Here I am nine months post op from left hip surgery, or three-quarters of the way through the year I was told at minimum for full recovery. Things are still going incredibly well. I keep forgetting my left hip ever had issues, we keep trying things out of curiosity to see what it can do, and have yet to really find its limits. I can run a little bit, but have not done much as my body does not really like running in general, and my right hip dislikes running in particular. Right hip still acts up, but each time it hurts with sitting, or walking more, or at night, etc. it reminds me that left used to hurt, but no longer does and has not for quite some time!
What can I do? Pretty much anything. What can I not do? Really not that much. Crazy compared to early post op when so restricted and so little I could do and trying to find one new thing each day I could do. I do still need to remember that just because I can do something does not mean that I should or that it is best. Now, I am consistently walking at old pace and distance, swimming laps, Pilates, careful yoga, running in the pool (can run on land, but non op hip does not appreciate it), left hip is fine to sit, stand, etc. All of this is pain-free! Pre-op, none of this was pain-free and definite restrictions for all. Right hip has definite limits for what it can handle. But, I drove myself to and from MN not too long ago in one day and left hip did not even need ice! Wow! The rest of my body was not too happy with me, but I survived rather better than I expected.
I did have a PT appointment in MN recently as a sort of check after things had been iffy a few months ago, but she said left hip is doing great, right on track with expectations, and no concerns! Right hip is not doing as well, but that was no surprise.
Other challenges this month include still working on calming down the pinched nerve situation, new stomach pain issues, trying to mentally wrap my mind around new information in terms of diagnosing the underlying issues, a suspected cracked rib, the injection for my left shoulder lost effect, etc. It has not been an easy month and I am so grateful that my left hip has continued to do well and even right hip has been somewhat calmer just from the amount of medication I have been on to deal with other new pain issues.
Overall, left hip is doing really well. We are still working on strengthening it and addressing residual compensation issues, but these become less of an issue all of the time. I think what has become the biggest indicator to me of how well things are going is the consistency. Left hip is consistently pain-free and flare-free. Left hip is consistent in what it can do and handle in terms of activity, sitting, standing, etc. It is no longer the unpredictable mess of never knowing what it could handle. Right hip is not at all consistent. It has OK times, but it has very painful times. It can handle things one day (or moment), but not the next. This is more similar to left hip a couple of years before surgery or earlier post op during more intensive healing and recovery stages. As someone who has lived with chronic pain for so long I no longer know what pain-free is, no longer know what predictable is, it seems really odd, yet exciting, to have a pain issue actually resolve! I do not think that has ever happened before. I recall being really nervous about surgery and the possibility of it making things worse or not helping. I absolutely trust my surgeon and his team as well as my physical therapist, but do not trust my body. I have had such difficult surgery recoveries in the past, and my body is unpredictable in how it responds to so much. My response to this surgery continues to surprise me. So, so grateful for an excellent surgeon who saw through the mess that my hip was to what it could be and gave me the chance to get some semblance of a life back, for supporting me through all of recovery thus far, even when things got a little challenging a few months ago. So, so grateful for an amazing physical therapist who is creative and resourceful and does not give up on me no matter how challenging things get. So, so grateful that my body has proven that when well supported and directed, it is capable of healing and recovering well from hip surgery! So grateful!
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