Wednesday, August 4, 2010

My Day in Vail

So here it was - THE day. I arrived at Howard Head to have LJ do my strength assessment. She didn't make any significant comments to me but I could definitely feel that I had some weak areas. Then off to Lindsay for physical therapy. Weak (very weak) gluteus medius. Yikes -- I was in big trouble for that. She prescribed two specific exercises to strengthen those. Also found that my hip flexors are inflamed! Painfully inflamed. Adductors a little tight and grouchy but Lindsay attributes both of those to the fact that I have weak glute meds. Ok, ok. . . i'm on the program!

Next it was off to the Steadman Hawkins mri. I have never done an mri in my life without valium. I hate, dread, abhor, freak out at and generally dislike being enclosed. MRI's are especially bad for me. But there I was lying down on the slider without any artificial courage. I asked for some reggae music to be played thinking that would send me to my Jamaica vacation memories. What I had forgotten is that the MRI is so loud it's hard to hear anything let alone music. I had a slight panic attack when they slid me in but then I opened my eyes and realized that my head was actually almost out the other end. I love being 5'10"!! I was able to relax and calm down and it was over before i knew it. Whew!

Now, my favorite part - I had about an hour and a half before my dr appointment so I headed into Vail village and had a fabulous lunch at La Bottega. Sat outside on the patio and enjoyed a perfectly beautiful day in the village. A little shoe shopping after lunch made my walk back to Vail Valley Medical all the more pleasant.

Now for the scary but much anticipated piece - seeing Dr. Philippon. I don't think I have said this for awhile - I LOVE Dr. Philippon - not in the freaky stalker way but in the he is one of the coolest people I know way. He is truly interested in listening and figuring out what works well and what doesn't work and how to constantly improve. I trust him completely, 100% and can't imagine what my life would be like if I had never found him. I am eternally grateful to my hip dr in Indy who sent me to him in 2003.

Anyway, I digress. Dr. Philippon looked at my MRI and was relieved to see that there are no adhesions (scar tissue) impeding my recovery. Everything looked good but there was indication of inflammation in my hip flexors. We discussed my psoas and I told him of my trials and tribulations with it over the winter. Time for examination - up on the table and poking on the hip flexors. VERY TENDER . . .OUCH!!! So, to make a very long story short - he decided that the best course for me was a shot of Kenalog directly into the hip flexor, wait 3 months and if no improvement, back to surgery to do a psoas release. He explained that he just completed a new study over the weekend and found a correlation between the angle of the femoral head in the socket and the psoas. Apparently I am one of the lucky ones that is not "normal" and could have an issue with it. And, the best part, apparently he is well versed in the art of giving shots. No pain, no wincing, no wailing and no cursing. I barely noticed that he had given me a shot. Whew!! The part I was dreading most was nothing!

So, what do I feel? Relief and nervous anticipation of what the next 3 months bring. I am headed to physical therapy tomorrow for a new regimen which will include lots of pool time. I am 100% committed to doing everything I can to avoid surgery although I think Dr. Philippon believes that will be the eventual outcome. Ugh!!! Third time's a charm???

Dinner at Montauk's tonite - 1/2 price martini and raw bar. I'll drown my sorrows, adjust my attitude and forge on. Apparently this journey is not over yet.

But, if I have to be on this journey, there is no place I would rather be than Vail, Colorado and NO ONE that I would trust my recovery to than Dr. Philippon!!

Cheers!

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