Lots more highs and lows this week--it felt sort of like a roller coaster. I was able to completely get rid of the crutches, and was given new exercises early in the week. This was exciting and encouraging! However, the supposedly "good" hip threw a fit and kept me awake with pain all that night. That resulted in me being told to back off the new exercises for now. It is so frustrating when the "good" hip is slowing progress with rehabbing the hip that had surgery. Seriously? (I was told the good hip is still carrying more load and needs time to calm down and we need to keep working on getting the other hip stronger. It just will take a different approach if the "good" hip is not tolerating things. Sigh.)
Walking still feels weird and off as if something is not quite right and normal yet, but I am told gait looks good. One explanation was that I had "walked" with a limp and with pain for three years prior to surgery so my body does not remember what pain-free, normal walking feels like. A very careful evaluation identified some minor issues but these appear to be from muscle imbalances from atrophy. (It would not surprise me if there is apprehension at a subconscious level on my part as well as I learned to protect that joint for 3 years and it is hard to unlearn something like that all at once.)
This was one of those weeks where I had eight medical appointments, four all in one day. I found out some things I was not anticipating. More testing in process. More medication changes in process. A little overwhelmed with actualities and possibilities. It is what it is. It will be OK. Or, at least that is what I am telling myself.
I realized a week or so ago that I was four months out from the last cortisone injection and thus when I would have been allowed to get another injection if I had not had surgery. However, I also realized that this is the first time I have not been barely hanging on and just trying to survive life until I can get another injection and start to move again. Yay! So, surgery is already more effective than injections! I hoped it would be but had not expected to see it until later in the recovery process. This is really encouraging!
PT later in the week went better. I was given modified versions of the exercises from earlier in the week plus some more new exercises, but some of these were ones I had done all of the time before surgery and were not really hip-focused--they had just required the hip to be stronger again before trying. I still find it interesting how excited I get to be going back to things I used to do all of the time without thinking. Novelty? Marker of progress? Just the gradual removal of limitations and restrictions? The return to normal routine?
Today marks 6 weeks post op and I was told I could try swimming!!!! So, so, so excited! I have been waiting for this (and asking about this) for quite some time. I was told to start slow and try just hanging onto the side and kicking and see how it feels. Then, just freestyle for now as there is no way the hip is ready to try whip kick yet. The first attempt went really well! Kicking hanging onto the side was fine but boring, so that lasted a matter of seconds. I took off across to the other side of the diving well (staying out of the lap swimming lanes as I knew I'd be slow, and knew I did not want to be accidentally bumped by another swimmer). Freestyle actually went really well! It felt so good to be actually swimming again!!!! Yes, I am slow and awkward as kick is weak or non-existent, but I am swimming! I did freestyle but did not want to wear out the irritated shoulder so did breaststroke with no kick at all (kept surgical side leg supported and still with my good leg so that neither was doing any work--especially since "good" hip is not really doing that great and breaststroke is what pushed it over the edge back in February). The swimming was a great way to celebrate being 6 weeks post-op! It was also a great way to end a somewhat frustrating week.
I came up with a new way to put into words my views on the recovery process that combines the various themes I have been working from since even before surgery. The emphasis is still on being slow and careful and not letting impatience carry me away. The new way I am thinking of things is that recovery is not a race to see how fast I can recover, but rather a journey to see how well I can recover. Thus it is worth taking things at whatever pace I am able to do and not try to rush things along.
Although there were some really encouraging and really disappointing things that happened this week, overall, it was a good week, I am still making forward progress, I am doing better in some ways than before surgery even though I still have a lot of healing and rehab to do yet. I am encouraged and still hopeful. I am also curious how the rest of this journey will unfold.
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