. Yuck!

I also decided to create another video (a guide to putting on your socks when you have hip surgery) for what i am calling my “Mobility Series.”  Yea, pretty much it just gives me an opportunity to make a video about the inane things that I do and have to deal with in the course of the day but I’m really having fun doing them I gives me an excuse to brush my hair and put on a little lip gloss so I figure it certainly doesn’t hurt (note that if you receive this as an e-mail and the video is not available, please check it out on my site because it took me, like, a whole 75 seconds to make and is totally worth your time).

Cabin Fever!

2 Replies

Yep, totally starting to lose my mind. Cabin fever is taking over. I’m allowed to start putting a little weight on my leg starting tomorrow (at the 5 week mark) but it my next follow-up is not for almost 3 more weeks. So until then, I am pretty much a homebody.
Cabin Fever

I did a search for “cabin fever” photographs but kept ending up with a sorta creepy movie poster but then, after searching for “cabin thermometer” I found this rare gem.  Log cabin syrup…digital thermometer.  It is just about as absurd as staying inside, almost constantly, for 5 weeks to date.

Over lunch I made a video of my mobility skills.  Yep, almost 60 seconds of me showing off my walker and how I can stand on 1 foot and shimmey side to side.  It seemed lika a really good idea at the time but, honestly, who is the target audience for this video?  I have seriously got to get out of the house from time to time!

I

Access-an-Adventure!

2 Replies

The six weeks following surgery when you are prohibited from putting basically any weight on your operated leg presents a special set of circumstances. On the one hand, you are tired and recovering and need a lot of sleep and are happy to hang out at home. On the other hand, you have basically been in the house for six weeks straight (in my case, almost four weeks to date) and you are starting to go stir crazy. As a result, I decided to venture beyond my apartment door a few times in the last couple of days to see, what the kids these days call, the outside.

Yesterday I went for my disability evaluation with the MTA Access-a-Ride paratransit program (http://www.mta.info/nyct/paratran/guide.htm). Basically, its an on-demand alternative to standard public transportation which, if I am deemed eligible, I could use to get to my appointments and even to work since wheelchair accessible public transit is not really an option where I live.

The evaluation required that I use an Access-a-Ride bus to visit the evaluation center.20130108-184503.jpg20130108-184531.jpg

In the wheelchair and used the lift to get into the bus.  Once onboard, I was SHOCKED (see shocked face) by how many cables and belts they used to make sure I did not roll around.

20130108-184511.jpgMy friend Dave helped push me around in the wheelchair.  I am really bad with the wheelchair, like bad enough that the nice lady at the evaluation center suggested I take lessons.  I get stuck in corners, a lot.  I always think of that scene in Austin Powers where he tries to do a three point turn and gets stuck in the hallway.  At least I can laugh — otherwise it would be tragic.

I’ll hear within 21 days whether I’m eligible for service. Fingers crossed!

My husband and I realized that it had been a long time since we’d taken our dog to the park to run around so on Saturday we bundled up like crazy and Guy wheeled all the way to Fort Greene Park so that Boris could play with his buddies.

20130108-184619.jpg     20130108-184609.jpg

After all of that activity, it was nice to have a visit from my husband’s Aunt Margaret and cousin Elaine.

20130108-184632.jpgThey were so kind and brought pastries, bagels and a cake.  We relaxed for a while — it has been so nice to have visitors.  Since my energy is still FAR lower than it used to be and since my mobility is basically non-existent, I have appreciated that people have been willing to stop by.

 

Next big adventure?  I am weening myself off of Tramadol and onto only Tylenol and Aleve.  Oh, my life is full…

Recovery Lacks Pizzaz

1 Reply

It has been exactly one month since my PAO. I continue to gain strength in my operated leg.  Unfortunately, my not-yet-operated leg is deteriorating under the stress of bearing all of my weight.  I’m more tired than I thought I would be at this point and sleep around 10 hours a night. I seldom have any significant pain in my right hip joint. However, the muscles in my right thigh and around my right knee often ache, either from the surgery, the atrophy, or the fact that they are all stretched out because of the placement of the bone. I wake up every night because of the ache. My house is filled with equipment — multiple sets of crutches, a wheelchair, a walker, the list goes on. It’s more than three weeks until my next follow-up, more than three weeks until any of this changes. I live in pajamas, I have noticeable roots and I really need a haircut.

Now don’t get me wrong — I knew what I had signed up for. Recovery is a slow process and I need to let my body heal. But like so many things, knowing how things will be is a lot different than experiencing it. And now I know, and it has become ABUNDANTLY clear, that recovering from surgery is really freaking hard for me.

This may sound insane but surgery was exciting!  Pre-op appointments, learning where the cuts would be made, talking to the surgeon, blood draws, getting my bag packed, waking up early to make it to the hospital on time, checking in, getting myIV, being wheeled into the operating room?!? These adventures were WAY cool! And then I woke up and there are people everywhere and alarms going off and I realized I was stuck to 4 cables and, oh by the way, the surgery just happenend and possible complications and then there’s the days in the hospital and visitors and therapy and going home and being on drugs and follow-up appointments.  Novel! Excitement!!

Then, slowly, the excitement faded and there’s not much new and novel going on.  Life is getting back to normal, although slower and less shiny than before the surgery because, well, I’m recovering.  I’m back to work (from home, for which I am really thankful thankful since it permits me to have some interaction with the outside world, plus, it exercises my brain). I leave the apartment a few times a week with my husband but doing something as simple as going to dinner wears me out. I watch tv or draw. I am TOTALLY ready for my tax appointment. And I’m starting to research what my next surgery will be like, because even if it’s another PAO, it will be new and novel and a little bit exciting.

I know who I am, that I thrive when I am busy, that the busier I am the more I can get done and the happier I feel.  I grasp on to exciting new things, always looking for something I can do next.  Recovery has forced me to slow down, a lot, to stay in the moment and to let my body heal. There is no glitz, no glitter or sequins. Nothing new to target my sites on, nothing special, just more of the same but less… It is me, slowly getting better, without the shine or sparkle, the new or the novel. In this way, for me, recovery is way harder than the surgery was.