My torn labrum - hip surgery with Dr Marc Philippon

Let the freaking out begin

2011-11-29T12:28:00.002-07:00

I realized the other day that I am 6 months away from yet another hip surgery. When I was 8months, it seemed light years away but I know how quickly 6 months will fly by. As I was having a moment of quiet reflection today, I realized I was freaking out about waking up from anesthesia -- the part I hate the most. I seem to be fine with the hip rehab part and the getting to and from Vail but the anesthesia is really weighing me down. Weird, huh?

I have been having a very bad bout of muscle pain, stiffness and spasm lately. I traveled for 3 weeks straight and between walking, lugging briefcases and luggage and sleeping on too hard beds, it threw my psoas, it band and adductor into a tizzy. For the past 2 days, my glute med has chimed right in along with the others to make my life a living hell. I should also say that I have started a new regimen to see if I can get any relief from my back pain -- The Foundation by Dr. Eric Goodman & Peter Park. It was recommended to me by a therapist that I see and I started to do some of the exercises in it. My body strongly resists any change and this time was no exception. Ugh!!!

Still hanging in there trying to find the balance between doing enough and not too much. I want to be "ready" for surgery to make my rehab less painful and time consuming but, of course, I never feel like I am doing enough.

Thanks again for all of the comments left on my blog and the emails from hip patients, potential hip patients and others. It's always nice to know that I am not alone and I love the encouraging words!! I feel like all of you are part of my extended family so keep it coming.

I'll post again with my progress on the new exercises -- especially if they help me. Six months and counting!

Answers to questions

2011-09-12T11:24:00.003-06:00

From comments posted on my blog -

Is it worth it to travel to see Dr. Philippon - YES! I have seen the aftermath of surgery done by other "experts". Dr. Philippon becomes the last hope for many of those patients to fix the repairs done by others. There is a reason that pro athletes go to see him for hip problems. It's the same reason you should -- he sees more of these types of problems than any other hip surgeon in the united states - he is the expert and he is SMART!! I have 100% confidence in him and wouldn't let anyone else deal with my hip issues.

Accommodations in Vail - Expensive!! ugh!! Steadman Hawkins used to have some deals with some places in Vail -- not that you are going to get 50% off or anything like that but it should help somewhat. I would also check VRBO.com. People list condos and homes for rent and it turns out to be much more pleasant than staying in a hotel.

Me give up hope? -- NEVER!!! I will conquer this and I know Dr. Philippon won't stop until I am back to where I want to be. We are a team and I will be backpacking, hiking, canyoneering and causing all sorts of trouble before long. It's another year in a whole lifetime. I am good with that.

Always happy to answer questions as I hope you all know. If you want to email me directly -- almcz@aol.com.

And, my last piece of advice -- stay in Vail and do PT as long as you possibly can with the therapists at Howard Head. They are incredible and you will be way ahead in recovery by the time you leave. I have done it both ways and my strength on my left side still exceeds my right even though I am having issues with my left. Just like with Dr. Philippon, these are people who work with pro athletes and see LOTS of hip patients every day. They know what to look for, when to push and when to stop something before you do damage. Love, love them!!

May 8, 2012

2011-09-12T11:02:00.002-06:00

Is the next surgery date. An 8 month waiting list. Wow . . . in 2003 when I first went to him it was 5 months and I thought that was a long time. :-) Is he worth the wait? Every bit of it!!!

Thanks to all who have left comments for me. I will say it again -- Dr. Philippon is the BEST and I wouldn't even consider letting someone else do anything to my hip. Is it worth it to see him -- YES!!! GO! If he can't fix it, NO ONE can. In fact, if I didn't have my right hip to base everything on, I would be freaked out with my left. BUT, my right hip is still perfect after 8 years. No problems, no twinges, no tightness, nothing. My right hip is what my left hip wants to grow up to be.

For now, however, it's the same story. Lower back problems, adductor tightness, major psoas tightness, etc. You all know the drill. A daily balance between living my life and crippling pain. I know it will get better and am just in the waiting it out period.

At the risk of wishing my life away, I have May 8 marked in big bold letters on my calendar and am counting down the days already. I don't feel the need to start my logistical planning yet so am just chilled out trying to figure out how much is enough and not too much when it comes to activity. Still don't have that right and am realizing that I probably never will but that's ok too.

May 8, 2012 . . . . should I plan a canyoneering trip for Fall, 2012? Am I that confident? :-)

Deja Vu

2011-08-09T07:44:00.003-06:00

Third time's a charm? I haven't posted for awhile because it's same thing over and over again. Lower back pain, adductor pain, IT band pain and a seriously tight psoas. It has become a management process to relieve the tightness and pain in one and observe as it simply transfers to another spot. I have tried PT, deep tissue massage, isolated stretching, myofascial release, pilates, yoga and doing nothing. Everything works for about 3 hours and then I am right back where I started. I am tired! I am tired of saying no to everyone who asks me to do something fun that might involve too much walking or bending or sitting or whatever. I am living my life on eggshells and I hate it! If I dare over do anything, I am likely to pay with crippling back spasms or pain shooting down my inner thigh that makes me unable to walk.

Dr. Philippon had suggested that I come back for another shot into my hip. I politely declined this particular brand of torture :-) since I had no measurable results from the last one. I am working on scheduling a date for surgery. Psoas release, cleaning out of scar tissue and a clean up of a cyst that has formed in my hip bone. Ugh!!!

Sometimes I feel like the movie - Groundhog Day - where I am doomed to live each day over and over again until I get it right. Will try to schedule surgery for next April after ski season so I can find a place to stay but have already decided that I am not staying away from home for 6 weeks again.

I am following the recovery of a fellow hip patient who just had a similar surgery with Dr Philippon and am hoping for great success for both him and me! HA!

Let the countdown begin . . . 8 months and counting. I know it sounds like a long time right now but I know it will be here before I know it.

Two weeks since shot

2011-05-05T13:23:00.002-06:00

It's been two weeks since "the needle" and I was hoping to feel on top of the world by now. Not to be. I still have pain and stiffness in my left hip which is made much worse by doing any sort of walking. :-( Since my travel schedule is unusually amped up right now and I can't get anywhere without first going through Atlanta it seems, my hip is protesting as loudly as it can about all of the walking. I got a little relief at first but that seems to have worn off. Boo!!!

I have also started to wonder about the simple body mechanics of having a psoas release done on one side and not the other. Since it is not equal on each side of the body, wouldn't that be likely to cause problems? Seems logical to me but I have absolutely no facts to base that on.

I have also been really down thinking about how limited my activities and life has been since surgery -- 2 years ago. And, since I can't get it fixed this year, it is likely to be 3 years before I have any real quality of life back. If I think about it for too long, I can reach a state of extreme sadness. And, since the magical shot doesn't seem to be providing much relief, I am even more pessimistic about my limited activities until I can get it fixed. Grrrrrrrr!!! Too much life passing me by without my full participation. My brain screams for me to just do what I want but my body punishes me when I do. What's a girl to do?

Dreaming about the days when I am without pain!

Vail - My happy place

2011-04-20T23:09:00.002-06:00

Arrived in Denver on Monday night and stayed at a lovely hotel downtown - the Curtis. Very hip, funky and fun with a great martini bar. It was a great way to start the trip. My friend, Lisa, decided to come with me as she has never been to Colorado and wanted to see what all the fuss is about (more on that later). We did a little exploring downtown Denver on Tuesday morning and then hit the road for Vail.

Did I mention snow? It was raining cats and dogs in Denver and never occurred to me that it would be snowing cats and dogs in the mountains. We got to Silverthorne and, of course, had to stop at the outlet mall (we are 2 girls you know). It was snowing so hard that you had to use am umbrella to stay dry. Unreal. The roads were decent. Some slick spots but for the most part they were good. It's also a joy to drive in Colorado where people actually know how to drive in snow. Yay!

We rented a beautiful house right outside of Edwards along the Eagle River and arrived here around dinner time on Tuesday evening. Our first stop was the Gore Range Brewery for some of their very yummy beer and food. I had forgotten how much I missed being out here. Home for a nice night's sleep to prepare for my big day at Vail Valley, Howard Head and Steadman Hawkins today.

I was a little nervous today to see Dr. Philippon. I can't really explain it . . maybe I felt like there was a lot on the line today. I have been pushing my hip hard for the past several weeks in anticipation of seeing him today. I started doing both mat and reformer pilates and spent last week walking miles and miles at Disney. By yesterday afternoon, I could barely walk because my hip hurt so bad. Perfect time to see him I figure.

I started with an MRI followed with some strength measurements at Howard Head and then upstairs to see Dr. Philippon. I know I have mentioned this before but at the risk of repeating myself, I will say it again - I LOVE Dr. Philippon.

So, here's the bottom line - i have developed a cyst in the bone of my hip (ugh), i have developed scar tissue and i have an extremely tight psoas. I felt a pit begin to form in my stomach because I knew he was about to say the "s" word.

Now let's add to this that he is now "out of network" for my health insurance until January, 2012. A deepening pit. So I ask if there is any way to manage this until my health insurance changes in 2012 and I can have surgery with him "in network". He says yes, I can have an injection today, another in 4 months and then surgery. Great I think. Problem solved.

Lie back he says, I'm going to give you a shot that should help with the pain. Awesome I think. I love Dr. Philippon. :-) My friend Lisa is in the room with me I should add. I'm lying back thinking good thoughts and Dr. P tells me that I will feel a pinch and then some pressure. Ok, I can handle that. Then I look at Lisa's face who is looking at the needle and there is a look of shock and horror which causes ME to look at the needle. BAD idea! I swear the thing was 3 feet long and an inch around. :-) It was a fairly intense but short experience and I am anxiously awaiting the full benefit of it.

So, I have a plan for the hip. I once again feel 100% better being in Dr. Philippon's care and am optimistic. YAY!!! I had a lovely dinner at Montauck's tonite with Lisa, Lindsey and Mike and a friend of theirs who is now a friend of mine. It's one of the things that I truly love about Vail!

And, about Vail - Lisa has fallen in love with it just like me. There is something about this place that brings a tremendous sense of peace for me. I just love it here. Maybe it's the scenery; maybe it's the people; maybe it's Dr. Philippon. I don't know what it is but I am enjoying it for as long as it lasts!

April 20 - Vail

2011-03-29T12:31:00.003-06:00

Ever watch the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. At any moment, I expect to wake up to the same Sonny & Cher song as I continue to try to get this hip thing figured out.

Since my last post, I have grown sick and tired of being infirmed. I am NOT infirmed and refuse to be so. No more feeling sorry for myself. No more denial. No more!!

I have an appointment with Dr. Philippon on April 20. Physical therapy no longer does anything for me other than allow me to walk short distances more comfortably. It's time. I have a list of complaints and won't leave without a real, solid action plan to get me back to where I belong -- biking, hiking, backpacking -- without any trepidation or hesitation.

So, stay tuned my fellow hipsters. Life begins again very soon!

april

Seriously? Like I need something else!

2011-01-20T11:57:00.003-07:00

Happy 2011! My year started off with a strange pain in my neck. You know, one of those I must have slept wrong last night and now I have a stiff neck pain. So, I managed through day 1 thinking that all would be resolved soon. Well, it didn't. In fact, it got worse day by day. On New Year's Day, the pain had progressed from just my neck to my neck and down my right arm. Throbbing, keep me awake at night pain made me actually call and make an appointment with my doctor.

She suspected a pinched nerve in my neck and was concerned about the cause of it and sent me for x-rays. She called with the really great (can you hear the sarcasm?) news that I have "narrowing disc space between c-5 and c-6 in my spine. Talk about a punch in the gut!!!! Narrowing disc space . . . pain in my neck (literally) and down my arm . . . am i feeling old or what??????

Still the rotating pain and stiffness between my psoas, adductor and IT band resulting in a very tender and painful back and now this. Ugh!!! Does it ever end?

I haven't done anything yet to call Dr. Philippon's office and schedule surgery. There is something about the thought of dislocating my hip again that makes me queasy and makes it darn near impossible to pick up the phone and voluntarily schedule myself for that. I know it has to be done and I know it's probably inevitable but I am just not ready to deal with it yet. I was originally thinking that I might try for another April surgery but I don't know. Why am I having such a difficult time getting this scheduled? I really want some relief in this back pain and I would think that would be a major motivating factor but it's not. Living on muscle relaxers, anti-inflammatories and vicodin doesn't seem like a good long-term solution, huh?

Anyone care to give me words that will motivate me?

More of the same

2010-12-28T08:35:00.002-07:00

September was my last post and I wish I could say that I found a magical cure and all is well. It's not. I continue to have a psoas that simply will NOT release through physical therapy. My glutes have all but shut down again and I struggle to remain pain-free. I have good days and bad but mostly have limited my activities to ensure more good days than bad.

I am still seeing a physical therapist once a week who does a psoas release. An interesting discovery - when we can get my psoas to calm down, my adductor immediately flares up and vice versa. Frustrating! And, I am still seeing my active isolated stretching guru who just looks at me and says - you need a psoas release. :-) Thank goodness for both of these people. I am sure I would not be walking if it weren't for both of them!

And, to add insult to injury, my health insurance PPO is changing as of January 1 so that Dr. P and the entire system in Vail will be out of network for me. Lovely, huh? It won't stop me from heading back out to see him but I will need to put some extra cash in the bank to finance it. I am also working on a potential plan to visit someone in Vancouver who I have on good authority has helped another hip patient who was struggling a bit. I'll keep you posted on that one - thanks Kelly!!

The recovery continues. I remain hopeful that my left will match my right sometime very soon!!

Stay tuned.

What is "normal"?

2010-09-05T13:25:00.004-06:00

Status update -- it's been a little over a month since the shot in my left hip flexor and I am back in physical therapy once a week and i have been doing all of my assigned exercises as instructed. My lower back is still KILLING me. I have a hard knot in my lower left back that seems to get much worse when my psoas is tight (ok so almost always) and I still don't feel like I can live "normally". Normally to me means being able to get out and walk and do the things that I want. I avoid situations now that will require any sort of distance walking since that will almost always cause a flare up. I rode my bike last week and I really tried to go slowly. It's just that, it's impossible for me to do anything halfway. I love speed and I love to push myself so I was not the best when I got off of the bike. Lower back was tight and my hip flexor was a little wound up too. Then over the weekend, I did lots of walking and again, my lower back screamed. In fact, the screaming was so loud that it required a night of Vicodin to quiet it. Ugh!! I thought for sure I was headed to full blown muscle spasms but somehow I managed to thwart them. My hip flexor is not nearly as painful but I still seem to be suffering from lower back issues.

Which leads me to the title of this post -- will i ever really be able to do things without limitation? I was born with bad hips and I am 51 years old. It seems that there just simply HAS to be consequences with other body parts from 50 years of walking incorrectly. As I have been talking to numerous people (doing my own informal research), I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that, even though my hip is fixed, I may not be. I suspect that years of walking incorrectly have taken a toll on my spine and the muscles may indeed be tightening to try to help some discs that aren't quite right anymore. It scares me!!

I am going to try to head back out to Vail before the end of the year and see Dr. Philippon again. It's definitely a question that I want to discuss with him. I hear from more and more patients that don't seem to have 100% success with their hips. Athletes bounce back quickly but the chronic sufferers seem to have slower or lesser results. Is this because there are other factors at work? Did my right hip surgery feel so successful because I was younger? Did I let my left hip go to long thereby exacerbating what was already being injured from a bum hip? More questions than answers really but it's been on my mind a lot these days.

I seem to be fine and feel better when I limit my physical activities. Can I tell you how much I hate that and just how much that scares me??? I had big plans to schedule a canyoneering trip and plan a great backpacking adventure. If I thought about this too long, I might burst into tears so I keep hope alive and remain thinking positively. Ugh!!!

Sorry for the downer post today and I really promise to post again the next time I have a good day and feel great! :-)

One Week AP (after Philippon)

2010-08-11T07:53:00.002-06:00

It's been one week since I saw Dr. Philippon and got the shot. I guess in some ways, I think Dr. Philippon is capable of nothing short of a miracle. :-) If I had to admit it, deep down inside I always think that my hip will be better just by the fact that Dr. Philippon looked at it.

So, I have been diligently doing all of my assigned PT exercises - 2 times per day in fact. I think I can feel my gluteus medius getting stronger as I write this. HA!! Maybe it's the placebo effect of being at Howard Head and having the physical therapy team tell me that they think I can solve this through exercise and stretching but I actually do feel the tiniest bit better. I went for a walk last night and worked in my garden a little and wasn't in excruciating pain so I think that's an improvement. I am cautiously optimistic I will say. I am still having lower back pain but that could be from what I found out last week is, "narrowing joint space in my lower spine". Ugh!!!

And, under the category of, "when it rains; it pours", I came home from Colorado to find my toilet in my 1/2 bath leaking. The plumber was out yesterday and reported that, when the previous owners put in the hardwood floors, the toilet was not set properly and that is has been leaking for some time. I need to call a contractor to check my subfloor and get my hardwood floor replaced. That, of course, after I call my insurance agent. Ugh!!! And, on top of everything else, I am starting a pretty intense travel schedule for work. Great!! There may not be a toilet in there for some time to come.

And, lastly, for all of my fellow hip pain sufferers - I bought a memory foam mattress topper for my bed - 3" thick - because I was having so much trouble getting comfortable at night to sleep. I found that if I stayed in one place too long, I would wake up from the pain. I am pleased to report - NO MORE! I love this thing. No more waking up and I am pretty sure that I don't move much at all during the night. It is marvelous. It provides a perfect cushion and I no longer feel the pressure of lying on a hip or a stiff back from lying too long on my back. I can highly recommend it. I bought mine at Sam's Club but I have seen them at Costco and online at Overstock.com. If you are having trouble sleeping, it could be the best $150 you ever spent.

On a completely different note, it's going to be 96 here today with another day of a heat advisory. I am so over this!!! It's so humid that the windows are wet on my house. There is no end in sight and it's making me more than a bit crabby. I looked at the calendar today and instead of lamenting the fact that summer is almost over, I considered doing my happy dance. Bring on fall!

My Day in Vail

2010-08-04T17:25:00.002-06:00

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!

My happy place

2010-08-02T09:13:00.003-06:00

Ft Collins, Colorado. Maybe a little too touristy, college(y) and busy but a fabulous place nonetheless. Had a fantastic steak dinner in Loveland last night, brewery tours on tap (no pun intended) today and no big plans for the evening. I am amazed at the peaceful feeling that comes over me as soon as I see the big sky and the mountains. I absolutely love it here and must figure out a way to live here someday. It's definitely my happy place.

I usually get an altitude headache the moment I arrive in Colorado. Thankfully (knock on wood) I have escaped so far. I am hoping that I can spend a few days at 5,000 feet, acclimatize and then head to higher country in Vail with no ill effects.

I am dying to hike in Rocky Mountain National Park but know that is not to be on this trip. Grrrrrrr

Feeling rested, relaxed and ready to tackle whatever comes on Wednesday. Of course, it's Monday and I am only faced with which beer to taste and whether to plan a light dinner so I can have ice cream later. I love this!

Countdown to Colorado

2010-07-29T13:11:00.002-06:00

Two days until I leave. As I was packing some items earlier today, I thought back to last year when I was trying to pack to leave home for 7 weeks. It's so much easier to pack for only a week!! :-) It also brought back lots of memories of my time in Vail after surgery and I cannot wait to get back there!! Looking forward to dinner at Sweet Basil and/or Montauk's and wandering through Vail village. And, of course, I am going to have to spend some time at my favorite brewpub in Edwards. Funny how the bad memories fade and we are left with only the good ones, huh? I have almost completely forgotten about sleeping with my feet bound together, the foot pumps and the hip brace.

A little time in Ft Collins, Rocky Mountain National Park and then Vail. The mountains in the summer - the only place to be. Can't wait!!! I will really look forward to the day when this hip issue is completely resolved and I am writing about the backpacking trip out of Durango that I am planning or the canyoneering trip to Utah or the million other things that I want to do.

As I write, the sound of Willie Nelson singing, "on the road again" is playing in my head. It's for a week; it doesn't seem nearly long enough. Seven weeks may sound like too long but 1 week surely isn't long enough.

Looking forward to seeing my "second family" at Howard Head and catching up on their lives.

NOT looking forward to the shots.

Looking forward to seeing Dr. Philippon and finding out his expert opinion on this whole hip thing. And, looking forward to putting together an action plan. I am tired of sitting on the sidelines waiting for things to get better.

Will continue to post on my progress . . . the good, the bad and the ugly. I am hoping for more good, less bad and absolutely no ugly. We'll see how that works out for me.

Groundhog Day

2010-07-26T20:23:00.002-06:00

Ever see the movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. He has to repeat every day until he "gets it right". I'm pretty sure I am stuck in the same movie. Every day, I get up and diligently perform my psoas stretches and think that back pain will magically disappear. It doesn't. In fact, I was on the verge of more back spasms this week because I had the nerve to take a walk and work in my garden. Ugh!!

So, just about 1 week until I see Dr. Philippon. I was texting today with physical therapy and getting my "team" in place for next week. I am excited and anxious all at the same time. Can't wait to see Dr. P and hear his assessment of my hip situation. Nervous about the shot(s) but anxious to get on with it so I can get back to my regularly scheduled life. :-)

Have steeled myself for the potential of a third surgery but remain optimistic that the shots and physical therapy will be able to remedy the situation. Am anxious to get back to my workouts without pain.

Looking so forward to Vail in the summer!! Want to have dinner at Sweet Basil or Montauk's and walk through the village without wincing or feeling hip instability. Hoping that Lindsay and i can hook up for dinner and catch up on each other's lives and enjoy a little of what Vail has to offer in the summer.

Feeling terribly optimistic tonite and looking forward to seeing Dr. Philippon and his staff. I know I am in the best hands possible and will be back on track to living my life again.

Let the journey begin!

Independence Day

2010-07-06T11:41:00.002-06:00

But not for me. I was feeling pretty good this weekend. No hip pain and things seemed normal. I was so confident that I even went for a long walk. Wow, I thought, no hip pain, a little lower back pain but maybe that's because I haven't been walking for awhile. So, I turned to head back home and was actually fantasizing about how I might have been working out too much which contributed to my earlier hip pain and now that I had actually taken some time off maybe it had healed itself. In fact, I went so far as to think if maybe I should call Dr. Philippon's office and talk to them about cancelling or postponing my August appointment. And, while I was off in la-la land, I even thought about not cancelling my appointment and simply going to Colorado to do a little hiking.

Wake-up call for April. . . yes, it's your hip and you aren't doing any such thing. No go . . . by the time I got home, the pain was back in full force including the pain down the inside of my left thigh and the lower back tightness and tenderness. Ugh!!! Even as I tried to sleep last night, it kept reminding me how foolish I had been for even thinking that I had self-cured. Nope!!!

Today - still tenderness in my inside thigh and my back is killing me. Back to the psoas stretch twice a day instead of once and limiting my activity. Do you know how much it pains me to write, "limiting my activity"? This was supposed to be my independence year -- no more hip pain allowing me to plan one adventure after another. ugh!! My adventure this summer is a trip to Colorado to see Dr. Philippon for a diagnosis on my hip. :-(

I am not feeling especially optimistic today and hate to wish my life away but am anxiously awaiting August 4 to hear the plan of attack. I do, however, know in my heart of hearts that if anyone can figure this out and make it work, it's Dr. Philippon. And, spending some time in the mountains in August isn't the worst thing in the world. I just wish it were sooner rather than later. I am not the most patient person in the world.

So, it's back to my summer reading list instead of the mountain bike or road bike. Limited amounts of time in the kayak and wishing for August 4.

Why am I so stubborn?

2010-06-14T11:37:00.002-06:00

I know that overdoing anything will make my hip ache. I KNOW that. So, why do I continue to overdo everything to the point of not being able to sleep because of pain? Why I ask myself?

I had to get my bike out this weekend and push just to see if that would hurt. Why yes it did. So, if that wasn't enough, I had to clean house, work in the yard, shop with lots of walking between stores, work in the garden and do ALL of my laundry at once. The result -- lots of Advil (flirted with vicodin but it was only a flirtation) and lots of cursing under my breath.

It's groin pain with an especially nagging ache down the inside of my left thigh -- my old adversary the adductor I believe. It hurts when I try to raise my knee, it hurts when I am at full extension when I walk and it's truly painful when i try to sit cross legged on the floor. No go! And, the resulting back pain from my hip being out of whack is probably the worst part. ugh! I have 2 spots in my lower back that you can almost visibly see because the muscles are so tight. But my right hip is perfect I continue to whine. Why didn't my left go the same route????? It's not fair. This sucks!!

I am counting the days until I see Dr. Philippon. I need a miracle . . . anyone got any extras?

The Aftermath

2010-06-09T06:43:00.002-06:00

I had a dream last night that I was seeing a hip specialist (I think it was supposed to be Dr. P but definitely wasn't) and he told me that the only way to repair my hip was to remove my leg and attach it to my other leg for some period of time. I was freaking out and woke up screaming, you can't do that. I guess I am a little more wound up over this than I thought. :-)

Today, I feel 100% better about this whole thing. I have an appointment in Colorado and I know that eventually I will be fixed again. I spent yesterday going through the, why me and today have accepted that the answer is "just because". I personally think I may have cursed myself when I so enthusiastically declared to Dr. Philippon, I will never see you again. Yikes!!

I had my health assessment at work today and got a glowing report back. Now, let's get the hip fixed and I'm off to do all those things that I have planned!

Really? Seriously? Why me?

2010-06-08T09:56:00.005-06:00

Where do I even begin? There's a saying - no news is good news - but in my case, no news means I have been living in a state of denial and have not wanted to put into words what my body has been telling me.

So, here's the story . . . Earlier this year, I started having serious problems with my back - back spasms, etc. Kathy, my active isolated stretching guru, kept telling me that my psoas was locked in place. In fact, I saw her 3 times in one week and she commented that she thought it was time for me to see Dr. Philippon because something was wrong. Ugh! Did she really say that out loud I thought. She must be mistaken. There's nothing wrong!! I must be doing something wrong so if I can just figure out what that is, I can fix it. That lead me down a path of doing too much, doing too little and trying to do just enough. Nothing worked. In fact, I got worse.

I was in Las Vegas in April and literally couldn't walk. Not a place to have difficulty walking let's just say. All of the psoas stretching in the world didn't relieve it. I was just about in tears. I spent more time in the pool. I made rash promises to whoever would listen that I would do anything if they could make this go away. No go. In fact, both Kathy and Sharon, my pt, told me that they thought I needed to see Dr. Philippon. Did I listen? Nope . . too busy at work, want to enjoy my summer, planted a garden and can't leave it, have to shampoo my dog. . . . but I finally admitted to myself and then out loud to several of my friends that something was wrong. I was sick about it. My one year surgery anniversary came and I really knew that something was wrong. I knew because I remembered my one year anniversary from my right hip and was 100% at one year. I couldn't even claim to be 85% at one year for my left. Ugh! I was sick, still in denial and didn't want to think about it. So, I pushed on.

I finally called Vail and talked to Mark who listened graciously to my tale of woe, asked a few key questions and declared - scar tissue. I was relieved and sick all at the same time. I was so sure that my left hip surgery would be as flawless as my right that I never even for one second considered that it might not be. Wow!! Floored me but I was so relieved that he could guess by my symptoms what it might be. About 5% -- please note 5 (five) percent of hip surgery patients have this happen. It's low; it's almost so low that you have to think - that would NEVER happen to me. Well, guess what -- it did. Crap!

So, I begin my journey back out to Vail in August to have an MRI and see Dr. Philippon. Mark tells me that the course of treatment will be an injection in the muscle (i am not spending a lot of time thinking about that because it makes me incredibly light headed when I do), a waiting period of about 12 weeks to see what effect that has, potentially another shot if the first one doesn't work and, as a last resort, another hip surgery. Wow. Hearing it, saying it and seeing those words in a blog are different. But there it is . . . potentially another hip surgery.

August 4, I will begin the next phase of the left hip. I wish it were next week because I am tired of fighting the fight. My back hurts, I can't walk without a lot of pain and I'm crabby. I had planned big things for this year and haven't been able to follow through. This just wasn't in my plans. :-)

All of that being said, I am ready to deal with this. Whatever has to happen will happen and I will be 100% again.Back to blogging . . . . phase 2 begins.

Relief

2010-04-06T07:31:00.002-06:00

I am pleased to report that my angry psoas has had some time with a great therapist and has worked out its anger issues. I don't know what I would do without Kathy. Kathy has been trained in Active Isolated Stretching and works on many Olympic runners. I mostly see her for deep tissue (and I mean sometimes I think she is going to put her fingers straight through a muscle deep) but she has helped me before with some targeted stretching.

During this recent flare-up, my PT, Sharon, left for a 2 week vacation and I decided to see Kathy. She immediately diagnosed the psoas with a VERY tender glute med and went to work. After 4 sessions, my back spasms were almost completely gone. After 5 sessions, they were completely gone and I have a new psoas stretch that keeps it completely in check. I am happy girl once again!

I also talked with Howard Head and was given the advice to spend a couple of days a week in the pool. I am buying a pass this weekend and am committed to doing this through the end of the summer religiously. I can't commit after that because I HATE to swim when it's cold outside. What a baby, huh?

So, no more over-doing or under-doing it. A lifetime commitment to keeping buns of steel, a strong core, great legs and no pain. I am headed back out to Vail sometime in the next few months for my one year check with Dr. Philippon. Can't wait to go see all of my old friends at Howard Head. What a difference a year makes!

An angry psoas

2010-03-20T08:48:00.002-06:00

It's been quite a while since I posted. I hope you know that means that things have been going well. So here I am . . . . back again. Uh oh.. . what does that mean? It means I am having an issue and am curious if anyone else is experiencing this after surgery.

(close your ears Noell) I did a boot camp class in January that I probably wasn't ready for. Well, let me rephrase that. I did a boot camp class in January that I would have been ok to do had my competitive spirit not kicked in and made me try to keep up with the rest of the class who had been doing this for several months. . . even years. Fall behind? No way!!! Kill myself keeping up? Absolutely!!

So, the end result is that my supporting hip muscles tightened and I ignored them and kept trying to work out and push through. The end result -- a VERY angry psoas, back spasms, muscle relaxers and vicodin. Ouch!!!!

When Dr. Philippon did my first hip surgery 7 years ago, he automatically did a psoas release. When he did my left hip last year, I asked if he was planning to do a psoas release on my left and he said that he didn't routinely do them but would check it to see if he thought it needed it. He did not do a release during surgery. My piriformis and psoas have been the most stubborn muscles to keep in check during my recovery. My psoas was problematic before surgery but now it will still flare up with the slightest provocation.

I think back on my right hip surgery and I felt like I was 100% recovered at a year. I will be a year from surgery on April 23 and I still feel like I am fighting through some post surgery issues -- my adductor still complains occasionally and now the angry psoas. Ok, I know I am 50 now not 43 but can it make that big of a difference???

I am seeing my physical therapist again and am getting everything back in line and am feeling much better but I want to be 100% and not thinking about these issues.

So, anyone out there have any tips for keeping my back in line? Specifically piriformis and psoas. I would welcome any advice!!

It's been absolutely beautiful in Indy for the past several days - those first spring days when it's in the 60's, sunny and you can smell spring in the air. All I can think about is getting out to hike, bike and play outside. I realized that this time last year I was totally freaking out about leaving for 7 weeks in Colorado, It seems like years ago and it seems like only yesterday. I am so happy to have that past me!!

So, online, e-hip family -- thoughts?????

Miscellaneous

2010-01-08T08:22:00.002-07:00

I have had a couple of recent comments on my blog . . .it must be the time of year for hip surgeries! So, here's some miscellaneous info:

Adductor pain -- Yes, I have had very tight and painful adductors almost all of my adult life. Remember that the cause of my labral tear was that my hip sockets were too deep and had too much bone with resulting impingment. From what I understand, with a congential hip defect, the muscles that are supposed to be involved in walking are pretty much shut down leaving others to pick up the slack. For me, I never had any glute muscles -- at all! The adductors basically took over - performing a task they were never meant to perform. After surgery, it took a long time to build my glutes and convince them to work while convincing my adductors that they could relax. I still work on stretching both right and left adductors daily. It's a lifetime of problem for me and probably will never be perfect but I am making great progress.

The adductor issues also seem to be involved with IT band, TFL and psoas issues. When one flares up, adductor issues follow. What I have noticed helps tremendously is focusing on glute med exercises and really amping up all glute exercises for a few days. Lots of stretching and using the foam roller to work out the tough spots even though it will bring tears to my eyes sometimes.

Using a surgeon other than Dr. Philippon -- NO!! :-) I had my right hip done almost 7 years ago. I feel incredibly lucky that I saw a wonderful hip dr here in Indy who diagnosed my issue and sent me off to Dr. Philippon. He could have easily replaced my hip and I would have been none the wiser but he didn't. Dr. Philippon was in Pittsburgh at the time and had just moved there from Florida. It wasn't nearly as organized and I came back to Indy and did physical therapy here with weekly phone calls to Dr. P's pt in Pittsburgh. I knew at that time that my left hip was going to need surgery but I tried to put it off as long as possible. Mistake!!

When my left finally caused me more sleepless than restful nights, I went back to see my hip dr here in Indy to get an arthrogram done. He told me that there was a dr here in Indy doing labral repairs and suggested that I go see him. I did. When I asked him about protocols after surgery, he indicated that he didn't follow any of Dr. Philippon's protocols. When I asked him about the technical aspects of the surgery, he admitted that he would never be as technical as Dr. P but felt he could effectively repair the tear that I had. He also told me that he did about 15 repairs a year whereas Dr. Philippon does about 15 a week.

Knowing the success that I had with Dr. Philippon, I elected to go back to him. While I was in Colorado doing rehab for 6 weeks, I was amazed at the number of patients who came to him to "fix" their repaired labrum. I soon realized that Dr. Philippon is the last hope for many patients who have been butchered by other surgeons who claim to know how to do this surgery. There is a reason that most pro athletes go to him for this surgery.

I realize that, for many reasons, everyone can't see Dr. Philippon but if it is possible he should be the first choice for this surgery. It's definitely expensive and not convenient unless you live in Colorado but it's your life and your ability to be pain free and live your life. I wouldn't change one thing.

And, lastly, realize that recovery takes time. Even though there are teeny, tiny scars, it's big surgery. Muscles, ligaments and tendons are moved, stretched and generally jostled around during surgery. Muscles that may have never worked before will be asked to perform and muscles that are used to being in charge will be asked to take a backseat. It takes lots of pt work and time but the end results will give you a new lease on life.

I will continue to update and check my blog so feel free to comment and I will respond. Best of luck to those of you who are just beginning the journey. Know that you will be in the "hip club" and I find that we do a great job of swapping stories and supporting each other. No one knows the pain and recovery like another hip patient.

One No-No

2010-01-07T08:59:00.002-07:00

Apparently wearing 4" heels is still not a good idea. Hip did fine but all the muscles that support the hip told me I was crazy last night.

Today it is snowing in Indy -- looks like we have about 3 inches or so and it is snowing like gangbusters so you know what that means ------ZIPFY!!!! If there is never another post on this blog, it means: Zipfy 1; Me 0. Wish me luck!

Here's to 2010!

2010-01-06T07:13:00.002-07:00

Here's an update for anyone curious. I feel fantastic! I simply cannot believe the difference that having 2 good hips actually makes. I have had chronic lower back pain for most of my adult life. I thought I had been cursed with my mother's back problems. Wrong! Now that both hips are functioning as they should be, my lower back issues have disappeared. I would occasionally get back spasms so bad that I would cry . .literally. Those are gone. I love to cook but had all but given it up because I couldn't stand on my feet for hours. That's over. I can stand on my feet for 8 hours with no resulting consequences. I would have to consider whether I was having a good enough hip day to go for a long walk. Again, gone. I can walk wherever, whenever and for as long as I want. No pain during and no consequences after. In fact, I haven't found anything yet that I can't do because of hip pain. I have finally accepted the fact that I am fixed. As you know, I had doubts after surgery with all of the muscle madness but it was really just that. I am good!!!

It's been 8 months since surgery. In some ways it seems like it was yesterday and in others, it seems like it was years ago. Looking back on it now, the only thing that I would change is getting the surgery sooner rather than later. I put it off way too long thinking the issue would go away. It didn't; it got worse. Now I regret that I lost the time limping about and being miserable.

As 2010 was approaching, I thought a lot about where I have been and where I want to go with my life. I suspect that turning 50 had something to do with that too. For the first time in years, I didn't have to think about something and then think that I couldn't do it because it would hurt my hip. Add to that the strength and muscles I have gotten from pt and strength training and I am in better shape now than I have been in 10 years. These could possibly be the best years of my life.

We are expecting 5 inches of snow in Indy today and tomorrow and I am surfing the web to find the best sledding hill around so I can go try the new Zipfy. Wishing I was back in Colorado so I could really give it a good run but Indy will do until I get back out there . .. hopefully sooner rather than later. I would still like to figure out a way to get out there and learn to snowboard this year even though every time I say snowboarding people try to discourage me. What is up with that???

It has been awesome to hear from fellow patients. Sometimes I thought I was the only one going through this and I might be crazy but then I would hear from someone who had the same issues and I felt so much better! So, thank you! We should all meet up sometime when we are 100% and celebrate our new leases on life.

So, here's to 2010 and a year when I get to finally live without restrictions!

Success!!

2009-11-24T06:19:00.003-07:00

Check from Steadman Hawkins arrived in the mail yesterday. I smiled and promptly went to the bank to deposit it. It's done and over and I am relieved that I didn't have to take any more drastic action. . . like crying and begging. :-)

For those of you who are in this same situation, know that the billing area in Dallas, TX doesn't really have a clue what's going on. When this whole thing started, they sent me a bill for the balance due and had no record of the fact that I had made an upfront payment. Also know that the insurance person in Steadman Hawkins's Vail office will refer any phone call you make to her to the Dallas office. They also don't keep good records of your phone calls to them. When you speak with someone, make sure to get their name and ask if they are putting notes into their system. And, most of all, be diligent!! Continue to call and ask them to resolve the situation. This is ridiculous I know but I think it's the only way to get things done. I have heard from another patient who has experienced something similar so I know it's not just me.

Now on to worrying about important things like Thanksgiving and Christmas and what kinds of things I am going to do with my 2 great hips!!

On a very fun note -- I bought a Zipfy. If you, like me, have no idea what this is, check out this link:
http://www.zipfy.com/videos/index.html

I think you will have to copy and paste into your browser. Sorry!

Can't wait to get out when it snows and try to kill myself or break something really important. :-) I haven't given up the idea of learning to snowboard this winter either. And, I still have promised myself that I will do my canyoneering trip to Utah sometime next year (that was my original goal after surgery).

The hip continues to be good!! Still an occasional adductor issue but they are becoming less and less frequent or severe. Workouts are good with no issues and my external rotation continues to improve. I am close to being equal on my right and left sides without really working to make it so.

It's becoming obvious to me that knee surgery could be in my distant future. My knees pop and creak and complain loudly during squats, lunges and climbing stairs. I am not anxious for any more surgery so I will put it off as long as possible but it's in the back of my mind.

Show Me the Money

2009-11-17T14:30:00.005-07:00

My frustration level has reached an all time high today. I have resisted the urge to get this off my chest in my blog but I am in a particularly bad mood today and nothing will make me feel better except bitching publicly. So here goes. . . . .

If you have been following my blog, you will know that I had to pay Dr. Philippon up front because they were afraid that my insurance company wouldn't cover the cost of surgery. So, on April 22, I willingly handed over my credit card and they posted a rather sizable charge to it. Ouch, crap but ok, I was going to have my hip fixed and it's just money, right?

So, the trials and tribulations of working through the health insurance nightmare began in earnest in July. The claim for Dr. P was filed on 5/12 and paid on 6/16. The tricky part came because they also billed for Dr. P's fellow (Dr King) and the insurance company said that this was a surgery that did not require 2 surgeons and so they disallowed the total bill. Dr. P's office asked for a review which finally resulted in a nominal amount being paid. All insurance payments were made by the end of August. The majority of the bill, however, was for Dr. Philippon which was paid on JUNE 16.

Today is NOVEMBER 17 -- almost 7 months after my surgery and 2 1/2 months after all insurance payments have been made and I still don't have any of MY money back. And, let's say it's not for not trying. I have called 5 times to request payment. The first two were met with, "we are still waiting on the last payment from the insurance company and we do not make any payments until everything is resolved with insurance." Ok I say. So, I get my EOB showing that all claims have been resolved, wait 3 weeks thinking that a check will magically appear and nothing. I call the end of September and am told that a check will be issued shortly. Nothing. I call on October 23 and am told there are no notes showing that I have called but they will put a rush on my check. Great I say, about how long should that take? 3 week maximum they say. November 13 - 3 weeks from when they told me they would put a rush on it - still no check so I call again. Well, we put a rush on it on October 23 I am told. "I can send this to the supervisor of the area that issues the checks. Would you like me to do this?" she says. Hell yes, actually what I would like for you to do is go stand there until someone issues a check to me. Seriously people. If the situation were reversed, they would have sent me to a collection agency by now and my credit would be ruined but all I can do is call and continue to ask them to give me what they owe me. Frustrating? You bet!!! Pissed off? Absolutely!! And, just to be clear, we are not talking hundreds of dollars; we are talking thousands of dollars -- no small sum. It hurts!!

Am I ecstatic to have my hip fixed?. . . hell yes!! Would I pay up front again if I had to do it all over? .. . hell yes!! But come on, enough is enough when it comes to screwing around with returning what I am rightfully owed.

Released from PT

2009-10-12T10:58:00.002-06:00

I saw my physical therapist for the final time today. I have been feeling ready for a few weeks now and she confirmed what I suspected -- no tender spots, internal and external rotation is almost the same on both my left and right sides. I have pushed myself on many fronts -- biking, walking, rowing, kayaking -- and have had no issues whatsoever in the past 2 weeks. I would say that I am about 90% back to normal. The external rotation on my left side still has some relaxing to do but I think Dr. Philippon says that it can take up to a year to be 100%. I really don't think it will be a year since I am so far along at 6 months but I have now completely relaxed about everything. No nagging doubts that the surgery really didn't work, no more beating myself up over whether I am doing too much or not enough and no more thinking about every single that I do and whether or not I should be doing it and whether or not it will flare up my hip.

The physical therapy place where I go also has a sports performance center. Many of the Indy car drivers use the athletic trainers there to prepare for the season. So, when I was released today from pt, I looked into some strength training classes there. They have a class than runs for 8 weeks starting the end of the month and I am pretty sure that I am going to take it. It has become nearly impossible to see my personal trainer that I have worked with in the past so I am thinking this will be a reasonable substitute. Sharon also recommended that I take a yoga class to help with stretching so I am looking into that too. It feels great to be able to use my body to its fullest potential again!

To all of my "hip" friends -- thanks for your words of encouragement and support! To my friends and family -- I could not have made it through all of this without you so THANK YOU! And, to Dr. Philippon and staff, Lindsey and Lauri at Howard Head and Sharon at St Vincent -- You guys ROCK!! Words cannot express how I feel at getting my life back.

I don't know how much I will actually write about this now. Maybe from time to time when something significant happens or I am feeling especially good or bad. :-) If anyone needs info, email me at almcz@aol.com. In the words of the Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange trip it's been."

Hip Hip Hooray!!

2009-10-07T13:04:00.003-06:00

So, I headed down to Austin Texas last weekend for some playtime with my friend, Carol. The Austin City Limits Music Festival was going on and we decided to attend. To say that it required lots of walking would be the understatement of the century. We walked, walked and walked some more. We stood, we sat, we ran and I truly put my newly repaired hip to the stress test. And . . . . drum roll please . . . . . it performed perfectly! No pains whatsoever anywhere!! By the end of the weekend, I had the biggest smile on my face that you have ever seen. I also noticed that my external rotation is improving remarkably. It's not even with my right hip yet but it's really close. I am close to being 6 months out and finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and am pretty sure it's not a train!

After all of the extensive walking this weekend, I feel pretty confident that I have reached a turning point in my recovery. I no longer have the adductor pain or the nagging back pain or any of the miscellaneous aches and pains that have plagued me for so long and have been the source of my angst for so long.

In some ways it seems like forever ago that I had hip surgery and in others, it feels like it just happened yesterday. I guess in the big scheme of life, 6 months is a blip but due to the ups and downs and the uncertainty of a full recovery it has felt so much longer.

That loud noise that you all heard over the weekend was me breathing a huge sigh of relief. I am feeling more confident than ever and ready to once again tackle the world!

The good; the bad; and the great!

2009-09-27T18:33:00.002-06:00

The good news - the adductor is subsiding. It only fires up occasionally now as evidenced by my day today. I am enjoying the 30 lbs that I have dropped since the first of the year and it's actually fun to go shopping again. So, with an entire month of client visits looming, I headed out today to the mall to see if I could find some new, funky but business clothes. Had great success at Nordstrom's . .thank you Kate . . and bought 2 complete outfits - 1 gray skirt, 2 shirts and 2 jackets. I thought the mall opened at 11 so I arrived at 11:15 and found that the stores don't actually open until noon so I was a mallwalker for 45 minutes. No problems whatsoever!! Woooohooooo!!!

The bad news -- I saw Sharon on Friday and my TFL's (sorry don't know the official technical term for this one) are inflamed. Sharon's theory is that as I get one set of muscles working properly, I call on another group to step up and do their part and they have to be crabby about it for a little while. Apparently it's the TFL's turn to be crabby and they are. Sharon worked on them for 45 minutes on Friday and I felt much, much better when I left. I can still feel that they are crabby but less so than on Friday and didn't prevent me from doing anything today.

And, when I say doing anything today that would include the bike riding that I did this evening. I headed out on my mountain bike and rode for about 45 minutes hard and then came home and got on my road bike for some serious speed for another 20. Love speed and love the muscles in my legs that let me ride full out. It is thrilling. No issues with any muscles complaining about the bike riding. That's a first tonite. Usually the adductor will fire up a bit when I push the mountain bike but not today. . . not a twinge, a threat of a twinge or anything.

I am THRILLED!!! It's definitely taken me longer than I anticipated but everyone tells me that, since I had hip pain for so long, I am doing really well in getting muscles re-trained. My best advice for anyone who is reading this and contemplating surgery -- do it sooner rather than later before muscle memory becomes difficult to undo. If my own personal memory was as good as my muscle memory, I might be able to find my car keys in the mornings. :-)

It's been 5 months -- I have absolutely no stiffness no matter how long I sit in one place. My hip doesn't feel "full" and my flexibility is starting to come back. If it weren't for the adductors or the tfl's, I would barely know that I had surgery. Love it!!!

Time marches on

2009-09-21T13:03:00.002-06:00

I realized that I hadn't posted any updates in awhile. There is a good reason for that . . .nothing much has changed since last I posted. I still have intermittent adductor pain. It really doesn't like long walks. If pushed, I will admit that it's somewhat better. The problem is that I really only want to be able to say that it's completely gone. It will only fire up when I have done a long walk and occasionally after an exceptionally exhilarating bike ride but it is still there. Ugh!!! I think Sharon, my pt, saw the desperation in my eyes last Friday and worked diligently to see if she could figure out what's going on. She thinks it is a general hip stabilization/pelvis issue and there are lots of pieces and parts involved so no one group is to blame. I seem to have adjusted my attitude (at least today) and know that I am definitely better off than I was pre-surgery so I'll just keep a positive attitude and let the adductor do whatever it feels like it needs to do. I'll keep doing my workouts, bridging, lunges, squats, monster walks, etc. and see if I can build up all of the other muscles so maybe they can overpower the adductor. The day that this goes away completely, I swear I am throwing a big party!

My travel schedule is firing up BIG time for the entire month of October. I am traveling multiple days every week during the month. It's going to really test my commitment to working out. :-) Hotel gyms can leave a lot to be desired. A treadmill and a bike do not a workout make . . .especially since Dr. P prohibits you from getting on a treadmill. Plan to take my bands and deflate my stability ball to take with me so hopefully that will motivate me.

Still loving my new mountain bike. I need to get home before dark but I continue to stay out too late and end up riding home in the pitch black. Guess a light on the front and back may be necessary. There has been an algae bloom where I usually kayak so I have not been on the water in some time. Hope to get some fall paddling in before winter hits Indiana. Boo!!!

I want to say that, despite the whole ugliness with my adductor, I feel so much better than I did before surgery. I have no regrets and feel like I am very much alive again!! I loved my 40's and I suspect they won't even compare to my 50's with 2 good hips!! Wooohoooo!!!

I love a thrill!

2009-09-09T07:40:00.002-06:00

So, I did it! I bought a mountain bike and, in typical April fashion, couldn't wait to ride it so I took off to the trails in the pitch black with only a small headband type light on. :-) As I was ripping through a trail close to my house, I had to smile. It's 9:00 at night, pitch black and I am riding full speed down a trail where I really don't know what's ahead of me. My adrenaline was pumping, my heart was pounding and I felt so ALIVE! :-) And, I have incredibly strong legs. One of the reasons that I was flying is that my legs are just so darn strong. I continue to be amazed with my strength and ability to do things that I haven't been able to do in a few years. I can't actually think of an adjective that can properly describe how happy I am with my progress. I am still battling with the adductor. It was particularly testy with me last night after my wild ride but I didn't care. Get over it . . I think I said out loud. Nothing is stopping me now.

Guess there may be a bike rack added to the top of my car soon so I can have the option of biking or kayaking. I so don't want summer to end!!

Not so fast sister!

2009-09-04T09:32:00.003-06:00

The adductor and I are still battling it out. I know it's been awhile since I have posted so here's the scoop:

I really thought I was winning the war with the adductor but apparently it was just because it was regrouping and re-arming to come back with a vengeance. Yikes!!! There are times when I feel pretty good and then there are times when it will absolutely seize up and I have to limp along until I can get it to relax. I find myself doing a trigger point release which I am sure looks questionable to those who are walking by since the point that really contracts is right at the top of the adductor. ;-) oh well . . i don't really care. I find that it is at its worst when I try to walk initially. If I can tough it out, I can usually outlast the spasm and it will eventually feel better. ugh!!! I just wish it would go away but it appears I may have to battle this for awhile for whatever reason.

It really doesn't interfere with my workouts which is interesting. It's mostly just when I walk. Last weekend was the MotoGP race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and I really didn't think I was going to be able to walk there. I limped along for awhile and then suddenly realized after about 1/2 hour of painful walking that I was pretty much pain free. Weird!! I think I am about 98% convinced that it truly is my adductor not that the hip surgery didn't work but I have to be honest and tell you that I have panic attacks from time to time about this whole thing. Deep breath!!

There were a couple of NFL kickers out there with me (who shall remain nameless) and I have watched them on TV doing what they do best . . . I am amazed by their recovery. If they had surgery at the same time, shouldn't I also be kicking field goals rather than whining about how my adductor won't let me walk??? :-) I should have had my hip fixed years ago when Dr. P first told me I should . . since I didn't, I have lots of muscle memory to undo and it's simply going to take some time. For those of you reading this who know you have a problem, don't delay thinking it will get better -- it doesn't!!! All that happens is that recovery takes longer. Learn from my bad habits. :-)

And, on a personal note, I have motorcycle fever BAD!!! Seeing all the bikes in town last weekend for the MotoGP race has reignited my burning desire for a motorcycle. So, I have been online for the past week casually shopping motorcycles and trying to talk myself out of it. It's really not working. I have friends who are a bad influence and are encouraging me to buy one. Not helpful in talking myself out of it. :-) A 3 day weekend could give me too much time on my hands and I could potentially be the proud owner of an Indian, Victory, Ducati or Harley by Monday.

My friend, Noelle, had surgery with Dr. Philippon yesterday. Noelle found my blog and started corresponding with me and then we had several phone conversations about this surgery and Dr. Philippon and recovery. I met up with her when I was back out in Colorado in July for my check-up. She's a very, very cool person and I feel lucky to know her. It's so awesome to be able to share my experience, hear about other's experience and be a part of a small but supportive community. Thanks to everyone who leaves a comment here! I really do appreciate it and am very interested to know how others are coming along. And, I think you already know too, am always happy to answer any questions from anyone who is considering, already had or wants to know more about this surgery. It has certainly changed my life!!

The thrill of victory

2009-08-23T13:30:00.003-06:00

I saw Sharon this week for physical therapy and she worked on my adductor as usual. Yesterday during a short walk, my adductor tried to spasm on me and in trying to massage it, I thought it felt a bit bruised. This morning, I found a fairly large sized bruise on my leg. The hazards of a serious physical therapist! :-) The good news though . . . I am definitely winning the battle with the adductor. It's not nearly as tight and doesn't seize up on me as much when I walk.

Sharon also gave me the green light to start pushing myself a bit on things when I want. She wants to see if there are any adverse consequences from pushing my limits a bit. Wow . . .music to my ears!!! I didn't get a chance to really do much this weekend but plan to go try some putting and chipping at the golf course to see if I can get myself back into the game.

My back pain and general hip pain are much, much less too. That's another way I know that I am finally winning this war. Back to the gym and back to muscle building this week too. I'll keep you posted on how that goes but as of today, I am very optimistic. I can't believe how long it is taking for all of this to sort out and the ups and downs that I have been through with it but then again I know I don't have lots of patience and want everything to be perfect right now. I keep trying to compare this with my first hip surgery and I convinced myself that I was much better by this point with my first but I really don't think that's true. I know I wasn't as strong at this point after my first and I think some of what I have experienced with my back is just the fact that I am 50 years old and am working out harder than I have in awhile.

I have finally gotten my house and yard almost in order again after having left them for 7 weeks in the spring when it is critically important to get the weeds under control. It's taken some hard work and some outside help but it's pretty good. I look forward to next year when I will be 100% and ready to tackle anything!!

I am down to 1 physical therapy appointment a week now. In some ways it feels really scary and in others I feel ready to tackle things on my own. I have to say that I will miss seeing Sharon and hope that I can convince her to come kayaking with me sometime.

I promise to update sometime this week on my progress on upping my workout routine and how that is going. Cross your fingers for me. I really don't want any more setbacks or at least, lack of forward progress!!

Winning the war!

2009-08-20T12:09:00.002-06:00

I am pleased to report that I have begun to win the war with my adductor. I have beaten the IT band into submission but the adductor proved to be quite the worthy opponent. However, being the incredibly stubborn person that my mother raised me to be, I have persevered and the sharp shooting pain when I try to do something it doesn't like is starting to abate. I cannot even begin to describe my relief. For those fellow hip surgery patients, you know exactly what I mean. You think that something has gone terribly wrong with the surgery . . you convince yourself that it hasn't worked, that the same pain is back, etc, etc. and then it really ends up being just a stubborn muscle. Yes, that noise you just heard was the humongous sigh of relief that I just gave. :-)

I will say, too, that Sharon has been instrumental in figuring this out with me. We have decreased some of my exercises and weights and have backed down on strengthening exercises. I have not been traveling as much and have been much more committed to doing all of my exercises religiously. It appears to be a very good combination.

I went to the Indiana State Fair this week and walked around for about 4 hours non-stop. I am so pleased to report that I had NO hip pain . . a little adductor pain but even it was manageable. To say that I was thrilled, encouraged and a little giddy would be an understatement. I am trying desperately to not over-do it. I am pretty sure I learned my lesson from last time and don't want to over extend any other muscles that I might have to wage war with. The turtle and the hare -- I am going to be the turtle --- at least for awhile. That's not to say that I won't wake up one morning and decide to push it just to see but not today!

I still have no feeling in the top of my foot and my ankle is still swollen a tiny bit but it's a little better. I will be really relieved when it's back to normal as Dr. Philippon promises me it will be.

I am 17 weeks today and still have to remind myself that I am only 17 weeks today, 50 years old and pretty much a non-athlete. I am doing ok!!

Update on recovery

2009-08-15T07:22:00.002-06:00

Recovery truly is full of ups and downs. One day everything seems to be moving along as planned and I feel really great and then one event will set off a chain reaction and suddenly I feel like I have taken a great step backwards. Ugh!!! So, this week I have been traveling like crazy . . lots of sitting, wearing heels for prolonged periods of time and almost no exercise. It has not been a good thing for my hip. I saw Sharon yesterday and was tight and my adductor is still flaring up on me on a pretty regular basis. I am having good luck getting the IT band to relax but the adductor is going to be the last to actually let go I believe. My back has tightened up again and I have a huge knot in my lower back. All of these things seem to be related and I am beginning to get frustrated. We have backed down on my strengthening exercises (lower weight; more repetitions) to see if that helps speed up the process. I suspect that I do some of these things to myself and so my commitment for the next 6 weeks is to do all of my pt exercises religiously no matter what my work schedule is . . period.

The glutes seem to be the last to get really strong. I can feel that I still have weakness in my left side and I think that contributes to some of this issue too. But I also remember that my adductor was the last thing to let go when I had my right hip done 6 years ago. And, I kept thinking at the time that the hip repair had not worked. I was wrong and today my right hip is amazing.

I am about to give my hip a test by walking the Indiana State Fair with my family. My 83 year old mom almost always wears me out and won't let me ride the shuttle because she wants to walk. I am so happy to have her genes, her toughness and her dogged determination. That's what keeps her very active at 83 and what will make me push through this recovery to be able to walk the Indiana State Fair when I am 83.

I am still working on Faber slides for external rotation but am still pretty tight. I have to continually remind myself that it's only been 3 1/2 months and I am doing pretty darn well for a 50 year old non-athlete. :-)

Slowly but surely

2009-08-05T08:31:00.002-06:00

The work on my IT band and adductor continues. After a week of rest, stretching, icing, roller and Sharon's mean, mean physical therapy using the Graston Technique, I am beginning to feel better. I no longer have the sharp, mind numbing pain in the adductor when I try to get in the car. Of course, I always freak out a little when I have pains and think that my labrum has torn again or something equally as bad has happened inside my hip but as the real problem begins to improve, I can breathe again knowing that it really is just a muscle issue. And before I leave this topic, let me just comment on the Graston Technique . . it's painful. It made me hold my breath and almost shout out really bad words. Sharon promised that I would feel better after the bruising healed. Yes, it's intense.

So, I started strength exercises again yesterday and still did ok even after laying off for a week. That gives me hope too. I would like to settle into a 3 to 4 day a week work out schedule but wasn't sure that would allow me to maintain my very muscular legs. It appears as though I will do just fine with that.

I am excited to pick up my golf clubs again. I plan to head to the driving range this weekend with a putter and pitching wedge in hand. Will try those for a week or so to make sure nothing else flares up and then continue on. I am hopeful that I can work up to playing 9 holes before it gets too cold here to play. I went to the USGA Senior Open in Indy on Sunday and followed Greg Norman around the course for about 4 hours. If you don't know, Dr. Philippon did his hips early on so I wanted to see if I could detect any limp or hesitation in his swing. Let me just say -- I am hoping that, just by the mere fact that Dr. Philippon has touched both Greg Norman and me with the same hands that some of his ability to hit a golf ball rubbed off on me. He is incredible!!! :-)

It was also very encouraging that I could walk around the course and stand for 4 hours without much hip pain or stiffness. I think because of the IT band issue, I was more tender and stiff than I otherwise would have been but my hip performed fabulously!!

Still working on the glute building (the buns of steel aren't quite there yet), planks for core and lots of leg work. I will get back to the elliptical and rowing machines this week but will make sure they don't aggravate my it band.

Work has been intense and I still struggle trying to find a balance between work, sitting too long in one spot, hip stiffness and working out. I continue to feel inadequate in all areas but I am hoping that this too will pass.

Thanks for all of the comments from hip patients on my blog!! I especially appreciate the words of encouragement as can only be given by a fellow hip sufferer. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I can safely now say that I am sure it isn't a train!

Update from Vail

2009-07-27T17:06:00.002-06:00

It's been 12 weeks since surgery for me and I am back in Vail for my follow-up. I have been having some problems with my left adductor and I was confident that it would be solved or at least identified while I was here. I was correct, of course. The problem really is that I have an IT band that is so tight, you could almost play it like a guitar string. It's painful tight. This is causing my adductor to become prickly and the pain manifests itself in the adductor. Lindsay tried to resolve the tightness with a deep tissue massage and stretching. I thought I was going to cry. In fact, I am pretty sure that tears did come to my eyes and I might have said a bad word or two. Whew!! It was intense. The good news -- after she did some intensive stretching and massage, the adductor felt better.

I saw Dr. Philippon this morning and he confirmed the same. He felt my IT band and grimaced. Ok, it's really that bad. BUT he is very pleased with my progress and has given me a complete release to go live my life. WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!! He also caveated it by telling me that I can't go out and do everything at full speed all at once (does he know me???). I have to work up to it but I have no restrictions. He was pleased and impressed at my strength scores (especially for a 50 year old) and said the IT band tightness and adductor issue is extremely common at this point in my recovery. I am quite pleased with myself today.

I have stretching exercises to do along with strict instructions to ice and buy a foam roller to use on my IT band. Painful . . ouch . . . dang . . . but ok. It should clear up in 3 to 4 weeks and I will be good to go. It's really my only issue. How cool is that????

I see him again in April, 2010 for my 1 year check up but other than that, I am free to go (have I heard those words somewhere before?) :-) Seriously, I feel like I have been released from jail in lots of ways and am so happy to have this mostly behind me. A few tweaks in my pt protocol and I am good to go.

He also looked at my ankle and said the feeling should come back in my foot in about 6 months or so. The swelling is definitely better so I am encouraged by that too.

I don't think I have said it in a while so I will say it again -- Dr. Philippon is my hero!! I don't think he will ever realize what he has done for me and giving me a pain free life back. And, thanks to Lindsay, Laurie, Sharon and Kathy for the very important part they have played in getting me back in shape, strong and flexible. I couldn't have done it without all of you!!

Back in Colorado

2009-07-22T22:20:00.002-06:00

I am working in Ft Collins this week with a client. When I started driving north from Denver today, I saw the mountains, smiled and immediately felt the dark cloud lift from my head. I am so happy to be back out here. It feels wonderful. And, I typically get a terrible altitude headache but so far; so good. I feel really good. I also know that I must be in pretty good shape because I went for a brisk walk tonite and did not get terribly winded.

On the other hand, my hip is STIFF!! I don't know what's up with it but it's stiff and very tender today. Since my flight left at 6:45 this morning and I had to be at work by 11:30 am mt, I did not have a chance to work out today. Bummer!! I don't have to be anywhere until 11:30 mt tomorrow morning and I notice that my hotel has a deal with a local fitness center so I am off for a killer work out in the morning. Hopefully that and a good night's sleep will help!!

I am still anxious to get to Vail on Sunday to see Lindsay and then Dr. Philippon on Monday. I am hoping they can solve the mystery of this ever crabby adductor and solve it permanently! I am having problems with it again today. ugh!! I swear if I can get that solved, I will be almost as good as new.

But for now I am just enjoying the mountains again and the cool, dry air. Ahhhhhhh . . . at home again!

Back on track

2009-07-19T16:07:00.002-06:00

I have been crabby lately. It's lasted for an entire week which is highly unusual for me. I don't know what the problem is but I will be glad when it passes. Ugh!

On the positive side, I have had good hip progress. My left adductor is prickly (thanks to Sharon for that medical description). :-) At the slightest provocation, it will spasm and lock in place. Sharon had to work on it 3 times during my physical therapy session on Thursday but the good news is that it seemed to work. I did a full kill myself workout yesterday and no problems. In fact, I feel really good today. I kayaked for about 3 hours today and the peacefulness of the water seemed to help me relax a bit. I expected for my hip to be really stiff when I got out of the boat but it wasn't. That, my friends, gives me lots of hope. This is the first time that I haven't been incredibly stiff after sitting that long.

Sharon also checked my external rotation in preparation for my visit with Dr. Philippon and found that my left is pretty close to my right. Yippppeeee!!! Progress. That always makes me feel better and much more positive about life in general. My left side still has a little bit to go in terms of matching my right but there is measurable progress. It seems to be my adductor that is really holding me back. Still more work to do there.

I leave for Colorado on Wednesday. I am working in Ft Collins with a client until Sunday and then driving to Vail. My appointment with Dr. Philippon is Monday at 9:30 am. I am anxious to see my friends at Howard Head and hear what they have to say and also Dr. P to see if I can get back to swinging my driver. I am 12 weeks post-op as of last Thursday. It simply doesn't seem possible.

Thanks to everyone who leave me the encouraging comments on my blog. It is so great to have a support system from other hip patients!

I am drinking a nice glass of wine tonite and enjoying spending time with my sister and nephew and trying to remember how truly lucky I am!

The ups and downs of recovery

2009-07-15T20:01:00.002-06:00

Some days I feel like I am absolutely on top of the world. Other days I wonder why I work so hard and get nowhere . . . now I know that's not true but I want it all. It has occurred to me over the past several days that I have had a pretty remarkable recovery thus far. I am leg pressing 200 pounds. I am far more muscular than I ever imagined I would be. All of that being said -- I still am incredibly stiff when I sit too long and I have weird pains that make me catch my breath and occasionally my body just doesn't want to move. But if I had to assign a number to how far recovered I think I am, I would say about 80%. My external rotation still has a ways to go and when I work out, my left side is still weaker than my right. I think the answer is probably that the first 80% goes pretty fast and the remaining 20% comes very slowly. If this is, in fact, true it could be the death of me. :-) I have said that I like forward progress at all times. I push and most of the time I get results. I don't get results when I push with this. Ugh!! No matter what I do, my progress seems to be the same right now. I think I have plateaued . . it's forcing me to live in the middle instead of at the extreme and I don't do well there. I can either be a complete lazy couch potato or I can work out 2 hours every day but there is no in-between with me. It's the same with this hip progression . . either stop and go forward at light speed.

Ok . . . whining done for the night. Thanks for hanging in there with me while I got it off my chest.

I worked out with my personal trainer yesterday who was fresh off meeting and watching Dara Torres work out. She added some new tricks to my repertoire and I am feeling it today. ouch!! Tomorrow is physical therapy with Sharon where she will push the limits of my legs and hips trying to make me look good for my appointment with Dr. P. So glad that I have her as I think I need some good stretching too.

I have been traveling for work and not doing my stretching and exercising like I should and can definitely feel it. I am stiff and sore and need someone to give me a swift kick in the ass . . . I think Sharon is just the person to do it . . and then make it feel better. :-)

The big deal that I have been working on made a decision to hire someone else today. :-( Bummer!!! We busted our butts to do these presentations and really thought they were going to choose us. I feel a little down tonite because of that too.

And, the ankle that got damaged during surgery (from the traction) is still screwed up. Still no feeling in my ankle or the top of my foot. My ankle is still swollen - a bit of a cankle. I can't wear shoes that cross the top of my foot because it feels weird. I am worried that my foot is permanently damaged. Of course, I am worried about everything tonite so this just gets added to the list.

If I didn't have a really busy day at work tomorrow, I would consider a Vicodin vacation from the soreness and stiffness tonite but it's a full day of conference calls and call reports tomorrow so I must have my wits about me . . . at least what is left of my wits after the drinking fest that was my birthday last weekend.

Yes, it's true, I turned 50 on Monday. I feel really old now when I tell people not only am I 50 but I have also had hip surgery. ugh!!!

I am a little frustrated tonite if you can't tell. Everything really is good; I just want more. . .. the story of my life!

Dang it!

2009-07-07T21:12:00.003-06:00

For the past two days, I have had a pain . . an annoying inside of my left thigh sort of pain. This morning, it was worse and in fact, occasionally would turn into a sharp shooting down my leg pain. I was ecstatic that I had an appointment with Sharon today. The diagnosis is either psoas or adductor but let me just say . . it's painful!!! Sharon did some trigger point release work on it today and it just about brought tears to my eyes. It definitely made me break out in a sweat. So tonite it's incredibly tender and complaining loudly about having been poked this afternoon. I can feel it all the way through to my back. BIG :-( I did some adductor/abductor machine work at the gym yesterday. I am thinking that maybe it was slightly inflamed and I just did it in. I don't know. I, of course, want Sharon to tell me exactly how it happened so as to prevent it in the future. She, of course, can't. :-) Deep down I know that but by now you all know that I want answers to everything period.

The good news today . . . I did 200 lbs on the leg press and moved to lunges without holding onto anything. Definitely stronger and my balance has improved tremendously. Why then must I suffer with this dang psoas/adductor thing???? Grrrrr . . .

And, I am about to start traveling for the week so my workouts will be harder to get done and I am admittedly not as disciplined about getting everything done while on the road. Coming back to work after being gone for 7 weeks, jumping into a finalist presentation and trying to get caught up with all of my normal work all the while trying to stay up with physical therapy has been too much for me. My stress level has risen dramatically this week and I am way crabby. I am really frustrated with myself for not making physical therapy a priority . . letting work dictate my schedule instead of taking the time that I needed to get back to 100%.

And, I'm probably feeling a little sorry for myself tonite as my pain level is up a bit down my left thigh and I really thought I was done with all of that. Dang!!!

I am not discouraged in any way shape or form but I do not do well with setbacks no matter how minor or temporary. :-) I want forward progress at all times. Ok, unrealistic I know so I am about to take some good tylenol pm and put my achy body to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be better!!

My own Independence Day!

2009-07-04T12:04:00.002-06:00

Happy 4th of July everyone. I am having my own personal independence day today because I feel like I have been set free. ;-) I have finally recovered from my stupidity of last weekend thanks to Sharon's help and am feeling really good actually. I did my normal workouts this week, saw Sharon twice and then my NIFS trainer on Friday for good upper body and core workouts. I feel strong and have absolutely no pain whatsoever . . .none, nada, nil.

I had a lovely day yesterday transplanting some flowers and planting some annuals in some flower pots. And then went clothes shopping with Julie. It's so much more fun to buy clothes now that I can pretty much wear anything and look decent in it. Love the core work!! :-) Treated myself to a shopping spree at Whole Foods and got some yummy fresh corn, blueberries and a steak. It made a fabulous dinner last night.

Today is raining in Indy and I am bummed because I really wanted to get out and do some kayaking today. . . not 4 hours worth mind you but an hour or so would have been lovely. Sharon also wanted me to try some light hiking through the park this weekend to see how the hip handles the rough and hilly terrain. The rain seems to be here to stay today so I don't think that's in the cards. In fact, I am having a lovely time sitting on my screened in porch listening to the peaceful sound of rain hitting the roof and the leaves of the trees so today may be my complete and total rest day . .possibly with a movie later. It's supposed to be nice tomorrow so hopefully I can hit the water before I head off to a party.

Next week is going to be all out crazy at work so I am relaxing and de-stressing as much as possible today and tomorrow. I have to head to Des Moines for a site visit with a potential client. A good thing but it will take lots of work to make it happen . . plus I have to fly through O'Hare which is solidly against my travel rules but it was the only way I could get something reasonably priced and at the time that I need to go. Ugh! Since I am flying home on Friday, I have reserved a car at O'Hare so worst case scenario is that I drive 4 hours to Indy. ugh!!!

My sister arrives at some point next week also. She will stay with me for most of July. Unfortunately, I will be traveling most of July. At least she'll be here to take care of my house. :-)

Happy 4th everyone!!

Back on the wagon

2009-07-02T06:02:00.002-06:00

I am being a very good girl. For those of you who know me, you know how truly hard that is for me to do. I am a girl who likes to push my limits (and sometimes those of others). :-) But I told you that I had learned my lesson and I truly meant it. I have been very good this week . . . daily workouts but only what I am allowed to do. Ok, maybe one slight exception -- I went to Nifs last night to work out and the rowing machine insisted that I try it. I tried to resist; I looked away, I turned my music up louder but it called so loudly that I had to shut it up somehow. So, I strapped myself in and rowed. Wow . . . it felt so good. Now before anyone thinks they need to chastise me - I only stayed on for 2 minutes, I kept a slow pace and I am officially allowed to do rowing machine and elliptical as of today so I don't really think that 1 day will be the end of the world.

Today is 10 weeks . . . I can hardly believe it. A whole new world opens up to me at 10 weeks -- rowing and elliptical. I am still having some pain from my stupidity over the weekend so I am not going to jump right in and try to make it worse. I see Sharon again today for more trigger point release and a few exercises. Hopefully by the weekend, I can begin to add some additional things in . . . slowly! :-)

I have been working on my external rotation also. My left still has a ways to go to be even with my right but it's definitely improving. I'm not sure where Dr. P expects it to be when I go back to see him. It will be interesting to see Lindsay again and hear her assessment of my progress.

The summer is flying by. I can't believe it is July 4 holiday weekend already. My sister gets home from Germany today and soon my house will be even more full of family. Work seems like I was never gone. It's crazy busy as always and I have to make a conscious effort to get out of there at a decent hour and get to the gym to do my exercises.

Bottom line - everything is good and seems to be progressing according to plan. I continue to feel good, stronger and optimistic about the future . . . exactly where I want to be right now!

Ahhhhh physical therapy

2009-06-30T20:09:00.002-06:00

So I went to see Sharon today and confessed my sins. She was marvelous and did some trigger point release work on my hip. It helped tremendously!! In fact, Sharon was quite easy on me and said that I really didn't do anything all that bad. I definitely tightened up some muscles unnecessarily and she lectured me a bit on the downside to doing that. All things that I already knew but it was good to hear it from her. I am back on the straight and narrow tonite. I learned my lesson . .. that doesn't mean that I won't have to learn it again but for now, I am good and am committed to not doing more stupid stuff anytime soon.

I upped weights today on the leg press. Yippeee!!! I love to watch the muscles flex in my quads when I push the weights out. It thrills me! More hip machine and single leg lunges. Then I came home and did core work. Tomorrow will be a killer workout at NIFS and I am thinking that I will be ready for it. Again . . back on the straight and narrow. Even with the sore, overtaxed muscles from this weekend, I still have no hip pain and feel remarkably good.

I have just about a month before I see Dr. Philippon for my 3 month check. I absolutely cannot believe it's been 9 weeks already. I would say time flies when you are having fun but some of it wasn't so fun. What has been fun though is having no pain and getting strong again.

The other thing I will say is that I absolutely did the right thing in staying in CO for 6 weeks of therapy but I also feel very lucky to have found Sharon here. I have gotten stronger since I started working with her and she continues to challenge me. I will be sad when I have to stop seeing her too. I found out today that she lives pretty close to me and owns a canoe. It will be my personal challenge to get her on the reservoir with me before the season is over. :-)

Even though I was a bit sad to leave Colorado I have to say that I am thoroughly enjoying spending my summer hanging out with my friends. Thursday night I am off to see The Fray with girlfriends and am looking forward to it. . . especially since Friday is a non-work day. My sister comes home from Germany next week and then will be here to spend most, if not all, of the month of July with me. I am looking forward to hanging out with her too!!

Here's to 2009, summer and turning 50. Woohooo!!

Ok . . . I'm not 100% yet

2009-06-29T20:03:00.002-06:00

I overdid it yesterday. I don't know why I have to do it but I do. So, 45 minutes of biking as hard as I could and 4 solid hours of kayaking wasn't enough so I had to hop back on my bike and ride some hills. It was too much. I don't think there is any permanent damage, of course, but I am stiff and tender today and thoroughly disgusted with myself. I was doing great . . .no pain, little stiffness and certainly no tenderness and then I had to push it. I had surgery 9 weeks ago . . why can't I get that through my head? I see my pt tomorrow and am planning to confess my sins to her to see what she can do to fix me. That's the way I do things . . . I do things that I am told not to and then expect someone else to make it go away. :-)

Ok, so I am good but not perfect yet but it still feels darn good to say that I biked, kayaked and biked again. It has been years since I have been able to do that so the mere fact that I can do it and then complain about it is pretty amazing.

I had dinner with some amazing friends tonite. I am constantly thankful and a bit overwhelmed by my friends. They are supportive, caring and make me laugh more than one person should probably laugh in one evening.

So tonite I am reflecting on my life, where I have been, where I am and where I intend to go. And, the bottom line -- I still feel like I am one of the luckiest girls in the whole world!

Life is Good!!

2009-06-27T09:16:00.002-06:00

So, we were notified yesterday that we made the final cut!! We are hosting a site visit at our home office on July 10. I was told that it will be Relationship Manager versus Relationship Manager . . . bring it on!! Are you kidding me . . after all I have been through in the past 8 weeks I can certainly face down another relationship manager with a competitor. And, add to that, I have the best team in the industry with me. We will be hard to beat!

Ok, so the hip -- if I haven't said it lately -- I love Dr. Philippon, Lindsay and Laurie . . not in the weird stalker way . . but in the . . you gave me my life back way. I saw my Indy pt yesterday. She has again amped up my exercises -- i am now using 135 lbs on the leg press, doing one leg lunges with my knee all the way to the floor and spending 3 grueling sets on the hip machine. My legs are shaky when I leave but I am strong, strong. No hip pain whatsoever. The tightness is really starting to abate . . even when I sit too long and first stand up, it is easier to unstiffen (is that a word). I know I wanted all of this within 2 weeks of surgery (ha!) but it seems to be coming blazingly fast now. And, the absolute best part --- NO PAIN! not a twinge, not a shooting pain, not an inkling of how my life used to be. The great staff at Howard Head checks in with me periodically to see how things are going. That feels so good since I really feel like they are part of my family now. I still miss them and look forward to seeing them again at the end of July. I hope I am in rockin shape by then so they will be proud of what they put in motion.

So, today is a killer workout at NIFS and since it is sunny and beautiful here how can I resist throwing my kayak on the water for a few hours. If you can't tell, I am loving my life right now!! The only down side -- work is crazy and I spent my Friday night working instead of playing. :-( It's temporary and since I love what I do, it doesn't feel that bad. And, since you all know that I am a tiny bit competitive, being up against another RM will certainly get my adrenaline jumping. Not as much as jumping out of a plane but it will do for now until I can get back to that.

Happy Saturday! I am off to refine these lovely new muscles!! Here's to turning 50 in possibly the best shape of my life.

Putting my hip to the test

2009-06-24T16:14:00.002-06:00

I am sitting in the airport in Omaha, NE after doing a finalist presentation today. First of all, the presentation was beautiful!! I can't say enough good things about the people I work with . .. they are simply the best! Keeping our fingers crossed that we made a big impression and will be selected for a site visit next month.

So, my hip got to experience sitting in a small, cramped airplane seat, walking through O'Hare and changing terminals and up and down during a finalist presentation. I am pleased to report that I am well on the road to recovery. I am still stiff if I sit too long but it's not nearly as bad as it was. I have become a work out freak and took an hour last night to go work out before dinner. It definitely makes a huge difference in how my hip feels so I can't miss. I also have to say that I love the result of all the working out that I have been doing. I bought a new black suit to wear today and received comments from my team on how thin I am now. Yipppeee!!!

I don't get home until 1 am tonite and see my new pt tomorrow morning. I am anxious to see her and get my butt kicked as well as get stretched a bit. This Thursday will be 9 weeks for me. One more week and I can up my bike riding and get back to rowing. Amazing!!

I feel like I have a whole new lease on life . . . absolutely no pain and my muscles are all trained now on how to act so it's just a matter of continuing to build them. I feel like I will be pretty strong when I go back to see Dr. Philippon at the end of July. Can't wait to actually do some hiking and enjoying Vail this time.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog and left comments and best of luck on your own surgeries and recovery!!

It just gets better and better!

2009-06-21T18:50:00.003-06:00

So, I bought a kayak and I am thrilled!! I love it and it's exactly what I needed to reward myself for all of my hard work over the last couple of months. Thank you Rusted Moon in Broad Ripple for all of your help! I spent the day at Eagle Creek Reservoir on Saturday and love it even more than I did when I paddled it before I bought it. The only bad thing is that sitting in a kayak requires externally rotating your hips and hooking your knees up under the cockpit. My left hip complained loudly after I got out so I will have to be careful of the amount of time that I am paddling for awhile. That's ok though. I am living my life again and it feels awesome!!

Have also worked up my bike time, gears and surface so I am no more riding like a grandma. :-) I went out for a nice ride tonite and was pleased with my strength and endurance. I haven't worked up to riding through the park yet on all the hills but hope to be there by the end of summer or early fall.

Continue to LOVE my new physical therapist. She asked what I wanted from her and I told her that I wanted my butt kicked every time I was in there. She is making good on her end of that bargain. She changed up more exercises last week and I can definitely feel the results. Again . . muscles in places that I really didn't know I have muscles.

And, I have gone back to my personal trainer to work on upper body and core strengthening. I am looking forward to being back in shape and on a maintenance regimen instead of a weight loss and muscle building regimen.

This hip surgery may have been the best thing that has happened to me in awhile. I am in better shape than I have been in for a long time and I feel great. That doesn't say anything about the fact that I have absolutely no hip pain in either hip anymore. . . . hallelujah!!

My life has returned to normal . . whatever normal actually is. Work is crazy (just the way I like it) and I did 4 hours of yard work today. I am flying out this week to do a finalist presentation and am pumped about that. Did I tell you I love competition?? :-)

Life is good!!

New physical therapist

2009-06-17T06:44:00.002-06:00

Yesterday I had my first appointment with a physical therapist here in Indy. I was nervous and slightly apprehensive because I didn't think that anyone could really compare with Lindsay and Laurie. I can also be really picky about people. Ugh!! I am very happy and pleased to say that my new PT is AWESOME!! She totally gets it, is a stickler for details and is excited to learn about my surgery and what was done to get me where I am right now.

I am also pleased to report that she did some strength and flexibility assessment and thinks that I am pretty strong. Yipppeeee!!! I thought so too but it is really nice when a professional confirms it. She changed up some of the exercises that Lindsay sent me home with . . . definitely made them harder . . . and promises that I will be really strong when I go back to Colorado to see Dr. Philippon the end of July. I am seeing her twice a week for several weeks and then once a week since I am good about working out on my own.

My hip feels really good. Still some stiffness when I sit too long at work but otherwise I feel better than I have felt in a long, long time. No hip pain whatsoever, my adductor issue has finally calmed down and all of the muscles that need to be working are actually working. It's fabulous. And, I have to say, in the big scheme of things, this has happened really really fast. Tomorrow will be 8 weeks from surgery (seems like yesterday and years ago at the same time). My new pt was definitely impressed at my fitness level being 7 1/2 weeks out from surgery. I know I owe it all to the incredible staff at Howard Head. When I had my right hip done 6 years ago, I was still walking with a cane at my 6 week check up with Dr. Philippon. This time has been so different. I didn't lose nearly as much muscle after surgery and it has helped me in the recovery so much I can't even explain.

The other funny story from yesterday -- she asked me to lie on my stomach and lift my leg, one at a time, straight up. Of course, I have been well trained by Lindsay and Laurie to fire my glute first to lift my leg which is exactly what I did. She sort of half screamed that most people don't do that and she was giddy that I did it correctly. I, of course, had to explain that I have been trained like a Labrador Retriever for the past 8 weeks by Lindsay and Laurie. :-) She and I are going to get along fine.

So, here's to buns and abs of steel. Woohooo!!!!

Week 7

2009-06-12T13:51:00.002-06:00

And I am officially approved to start riding my road bike. Yippeee!!! I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. So, on the day of week 7, I got on my road bike and rode for my prescribed 15 minutes on a flat surface in low gear. It was mildly satisfying. It would have been exhilarating if I could have ridden flat out for as long as the rain held off but I was warned by Lindsay and felt it best to follow her advice. That being said, I had no pain and it felt darn good to be out on my bike again. Apparently there's a little (ok a lot) work to be done on the quad muscles but I know they will come right back with some coaxing.

So, week 7 . . . the exercises that I left Vail with have become a little easier which tells me that I must be doing something right and I continue to see improvement in my muscle tone. Still a ways to go but it is definitely improving. I finally see my new physical therapist on Tuesday and am looking forward to having her work on range of motion as I just can't seem to do everything myself.

I am struggling a bit at work in sitting too long at a time. I stand up and realize that my hip is so stiff that I can barely walk. It's almost like I need to set a timer for myself to remind me to get up and move.

I can't row yet so am buying a new kayak so I can get on the water. I am not allowed to row until week 10 . . . 3 more weeks will kill me so I am doing the next best thing.

I continue to feel better and better! No hip pain, I am stronger and I am thrilled with the results of everything and look forward to my progress each and every day!

Time flies when you are having fun

2009-06-07T19:33:00.003-06:00

So it's Sunday evening and I am headed back to work tomorrow. Seems it was just April 17 and I was having a total meltdown over leaving for 7 weeks. All the things that seemed so important then have been long forgotten . . . I shaved my own legs and polished my own toenails. My grass got mowed, my mail got picked up and sent on to me and I was able to pay all of my bills thanks to the miracle of online banking. It all worked; actually, it worked perfectly.

The hip -- again me making mountains out of molehills -- I just knew that I would be lost without Lindsay and Laurie but I seem to have managed ok. Lindsay gave me a list of exercises and I have dutifully followed them to a "t". I can't ride my bike until week 7 (Thursday) and it was beautiful this weekend and it almost killed me not to . . .but I didn't. I know better. I have seen what happens when someone decides not to follow their best advice. I will wait until next weekend and then I will ride with a huge smile on my face and people will wonder what I am up to.

I saw Kathy on Saturday and she did stretching and range of motion with me. It helped tremendously. She also beat my very stubborn adductor into submission so I felt really good this weekend. I plan to see her a couple more times before I see my new physical therapist on June 16. I am hoping that will keep me on track. I am also scheduling a standing weekly appointment with my personal trainer so she can continue to push me too. I swear I will be in great shape at 50 if it kills me. :-)

I still miss the mountains. I would be severely bummed if I didn't have another trip already planned out there at the end of July. I have completely adjusted back to life in Indy but I long for the mountains.

It's still sinking in that I have TWO good hips now. My left hip is completely pain free . . I just need to get all of the muscles in line but I know that will come with time and effort. I make some progress every single day now and I haven't had a bad day in awhile. Very encouraging!!

So, now my focus becomes what I am going to do and where I am going to go. The possibilities are endless!!

Home again

2009-06-04T09:19:00.002-06:00

Shouldn't I be thrilled to be home? Just 7 weeks ago, I was freaking out about leaving here for 7 weeks so it seems I should be ecstatic to be back here . . . but I'm not.

First of all, I am having some hip tightness and I just know that I am missing my range of motion exercises that Lindsay and Laurie used to do. Am I doing too much or not enough? I don't know. Ugh!!

Second, where are the mountains? Seeing mountains every single day was more therapeutic than I can explain. I loved the blue of the sky, the warm days even though it was only in the 60's and the dry mountain air.

Third, why did I pack so much stuff to take with me. It seemed like I would need it all but now that I have it all back home, I have to unpack it and put it away. I took way too much stuff. And then there is the issue of walking around doing all this stuff . . .is that too much for my hip? Will I inflame something that I shouldn't and regret it for days? Will I be making the 911 phone call to Howard Head? :-)

Fourth, I have told you that I am a pressure player . . . I work exceptionally well under pressure. Well, the pressure is off . .. I made this happen. It took me months and months of planning but it all worked and it worked perfectly. I am home now and the pressure of making this work is off except for on-going physical therapy and working out . . which seems minuscule compared to what I have just been through. I feel a little lost.

I have made an appointment with a physical therapist but I can't get in until June 15 because she is on vacation. I am on my own until then and am feeling like the bottom has dropped out of my therapy right now. I know it's because I had Lindsay and Laurie and saw them every day and I know that everything will be fine because I can do lots of things on my own but it still leaves me a little shaky. I am off to NIFS today and tomorrow and hopefully that will give me a boost of confidence as I do much of this myself.

I am back to work on Monday and am looking forward to seeing everyone there. Being back in a work routine will help me assimilate back into a "normal" life so that will be good.

I will continue to update my blog with my progress and my experience with physical therapy here versus Vail for all of those who are fellow hip patients and are curious about my experience.

Back Home Again in Indiana!!

Follow-up with Dr. Philippon

2009-06-03T08:10:00.002-06:00

I saw Dr. Philippon on Monday for my almost 6 weeks check. And here's the benefit of staying in Vail for as long as possible and working with the fabulous physical therapists at Howard Head -- he was very pleased with my progress. In fact, thinks that I might be a little further along than what he anticipated. We discussed the difference between my hip surgery 6 years ago and this one . . . recovery has been night and day. I know I have joked about Lindsay and Laurie and the things they have made me do but the result at 6 weeks has been so worth it!! At my last hip surgery, I was still walking with a cane at my 6 weeks check-up. Now, I am walking for an hour with no issue and my hip feels strong and stable. I am back to see Dr. Philippon at the end of July but for now he is pleased with both hips so I am free to continue with my pt in Indianapolis.

So, I have a pt protocol with me and have made an appointment with a physical therapist in Indy and am ready to move on .. . . .not really but I don't have a choice. :-) I think I really would be in the best shape of my life if I simply moved to Vail or somewhere nearby and did all of my physical therapy with them. As of now, I am left to my own devices with the exercises. Lindsay was always chastising me for trying to cheat . . . roll a hip up or hold onto the table to make it easier. Who is going to stop me from that for the next couple of weeks? I may indeed undo all of her good, hard work. :-)

I also learned a lesson the hard way about overdoing things. I tried to do too much and am suffering from some awful tightness and pain. Ok, got it. Just enough . . not too much.

So, armed with everything that I have learned over the past 6 weeks and my binder full of notes and pictures I leave Vail for the journey back home.

Yes!!

2009-05-30T18:18:00.002-06:00

Lindsay spent today at physical therapy doing lots of pilates reformer machine and squats. I can definitely feel the burn tonite from both today's exercises as well as yesterday. We, of course, had to discuss today my on-going physical therapy in Indy. I have a binder that outlines the pt protocols and timeframes for completing each. I smiled today as Lindsay went through it and marked it up since I am already doing strength exercises that aren't slated to be done for another 2 to 3 weeks. Fabulous!! Part of my physical therapy today was to go for an hour long walk. Lindsay sent me to East Vail to the Gore Creek trail . . . it was a pure slice of heaven. The trail is a paved trail that runs along Gore Creek and meanders off into the wilderness. I have been dying to get out and enjoy some of the beauty and this did the trick today. There were people fly fishing in the creek and many, many people out on their bikes. The mountain wildflowers are in bloom and the snow melt is still happening making Gore Creek rage. And, I walked!!!!!!!!! Everything is firing as it should and my hip hardly stiffened at all during the hour long walk. It made me want to leap for joy. I am almost to my 6 week mark and everything has been successful. Lindsay moved my hip every which way in the socket today and it is smooth as glass. I have good range of motion . . it's not 100% yet but it's better at this point than pre-surgery. . .and it will only get better!

Two more appointments (I think) with Lindsay then Dr. Philippon and then home . . although I have to admit this place is starting to feel a lot like home. Walking down the trail today I committed to myself to continue this level of exercise and fitness once I get home. I feel so much better and don't want to give back any of the progress that I have made in my 6 weeks out here. I am excited to buy a mountain bike and take off into the woods on any weekend that I can or go hike through a forest and enjoy the life of the forest. I can start biking again . . flats only, 30 minutes only and low gear . . in another week. I can kayak as soon as I get home.

It's storming here today. Watching lightning at 9,000 feet is powerful. I love thunderstorms anyway and seeing it up close makes me awestruck. The other thing that I don't think I have commented on is the stargazing that being at 9000 feet with no city lights close by affords. I can sit on the deck for hours and stare up into the night sky contemplating the meaning of life. :-)

I am looking forward to being back in Indy for the summer to spend time with my friends. I appreciate each and every one of you and all the encouragement you have given me over the last 6 weeks but I agree . . it's time to come home. See you very soon!!

3 more days

2009-05-29T19:09:00.002-06:00

I have 3 official appointments left with Lindsay before I see Dr. Philippon. It is surreal. First I was freaking out about coming out here for 6 weeks and now I am freaking out about going home. What's with me????

I talked with both Mark, the athletic trainer who coordinates care between Howard Head and Dr. Philippon and Lindsay and they are confident that he will send me packing on Monday. In fact, Lindsay is having me bring my pt protocols in this weekend to be completely re-worked since I am performing well ahead of schedule. Did you read that . . . . well ahead of schedule. . . . :-) . . . once again, my competitiveness pays off. Ok, actually what has paid off is staying here for 6 weeks and working with physical therapists who know exactly when to push, when to back off and how to fix things that go wrong during recovery. They are amazing.

I had a tearful hug with Laurie today. Her days off are Sat, Sun and Mon so I probably won't see her again before I leave. It felt really weird so I refused to say goodbye since I will be back out here the end of July. I simply told her that I would see her later. It also helped that I will still have appointments over the weekend so I could be brave today. I can't imagine what will happen when I say goodbye to Lindsay on Monday. I promise to hold it together but there will be a small moment of panic as I leave. This place has been so much a part of my life.

Lindsay amped up the exercises today and I'm pretty sure tried to see if she could get my hip to pop out of the socket (kidding!!). I was pretty shaky by the time I left but felt incredibly good at the same time. My hip is really stable and pain free. I just have to continue to work on getting it to relax a bit and I am golden! There were new hip patients (surgery yesterday) in the clinic today and I still am amazed at how far I have come in 5 weeks. Amazing!

I am hoping that I feel ready to leave come next week but I know I am going to have moments of uncertainty. I hope Laurie and Lindsay will bear with me as I email and text them until I get back out here in July. Speaking of July -- I made a 3 month post op appointment with Dr. Philippon today - July 27. I am planning to do a physical therapy session with Lindsay on July 26 and then see Philippon on July 27. If he gives me the all clear, I plan to stay a couple of days and do some hiking through this beautiful place that I have only been able to enjoy from afar. A small reward for all of this hard work. It also gives me great motivation to keep working really hard once I get back to Indy so I don't get reprimanded by Lindsay or Dr. Philippon. ;-)

So tonite, I am enjoying a really fine glass of red wine and a mountain view and thinking that I am the luckiest girl in the whole world!!

The countdown continues

2009-05-28T22:37:00.002-06:00

Never, ever tell your physical therapist that something is easy because she will make sure that nothing, and I mean nothing, else will be for the remainder of the time you spend with her. More time on the pilates reformer machines today. wow .. . they look so easy until you actually try to hold that position yourself for 30 seconds. I am sure that the song, "Shake, rattle and roll", was written about my glutes cuz that's exactly what they do after 3 sets of anything. One leg standing squats, lots of pilates work and stretching exercises that make me think my leg is going to come off are pretty routine. We are starting to talk about what happens and what kinds of things I need to work on with a new physical therapist in Indianapolis once Dr. Philippon releases me. That makes me nervous. I can't imagine placing my continued success in someone else's hands but that is exactly what I am going to have to do. Yikes!!

Ok, I may seem to be complaining but please know that I am not. I have muscles that I haven't had in a long, long time and it feels really good!! I weighed myself today and I lost 3 lbs last week alone. I am probably in better health now than I have been in a long time and it feels really good. My hip is as smooth as glass and, other than the muscles that want to complain, I have absolutely no pain!!! It is marvelous. I love physical therapy . . . .no matter how much they make me wince, complain, sweat or yelp, it is doing me a world of good and I love it!! I am going to miss my Howard Head family. I don't know that they realize how much I appreciate all they have done for me and have been through with me. They are amazing professionals and kind, caring people. Onward and upward. It's time for me to move out.

I am getting nervous about the next steps but I know it's inevitable and deep down I know everything will be fine. I will take an active role in my continuing physical therapy and will be back out here the end of July for a check-up just to make sure everything is still on track. How bad can I mess it up in 6 weeks? :-) I hope to do some hiking in the mountains when I come back. That would certainly be a dream come true and a worthy goal!

So, today is 5 weeks from surgery and I am pleased to report that I have truly turned the corner on getting better. I have pretty much had all good days in a week and continue to make good progress.

:-) <-------- me smiling . . . BIG SMILE!! I am going to have my life back!

What are these? Muscles?

2009-05-27T16:31:00.003-06:00

The benefits of physical therapy are starting to be evident. Of course, they should be. I spent more time today than I care to think about working solely on glutes and quadriceps but lo and behold . . . muscles have magically appeared. Not that I would win any bodybuilding contest or anything like that but I definitely have some bulges that I haven't seen in a long time. It's some consolation as I shake and sweat and pant while trying to hold some impossible position or do some contortionist exercise that Laurie has put me in. I keep concentrating on the end result and try to smile all the while. My muscles are finally cooperating and my walk has somewhat normalized. I still have a little difficulty when I first stand from sitting but I know how to stretch the right muscles to make it easy again.

Lots of hip surgeries happening this week so lots of new patients showing up at pt. It seems forever ago that I was in their shoes and yet it seems like yesterday. I am so happy to be 5 weeks out and working on getting my strength back instead of just trying to survive day to day.

It's peak spring in the mountains and it is breathtakingly beautiful. Everything is green and blooming and all the animals are out. Yesterday, the red fox was just across the street from the house hunting in the tall grass. He/she seemed oblivious to me watching him hunt some small unsuspecting creature for dinner. This morning, on the way to physical therapy, 3 mule deer were standing right by the side of the road grazing on the tasty new grass. There are elk everywhere. The mountain is alive. It's a magical experience.

A few days left before I find out where exactly I am in the recovery process from Dr. Philippon. Until then . . . more pt please.

One more week

2009-05-25T17:57:00.002-06:00

I don't know how it's happened but I only have one week left here before I (if all goes well with Dr. Philippon) head for Indiana. As I looked back through this blog, I was laughing as I read my very early posts where I was obviously freaking out about leaving home for 7 weeks. Funny how things work out. I managed to pack everything that I needed (and more), drive to Colorado, have a successful hip surgery, shave my own legs (except for once) and polish my own toenails. To quote the Grateful Dead, "What a long, strange trip it's been". It's certainly been full of ups and downs but I definitely feel like I have turned a corner on recovery. My walk is consistently good. I still have the occasional sharp pain here or there but even those are becoming less and less frequent. Physical therapy is focusing more and more on strength training rather than just making my hip move . . . a very nice feeling.

Today at physical therapy, the new hip patients (surgery last Thursday) were all very curious as to where I am in the recovery time frame. Lindsay made me do a walk across the room so she could check my progress. I, of course, had to show off a bit and make everyone laugh . .. that's how I know I have turned the corner. I smiled as I told them I was over 4 weeks out because you could see the look of encouragement come across their faces . . or maybe they just want to be able to swing their hips like I did. :-)

I have decided to buy a mountain bike and bring home with me. There are some great bike shops out here with people who spend lots of time riding in the mountains. And, as a bonus, they are all trying to get rid of 2008 inventory in a soft economy. I can't actually ride it yet but will look forward to the day that I can and I think that will motivate me to continue to work really hard at pt. I am also hoping that, since I have been working out at 7500 feet, my cardio endurance will be really good when I get back to Indy.

I will be spending this last week eating at all the great restaurants that I will miss when I come home and spending time with my fellow patients and physical therapists that have become my adopted family. I will miss the mountains and wildlife but am looking forward to getting back to my "normal" life.

Vicodin, Muscle Relaxer & Mike

2009-05-23T15:59:00.002-06:00

So, last night I decided that a full night's sleep was in order and I wasn't taking any chances with wimpy Tylenol PM. I went straight for a vicodin and muscle relaxer. Totally did the trick and I slept like a baby . . or a junkie . . . whatever it was I didn't care; I slept!! My hip was still feeling a little throbby this morning and I was hoping that Mike would be able to shed some light on what was happening in my newly repaired hip socket. Mike is the head of the hip team at Howard Head. I have watched him work with the pro athletes that have been in and he is amazingly good at his job. I love Lindsay and Laurie and think they have performed miracles with me but I will admit that I was looking forward to seeing what Mike had to say today. Lindsay is out of town this weekend so Mike is covering for her.

One initial comment -- Mike is MUCH stronger than Lindsay and Laurie and has seen a few hips. Mike asked me what my main complaints were and I told him that I was having some pain down the inside of my thigh and that generally my hip felt really tight. He told me to stand normally and asked me how it felt. I told him it felt like I had one leg longer than the other. :-) Bottom line -- he fixed it. My hip has never felt better than it does right now. He did some targeted stretching and straightened the way I was standing. I was favoring my left side; not making it work and by doing that, it was making my adductor muscle down the inside of my thigh be in a constant stretch and subsequently be really sore all the time. He said this is a very common complaint at week 4, easy to fix and was very encouraging. Yippee!! I feel so much better about things today. Thank you Mike!! This is another reason I am so glad I stayed out here for the full physical therapy. He said that they have a lot of problems trying to figure this out over the phone with other physical therapists. For those of you reading my blog who are coming here for surgery, I will say it again . . . . stay here for pt as long as you possibly can. These people are amazing!!

Today and tomorrow is the Blues, Brews and Bar-B-Q fest in Beaver Creek. Mitch and I plan to go check it out and hopefully sample some more good microbrew Colorado beer and hear some free music. It's raining here on and off so we're hoping that we don't get caught in a downpour. I wasn't sure I would be able to walk it but my hip feels absolutely great today so I am optimistic on making my way around.

I have just over a week left. Here's to even more improvement!!

Why does this have to be so hard?

2009-05-22T22:41:00.002-06:00

As I have said before, they won't all be good days. I am having some unexplained pain today. Laurie couldn't exactly pinpoint the cause but it is painful when I walk today so the limp is back. The limp isn't something out of a horror movie - dragging a dead leg behind me - but it's definitely a limp. There's also a throbbing in the hip . . a dull ache that just won't go away. Rats!! Nothing seems to make it worse or better . . it's just there. So, tonite I am pharmaceutical shopping . . can't decide if it's a Tylenol pm night or something stronger. The throbbing kept me awake much of last night and I could really use a good night's sleep tonite so I am thinking of opting for stronger. . . muscle relaxer. Ugh!!! I was really hoping those days were behind me but it appears that as physical therapy ramps up, I may have an occasional icky day.

Today in physical therapy, I moved up to the leg press machine. 100 leg presses using very low weight. It felt good to be using some muscle again. Still working on core and glutes but have added in some hamstrings and quads now. I am still having lots of problems with my IT band . . . very tight and painful and requires lots of stretching. It's getting better slowly but surely.

My ankle continues to cause me problems. I can't sleep at night without a pillow between my ankles. It's still numb, swells at the drop of a hat and is quite painful when moved or touched on the bones. Ugh!!! I was hoping it might start to dissipate before now but it's barely better than 4 weeks ago. :-(

A new round of hip patients appeared this morning at physical therapy . .all in various stages of recovery from surgery. It makes me very happy to be at 4 weeks, walking and moving on. I never, ever want to do this surgery again.

It's Memorial Day weekend and I am not in Indy entertaining family and friends and preparing to go to the race on Sunday. That makes me sad and feel a bit homesick. It's also been raining here for the past two days with more to come for the next several. Don't get me wrong, the mountains are still beautiful and peaceful and I am enjoying them but I love the Indy 500!! Watching it on tv just won't be the same.

Here's hoping for some marked improvement over the weekend. 10 days left before I see Dr. Philippon.

One month tomorrow

2009-05-20T19:44:00.002-06:00

Tomorrow marks 4 weeks since surgery. I can hardly believe it except for the fact that physical therapy has just kicked up a notch. Yikes!! Did I really wish for this at some point? Seriously??? Want to feel old and out of shape -- spend 2 hours working on core and glute exercises . . 20 minutes on a pilates reformer machine. I am pretty sure at this point that Joseph Pilates invented these machines as torture devices and when people didn't die; only got in better shape, marketed them as exercise equipment. Wow! I am thinking that Mitchell may have to hoist me out of bed in the morning as I will be unable to move. And, did I mention, we did core work in the pool yesterday?

I have no clothes that fit anymore. I have dropped an entire clothing size while out here in the last month. I had to go buy a pair of shorts today just to have something other than sweats to wear. I am starting to have real muscles again. It's pretty cool!! I am firmly of the belief at this point that what doesn't kill me will only make me stronger. I keep eating more and more and thinking that I am going to gain weight . . NOT! Don't get me wrong -- I still have a long way to go for complete recovery and I still have those "spots" that I look away when I see myself in a full length mirror but it's getting better.

I am using Vitamin E oil on my scars and they are starting to calm down a bit. I no longer fear something alien inside me or a spare surgery tool left under the skin.

And, most importantly, I LOVE COLORADO! The flowers are blooming, the grass is getting green and the trees are spouting leaves. It is magnificently beautiful. Every day when I drive to Vail I see people kayaking, biking, running and walking their dog. People at Howard Head have adopted me as part of their big family. I will miss them so much when I come home. I think I will also feel a little insecure without their guidance and oversight. And, as much as I hate to admit it, I will miss their pushing me hard to build muscle and get back in shape. I need someone to kick me in the butt periodically . . . no volunteers please.

4 weeks down and 2 to go. I didn't think it would come this fast but I am definitely having more good days than bad now and my progress is speeding up. Thank you Dr. Philippon and Lindsay and Laurie . . . you guys rock!!

Progress!!

2009-05-18T22:07:00.002-06:00

I can finally say, with confidence, that I am starting to make good progress. Now, please don't think that I am about to run a marathon or take off on a mountain bike trail cuz I'm not even close to thinking about that. When I say progress, what I mean is that I can walk across the parking lot and into the grocery store without sort of dragging my left leg behind me like Igor. I still have a very, very slight limp but it is improving day by day. I am encouraged!! I am making more progress in PT each day and my range of motion is improving. Whew!! In case you in Indiana wondered what you heard . . .that's a big sigh of relief!! There is a rowing machine in the PT facility. Every day I ask if I can try it and get a "NO!". I feel like I could benefit from some time on it but completely trust Lindsay when she says that won't come until week 7 to 9. Dang!!! There is a young (turned 20 today) hockey player in pt with me who hasn't listened to instructions. At week 3, he is back on crutches and not doing well at all. I would be scared to death if I were him but he seems too cocky to understand that this is serious stuff. I guess my rowing can wait until week 7 to 9.

My scars are taking some of my focus now. They are big, ugly, swollen, red lumps. I have been told to massage them each day to break down the tissue so they go away. Gladly . . except it really feels creepy under my fingers. They look like something out of a sci fi movie -- I keep thinking that some alien is going to pop out and run around the room.

It has been beautiful here for the past several days. Temps in the upper 70's, blue sky, green but snow topped mountains. Picture perfect!! Too bad I spend so much time indoors. . . .oh well . . . I come home every day and sit out on the deck for an hour or so and just enjoy the scenery and solitude. Quite lovely. Mitch has been running in the very thin mountain air here and seems to be getting into great shape quickly. I think time in the mountains has done both of us a lot of good. For those of you who are wondering, I am shaving my own legs and polishing my own toenails as I could never convince him to do it. :-)

Two weeks from today, I see Dr. Philippon for my almost 6 weeks post op visit. It really doesn't seem possible. I am holding my breath for a good report so I can head home and get on with the remainder of my rehab and enjoying my house for the summer. For all of you in Indy -- we have some celebrating to do this summer!!! This coming Thursday will be 4 weeks post op . . wow!!! My hip socket is as smooth as glass, the muscles are starting to cooperate and I am feeling great! I am hoping that the days continue to improve from here and that I make small but significant improvements every day.

BIG SMILE!!

Day 23

2009-05-16T17:26:00.004-06:00

This is me at Day 23 still trying to make my muscles get their act together. When Lindsay gets one in line, another one stands up to complain. Today was no exception. Thank goodness for Extra Strength Tylenol! But, I am slightly better and my walk is improved . . .it's not perfect, still a slight limp but I can feel that it's better. Still working on the lazy left glute (stubborn) and adductor muscles. I noticed today that I didn't lose nearly as much muscle tone in my legs this time as I did last. Amazing and encouraging at the same time. I think that is definitely one of the things that is accelerating my recovery. Today after physical therapy we walked and shopped through Lionshead and then came back home to sit on the deck, gaze at the mountains and soak up some intense sun. Ahhhhh . . . very relaxing and very beneficial for my state of mind.

Tonite we are heading out for dinner with Lindsay at Terra Bistro. Again, an upscale Vail restaurant that currently has all entrees 50% off for the locals who remain after all the skiers leave and before the hikers and bikers arrive. Looking forward to an excellent meal and a nice bottle of wine. I am thinking if I buy dinner for Lindsay she might go a little easy on me tomorrow. HA!!!!

Almost all of the hip patients that had surgery at the same time as me are gone. There are a couple of local people who remain and I am starting to feel like one of them. No worries though . .. I am anxious to be back in Indy with my friends and family.

Oh yeah . . . this is Mitch, my nephew who thinks he has the best life a 25 year old could have right now.

Lazy glute

2009-05-15T20:54:00.002-06:00

I am somewhat pleased to report that I am having some success getting my lazy left glute to work. It's still weak and very, very shaky but Lindsay, Lauri and I are forcing it to get off its lazy butt (pun intended) and WORK!! So, the end result and bottom line, my walk is improving. . . it's not perfect . . I still have a slight limp but it's improving and that's all I am asking for at this point. I am back working with Lindsay for the weekend and she is putting me to work on the pilates machines. Yikes!! A good workout but I think I will need more extra strength Tylenol before the weekend is over.

Spring is finally coming to the mountains and it is ever more beautiful here every day. Flowers are blooming, trees are sprouting leaves and the elk migration is in full swing. The sun has been out this week and temperatures have been in the upper 60's to low 70's and it has done a lot to improve my mood. My orders for the afternoon were to walk so we walked around Vail Village today, had a late lunch outside on the patio of La Bottega and did a little shopping. My hip was tight but definitely endured . . even with a slight limp. Yippee!!

I am past the halfway point and now, of course, starting to panic about how short of time that I have left and how much there is left to do. I am hoping for a snowball effect of strength and mobility. Why do I always have to worry about something???

Thanks to everyone who has called, emailed or texted. You keep me positive and moving ahead!!

Day 20

2009-05-13T18:51:00.002-06:00

It will be 3 weeks tomorrow and I am pleased to report that I have made some major breakthroughs the past 2 days. Today I am walking almost normally . . without having to consciously think about which muscles to fire to make me walk and without feeling like my hip isn't going to hold me or is going to lock in place. My back is a little tender but it's doing ok too. Today I am encouraged about the end result of 6 weeks of physical therapy out here.

Tomorrow I get my stitches out. I am thrilled . . they are starting to pull and get uncomfortable so it's definitely time to come out. So, my schedule tomorrow is pt from 7:30 to 9:30; Dr. P's office at 10:00 and then pool therapy from 11:30 to 12:30. I am skipping afternoon pt because I think 4 hours tomorrow will be enough. I was too tired on Tuesday from everything and I think it set me back slightly so I am experimenting to see if this works.

Today was day after surgery day too. Dr. P did 1 hip surgery yesterday and she was at pt this morning when I arrived . . .sitting in a chair next to the exercise bike throwing up in a trash can. She was about the color of wallpaper paste and miserable. Aside from the throwing up (which always makes me want to throw up too) it is hard to watch people come out of surgery still. I can so relate to how they feel. I think I heard today that he is doing 5 hips on Thursday so Friday should be an absolute zoo in there. Mental note to self -- take i-pod!!

So tomorrow I reach the half way point of my journey out here. In some ways it feels like I have been gone forever and in other ways it seems I just got here and started work. I feel like I have lots more to do so my focus is to get as much back as I possibly can before I start the journey home. Here's to day 21!!

6 hours of physical therapy

2009-05-12T20:45:00.002-06:00

Will wear a girl out!! I started with 20 minutes on the bike, Lauri had me do many different stretches, isometric exercises and then worked on range of motion with my hip. It was immediately off to the pool for an hour of aqua jogging, laps with a kick board and then walking against the current in the lazy river. Then time to run to the grocery store for a quick bite to eat and immediately back to physical therapy for 20 more minutes on the bike, some new glute strengthening exercises and lots more stretching and range of motion for my hip. I started at 9:30 this morning and got home at 4:30 this afternoon and other than the driving or running to the grocery store for lunch, I was doing something. Let's just say that I had to take a nap when I got back here today. That could also have something to do with the fact that I still can't sleep through the night. My hip has been so tender that I wake up every time I move. I hope it's just nervousness about the hip which will ease with time and I will finally sleep more than 4 hours. This is getting really old!!

The good news -- I am walking much better now. Sitting will cause my hip to stiffen. . . a lot so I am best up walking around doing something. I feel more shopping coming on tomorrow between physical therapy appointments. No pool tomorrow so I will only have about 4 hours of things. Back to the pool on Thursday.

More good news -- the "boys" didn't challenge me in the pool today. Apparently all the weight lifting and muscle building I did with my legs pre-surgery is paying off. I have strong legs. Maybe it's my big feet that propel me along so quickly. Who knows? I basically think it's just something they have to give me a hard time about. Nick who is a week out of surgery and was at the pool today has the biggest bruise I think I have ever seen in my life. Ok I got the whole ankle thing but at least I didn't get a bruise that covers my entire upper thigh from front to back. Yikes!!

19 days to maximize my physical therapy and get back to Indy. :-)

They won't all be good days.

2009-05-11T19:15:00.003-06:00

So yesterday I had a bad day . . . a really bad day. It's the whole "make the right muscles work and the other muscles stop" thing. So, my body's reaction to trying to make that happen was to lock up. Progress came to a complete halt and I had to go back to walking with a cane. In fact, I had to take a muscle relaxer and vicodin last night just to get everything to relax and quit throbbing long enough to go to sleep. It was not a good day! My ankle was throbbing, I was frustrated and my body rebelled. It was not pretty.

Today, however, I had a good day. The muscle relaxer did it's work and I awoke feeling a little more limber. Lindsay stretched and stretched and got me to walk again by this afternoon. It took great effort on both of our parts but we made it work. In fact, I had about an hour between a conference call and my last physical therapy appointment so I went to Lionshead and went shopping. I was under strict orders from Lindsay not to sit . . I have to walk every 20 minutes to keep my muscles from getting lazy or locked in place. The great thing about Vail in early May -- sales and absolutely no crowd!! I found a great bargain on a pair of capri pants at the Patagonia store. I am not sure that I have mentioned this but I have lost weight since I got out here. Surgery, drugs and working out 4 hours a day have taken a toll on my appetite so I would guess I have dropped somewhere between 5 and 10pounds. I am not complaining . . I bought a whole size smaller than I wore when I came out here. Seems I may have some shopping to do when I get home.

So, today I am encouraged again. I have two physical therapy appointments tomorrow as well as pool therapy. I will spend about 6 hours tomorrow working my hip. I am hoping that walking will come easier after all of this. The boys who will be going to the pool with me tomorrow were already trash talking today. I plan to kick both of their butts tomorrow. ;-)

She Walks!!!

2009-05-10T08:25:00.002-06:00

Today is officially day 17 which means that I give up the hip brace and tying my feet together at night when I sleep. If it weren't Sunday, I would go buy a bottle of champagne and celebrate. I would mostly be celebrating the promise of a full night's sleep which, of course, I have not had in 17 days. I sleep about 3 hours at a time . .. 5 if heavily drugged. It's not fun. I am a BIG fan of sleep and typically require at least 8 hours a night to function properly. Let's just say that I can feel the effects of 17 days of bad sleep. My brain isn't working at it's full potential and I am constantly tired. Hopefully a new trend is about to begin!

Lindsay has also made me officially give up the crutches and the cane and begin to walk more and more. My hip is stiff and lots of muscles are complaining LOUDLY!! Since my hips have been bad all of my life, the proper muscles don't support them. So, I have some muscles that are absolutely locked in place that shouldn't be and other muscles that should be supporting that have been simply going along for the ride all these years. Re-training both sets of these muscles will take a little time and pain . .. mostly pain I am thinking at this point. Whew!! I am beginning to see what she is trying to accomplish because when everything is firing as it's supposed to be, my walk is fabulous and I feel great. When I first get up in the morning and am completely stiff, I walk like my 82 year old mother . . ok, maybe not even that good. It's work, it's hard work but it's definitely just starting to get results. Lindsay also tested my balance yesterday by making me stand on my operated leg and lift my right knee up parallel to the floor and stand for 2 minutes. Ok, take a break from reading this and go ahead and try that on your leg that hasn't had surgery 17 days ago. . . . it's hard!!! But, the good news is . . . I did it . . she continued to make it harder and I did it every single time. I have good balance!! At least one thing I don't have to work on. . .YIPPEEE!!! She also started me on some pilates machines yesterday. It felt great.

Staying here for 6 weeks of rehab was absolutely without a doubt the right thing to do. There is no way that I would be working on balance and pilates machines if I had come back to Indy. Lindsay has promised that she will get me out on a road bike (flats only) before I leave here on June 2. Most people who leave and get pt elsewhere wouldn't get that chance until about 3 months. I watch them rehab pro athletes though and they know exactly when to push and how hard to push. While I am certainly no pro athlete, I get the benefit of the therapist who knows how hard to push and I get pushed along at a slower rate. My stomach and back are already more muscled than they have been in years. Next will come the muscles in my legs. I will get to enjoy a lot of my summer still and will have 2 good hips to do it with for the very first time in my life. Knowing what I know now, I wish I would have scheduled this surgery about a year after he did my right hip. :-( But, it's done now and hopefully I still have many years to enjoy them both.

Many of the patients who had surgery at the same time as me are leaving this weekend. It's kind of sad but then again I get to be the most advanced patient setting a good example for the patients who are further behind me. There is a college hockey player who is a week behind me who is pushing way too hard. . .already trying to walk and shouldn't. I suspect he is going to pay the price sometime next week. Yikes!! Maybe I'll still be able to kick his butt in the swimming pool on Tuesday. :-)

I have 22 more days to stay here, maximize pt and get myself back in shape. I am definitely homesick and ready to be back in my bed and my house. Don't get me wrong, I am infinitely thankful for Bill and his generous offer to let me stay at his house but it's not home. It's a fabulous house, incredible view and perfect location but it's not home.

So, here's to day 17, walking again and building a stronger core and legs.

Learning to walk again

2009-05-08T21:55:00.002-06:00

Isn't all that easy. Yikes!! I tried to be off of crutches all day today but my hip kept feeling really tight and a little wobbly. Lauri is not to be deterred, however, and made me do several balance on my left leg only exercises today. Don't get me wrong. . . it's definitely helping me get my strength and balance back but it is HARD!! We are also working on my glutes . . and yes, they do need help. Making muscles work and work differently than they did 15 days ago can certainly be challenging.

Two more days of wearing my brace and tying my feet together at night. I think I am going to tie my knees tonite with a theraband because I don't think my feet can take much more. It should have the same effect of not letting my hip roll out so I am going to give it a try tonite. Ugh!! I will be so glad when this part is over too. I took my last anti-inflammatory today so I am officially off all surgery meds now. Hoping that I continue to see progress and I am sure I will.

Lindsay will be back this weekend and I will see her Sat, Sun and Mon. She always seems to push a little harder and make me do more than I think I can. We start gentle external rotations this weekend (this has been absolutely forbidden . .. thus the hip brace and tying my feet together) so this should be a little scary.

Had a fabulous dinner tonite at Montauk. It is off season in Vail so the restaurants that are still open have fabulous deals. Montauk is a seafood restaurant that offers 51% off of your meal. Yummy!! I had some nutritious salmon tonite. I saw 2 other hip patients in there with me. We, of course, all had to come say hello to each other and offer words of encouragement. It really is like one big family here.

I had a sad moment today thinking about how much longer I have to be here. I am slightly homesick and ready to be home. I had to suck it up and focus on the real goal again. I suspect that more of those may come as the time winds down but we'll see. It's supposed to rain this weekend and I think that always affects my moods a bit. I am ready for warm weather and the Indy 500. Not to be this year. :-( Oh well . . . Lindsay this weekend and I am sure I will be walking better by Sunday!!

Lindsay and Laurie tease me because I push so hard and want to do so much more. Today I was bugging them again about strength training and getting on a bike outside. I have been politely told that is not until week 6. :-( I should know better than to push them because, in return, they push me back. I may indeed have buns of steel when I leave this place. :-)

And, Noell, I was thrilled to talk with you today! I will definitely call you tomorrow and answer any questions you might have. My bottom line to you -- I have my life back in a way that I haven't had before and it is the best thing that could have ever happened to me!! So hang in there and listen to Dr. Philippon. He is the BEST!!!

Two weeks today!!!

2009-05-07T21:19:00.002-06:00

Today I am officially two weeks after surgery. It seems like forever ago and only yesterday at the same time. Today was an incredible day for me . . . first off, I drove myself to physical therapy for the first time this morning. Instructions say you can drive 4 days after surgery but I had not done it until today. Let me say, there is an incredible sense of freedom and independence that comes with driving again. I was thrilled, elated and felt better than I have in two weeks just driving again. Ok, then I got to pt at 7:30 this morning, 30 minutes on the bike and then Lauri took me off of crutches completely. I was a little unsure at first but with her expert coaching, I took my first completely independent steps and then repeated them over and over again. I probably walked 10 laps around physical therapy before I tired and started my pt work with her. It was amazing!!! I am weak and there is lots of work to be done to get myself back in walking shape but I did it!!!! I was ecstatic. I also started pool physical therapy today. So, pool therapy consists of putting on a flotation belt, getting in to the deep end of the pool and jogging laps for about 20 minutes. Lots of work but felt great. I was there today with Nik who is a pro hockey player and one other guy - don't know his name - he plays college hockey. I am pleased and proud to report that I kicked total butt at pool physical therapy today. After the jogging, we put on fins and did kicks on our stomach and our backs down the full length of the pool and back. Mark, the guy who runs pool pt, said I have the strongest kick he has ever seen at pt. I guess all of the working out that I did pre-op has paid off big time!! The pool felt great today and I think it went a long way toward strengthening my hips and legs as well as stretching them out. I felt like a new person when I got out today. Home for a nap this afternoon and then back to pt at 4:30. More great news -- I took the continuous passive motion machine, foot pumps and game ready ice machine back today. The only thing I still have to do tonite is bind my ankles together while I sleep. I am still wearing the hip brace and both of these last until Sunday when I will be completely and totally free. . . at last!!! Hallelujah!!! I really feel like I turned a corner today and am feeling so much better about everything. I was in pt tonite with a woman who had hip surgery on Tuesday. I assured her that she would feel much better starting day 5 and then would turn a huge corner on day 7. She looked very hopeful and like she really didn't believe me. :-) I know I have said this before but seeing the new surgery patients makes me realize just how far i have come. I am starting to do some new exercises in pt and am starting to get some strength back . . a tiny bit but it's better than nothing. They have to teach me how to walk again . . this time without a limp or hip problems . . and then I will be kicking butt again in pt. A great day!!!

For anyone who is reading my blog that has upcoming surgery with Dr. Philippon . . . don't be nervous, don't be scared and don't back out. There are some rough days up front after surgery but the end result is amazing!!! My hip has never felt better and I am only 14 days out of surgery. He is an incredible surgeon and you can certainly trust him 100%. This is my second hip and I wouldn't trade this for any amount of money. I already feel like a different person and I still have 3 months of pt to go!!

I spent a lot of time with Lauri today talking about the things that I plan to do once my hip is 100%. The weather is getting nice her and I am dying to get out on a real bike. It's still too early but they are going to try to get me out for real before I leave. I am thrilled!! Lindsay and Lauri have also convinced me to come back out next winter to learn to ski. I can't wait!! I am finally through all of the ugly surgery stuff so now I can seem to think about is my future and all of the things that I haven't been able to do that I will now to be able to do. To say I am excited wouldn't even be close to describing how I feel.

Thank you Dr. Philippon and the incredible staff at Howard Head Sports Medicine. Watch out world!!

What happened to nice Lauri???

2009-05-05T21:16:00.002-06:00

Today Lauri was back at work and Lindsay is off so I am seeing Lauri until Saturday. Ok, so last week Lauri was really very gentle and didn't push my limits. Something has happened to Lauri . . . she pushed me harder today than Lindsay did over the weekend and I swear she's much stronger than she was last week. Yikes!! But seriously, I am making tremendous progress thanks to both Lindsay and Lauri and I feel stronger and more confident each day. Today Lauri instructed me to shift more of my weight to my left side as I walk with crutches. Scary at first because it feels like my leg isn't going to support me but by the end of the day, it was much better and I think I am ready for the next step tomorrow which is 75% of my weight to the left. Progressing toward giving up the crutches. I am psyched!! Also starting to do more isometric exercises to prepare the muscles to walk again. I start pool therapy on Thursday which will also help strengthen the muscles to help me walk.

A whole new batch of hip patients showed up in pt this afternoon sporting their post surgery nausea tubs. There was one woman who was having a particularly rough time who stopped to talk with me on her way by. I assured her that it only gets better from here although I didn't tell her that I had a really, really rough first week. . . maybe she won't. Again, it makes me realize how far and how fast I have come. . . largely due to the incredible staff at Howard Head sports medicine. I continue to be amazed and impressed.

Vail is a beautiful town. . . even in mud season. As soon as ski season ends, many of the local restaurants and retail businesses shut down for some time. . .most reopen mid-May. Some stay open and offer incredible deals for the locals . .. 50% off meals including alcohol. So tonite after pt, we went to a restaurant in Vail Village - Sweet Basil. A 3 course meal for $30 and it was a fabulous meal. The funniest thing happened though . . we had a table up front by the window. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up to realize that a red fox was trotting down the street carrying his dinner in his mouth. How many times in your life have you ever even seen a red fox let alone trotting down the street of a resort town? It was so incredibly cool! The waiter said that last season the owner looked up one evening to see a bear standing in between the double glass doors. Yikes!! I am glad it was a fox not a bear. I might have freaked.

Two more nights to sleep with all the equipment and my feet and knees tied together. I am really looking forward to giving all of that up too . . almost as much as getting off of crutches. I am sleeping about 5 hours at a time now which is much improved from the initial 2 hours at a time. I have a better attitude about everything now and am much more relaxed. It finally feels good to be working this hard.

I still have another hour in the continuous passive motion machine tonite and another 20 minutes of icing my hip in the game ready machine. More tomorrow as I continue to leave crutches behind!!

Day 11

2009-05-04T20:16:00.002-06:00

Great progress today. Lindsay is still working with me and had me put full weight on my left leg today . . . twice. It was scary. She said she thought I was going to have a heart attack . .. my eyes bulged out and I think I even screamed a little. But, the bottom line is that she wants me walking without crutches by this weekend so she is trying to get the appropriate muscles working to do so. The other thing we discovered today is that my hip problem has been going on for a long time so the muscles that support the hip are tight . . locked in place .. . and need lots of work to release. It's painful, it's hard work, and it's a little scary but we made really good progress today figuring out what's holding me back and getting to work on them. For anyone who might be technical -- it's my hip flexor, psoas and it band. Lots of stretching, massage and active resistance. I may not be able to keep up with the 20 somethings in pt but I am making progress.

Tomorrow I am back with Lauri. What will be interesting for me to see is how hard Lauri pushes now that Lindsay has figured out what the problem is. Last week, Lauri made some progress but didn't seem to push as hard as Lindsay. I suspect that is by design but that's something that I think I will know for sure this week.

I found out today that I will need to have a physical therapist lined up when I get back to Indy as I will have to be in pt for another 2 months after I get home. The good news is that there is someone here at Howard Head who will call potential therapists in Indy and interview them. They will then check in with them weekly to make sure they are following the protocols. I have to say, this team here is phenomenal!! I feel so lucky to be able to stay here and do my pt for 6 weeks instead of trying to coordinate it from Indy. I know that I will be so much further ahead by doing this and I feel really, really lucky! Most hip patients only stay for 2 weeks and then head home. The advantage to staying here is that these therapists know when to push and when not to. I can't believe the difference between this time and last time (6 years ago). I am doing things at 11 days that I didn't do until 4 or 5 weeks out last time. It's great but makes me nervous at the same time.

I had a really rough first 5 days but definitely turned a corner at about day 7. It continues to improve from there and now I really feel like I will have my life back on my terms when I am finished with this. Backpacking, hiking, canyoneering, kayaking, learning to snow ski or snowboard .. .the possibilities are limitless!! Woohooo!!!! Maybe turning 50 won't be so bad after all. :-)

Lindsay is back

2009-05-02T21:28:00.002-06:00

And my hip feels it. Apparently I have a very tight hip flexor and Lindsay decided that she wanted to try to fix it all in one day. Yikes!!! I am very sore tonite but made tremendous strides at physical therapy today. Lindsay pushes hard and I understand now why it is so good to stay here for rehab. Yesterday I met Debbie, a woman who had surgery exactly 1 week before me. As of today, she is completely off of crutches and Lindsay is teaching her to walk properly. She says she feels great and feels she is making good progress. I am greatly encouraged after today even though my hip is very tender tonite. I have 5 more nights to sleep with all the machinery. Lindsay has instructed me to bring it all in next Thursday morning and I will be done with it. Since I can only sleep about 2 hours at a time with it all on, I am looking forward to turning it in. The only thing that I will continue to use is the Game Ready ice system, my hip brace until Sunday and crutches until I can be confident and strong enough to walk without them.

Speaking of strong, I am sad to report that those lovely muscles that I worked so hard to build pre-surgery are pretty much gone. Even with all the isometric exercises that I do 3 times a day, they are slowly slipping away. :-(

Going to physical therapy is like being part of a big family. All of the hip patients hang together, compare notes, provide encouragement and joke around. I actually look forward to being there. There are a couple of "famous" people there but you would never know it by just talking with them.

And, lastly tonite, a big THANK YOU for my caregivers. I have been an absolute nightmare to take care of . . I know it and I appreciate all you have done for me. I couldn't have done it without you.

Day 8

2009-05-01T13:45:00.003-06:00

I talked with a fellow hip patient who told me that he felt like he turned a corner on rehab about day 8. I can officially concur with his assessment. I can lay flat on the table without feeling a pull in my hip and my range of motion is much improving. I have progressed to much more complicated range of motion exercises like standing hip rotations (internal only .. external is still forbidden as it would tear the anchors in my hip out .. . very bad!). Dr. Philippon did 4 hip surgeries yesterday so a whole new crew showed up in pt today . . . one in particular looking very worse for the wear. She could barely get on the exercise bike and looked as if she would hurl at any moment. Watching the first day after surgery patients made me realize just how far I have actually come. Everything is getting easier . . not that it's easy yet but it's not a struggle just to get out of bed. Whew! A big sigh and a moment of reflection about where I have come over the last week. I am pretty proud of my accomplishments and am eagerly looking forward to the next week when I can get rid of the continuous passive motion machine, foot pumps and anti-rotational boots. I will once again be able to sleep on either side I want and hopefully will be able to sleep more than 4 hours at a time. I will have to wear the hip brace for another 3 days past that but it's the least of my worries. I also start pool therapy next week so that will go a long way in building muscle as I start to wean off of crutches. I am assigned to two therapists -- Lauri and Lindsay. I see Lauri Tues thru Fri and then Lindsay Sat thru Monday. They actually have very different styles and techniques. Lauri is much more laid back and gentle. Lindsay will push to my absolute limit and call me names if I try to whine. :-) I discovered today that I have a humongous bruise down the back side of my left thigh. I thought my bruising was pretty minimal but I guess I wasn't looking in the right place. Incisions look really good and I get my stitches out on May 14. I can't believe it's May 1 already. The time seems to fly by because I am so busy with all of the rehab but that's a good thing. If I wasn't so busy, I would be really, really homesick. I hear that all of my flowers are blooming that I planted last year and won't get to see them until next spring.

I am officially off all pain meds now -- yippeeee!!! They typically plan for 3 weeks of pain meds so I am pleased with that. To celebrate I am having a New Belgium Mighty Arrow Pale Ale tonite. My sister is making black bean nachos and I am pretty content. I know that I may still have some bad days sprinkled in here and there but for today, all is well.

My ankle is feeling slightly better. It's certainly not 100% - it's probably 60% but I am encouraged by the slow return of feeling to the actual foot. I have surveyed the other hip patients and no one else had this issue. I guess I drew the lucky number. :-) Everything went so smoothly in pulling this whole surgery off that I guess one thing going wrong isn't the end of the world.

Thanks to everyone who has sent me encouraging comments, emails, text messages, etc. during this last week. I appreciate it more than I can tell you!!!

1 week down

2009-04-30T14:02:00.002-06:00

Today marks my official 1 week past surgery. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to be on the countdown to get rid of all of the machinery as well as the crutches. I tried to complain to my physical therapist today about my inability to sleep more than 3 hours. She smiled and said, "that's good for someone who has just had hip surgery". She gave me absolutely no sympathy. I have tried every thing you can possibly imagine to sleep -- drugs, positions, music, reading boring stuff -- all to no avail. I wake up after 3 hours - wide awake - no matter what. I am constantly tired.

The good news -- the hip pain that I had pre-surgery is completely gone. Vanished. What I have now is the surgical pain -- soft tissue swelling, tight muscles and tendons that have been moved around. That will go away with time. For those who know me well, you know that patience is not something that I really have so of course, I want all of that to be gone today. My therapists laugh. I am pushing myself really hard and so far I am about a day ahead of schedule. In fact, I did new exercises this morning that usually aren't done until sometime during the 2nd week. I realize they could just be telling me all of this to shut me up. :-)

I spend about 11 hours a day doing some sort of rehab for my hip . . continuous passive motion machine, pt, exercises at home, etc. It's become my full time job. I am sorry if you have called and I haven't called you back. I have been coming off the pain meds and it's not been easy. I had a really tough day yesterday. Today is better and I am optimistic that things will improve with each passing day.

Time to go lie on my stomach before I head back to pt this afternoon.

When Does This Get Easier?

2009-04-29T09:03:00.002-06:00

Day 6 after surgery and here's what i want to know -- when does the miracle occur? You know the one where I sleep all night, wake up and realize the pain is gone and the swelling is gone and I look forward to doing new things in physical therapy? Let me assure you - it's not happened yet. In fact, if I slept 2 hours last night I would be surprised. I simply cannot sleep with the foam boots on . . it makes me panic and I spend 1/2 the night in a complete and total meltdown. I don't know what it is but i still have one more week to do this and I am not sure how I am going to make it. I can sleep like a baby in the continuous passive motion machine but i am not supposed to be in it more than 6 hours a day. I may have to make that 6 hours at night. At least then I would get 6 hours of sleep instead of none.

My ankle continues to concern me. We changed the bandages today and that was quite disheartening. I have 3 huge blisters across the top of my ankle and still little to no feeling in the ankle and top of my foot. At least the swelling is down a bit and it's not purple anymore. :-) Maybe that is progress.

I had an x-ray done yesterday at Dr. Philippon's office. They showed me the difference in the joint pre and post surgery. When I can tell on an x-ray that they cut away a large amount of bone, it's something. Normally x-rays tell me absolutely nothing. They were very pleased with the outcome and expect a full recovery for me with no additional problems. Now THAT'S good news!!

I continue to be happy about my decision to stay here for 6 weeks for physical therapy. Dr. Philippon visits PT on a regular basis and checks on his patients. The physical therapists also report in to Dr. P on a regular basis so they can change up a protocol depending on your progress. I feel very lucky to be able to do that. Most everyone else is only staying the 2 weeks and then going home. The cast of characters in pt constantly changes. It's interesting to talk to people. Many, many athletes in there. Lots of skiers with blown knees but an equal amount of hip patients. Everyone goes thru the same therapy no matter how famous they are. :-)

So, the time for lying on my stomach and icing my hip is almost done which means it's time to shower, get dressed and off for another day of therapy. I am really hoping for a break through sometime soon!

Physical Therapy or Torture?

2009-04-28T08:00:00.002-06:00

So, here's a typical day for me:

Wake at 4 am and get into the continuous passive motion machine. Sleep (sort of) for 2 hours with my feet in foot pumps that help prevent me from getting a blood clot and with my left leg slowly moving back and forth from 15 degrees to 90 degrees. By Friday, my leg has to move from 0 degrees to 125 degrees . . . right!!! Wake back up at 6, get up and have some breakfast, take a plethora of meds and then back to the foot pumps and a game ready ice machine while lying on my stomach (which is where I am right now) for 2 hours. Take a shower (a major undertaking when you cannot stand up on both legs), drive 1/2 hour to physical therapy by 11 am. Exercise bike for 20 minutes then either Lindsey or Laurie arrives with that "look" that says we're going to move this hip no matter how loudly you scream. For the next 40 minutes, they physically move my hip around in the socket and stretch the incredibly tight muscles that are trying to prevent them from moving my hip around in the socket. I guess I make lots of faces because they tell me they know when they are getting somewhere when my eyes are so wide and bulged out that they think they might actually pop out. Then that is followed by about 30 minutes of isometric exercises and then 40 minutes of lying on my stomach and icing the hip. Repeat entire procedure at 4:00 pm. There really isn't enough time to drive back to the house so we tend to hang out at the hospital for a couple of hours and then back to PT. Race home after PT, have something to eat, hit the continuous passive motion machine for another 2 to 3 hours, more icing and lying on my stomach while trying to catch some sleep. Start the 4 am process all over again. Whew!! No wonder I am tired and cranky! And, today, I am back to Dr. Philippon's office to have an x-ray on top of all of that.

I am trying to back down the pain meds a bit although I am not sure that is going to be successful . . .especially through physical therapy. The swelling in my leg is still pretty disgusting. Hopefully that starts to go away soon too.

There are people in PT with me that gets lots of special attention so I think they must be pro athletes of some kind, I just don't recognize them. We all have some fun with the therapists so it's a pretty good experience. I will just be happy when it's less painful!! Apparently I have very tight hip flexors and my left quad is locked in place trying to protect my hip. They seem to be no match for Lindsey and Laurie though. I wish they would surrender peacefully instead of putting up such a fight. I know . . more time lying on my stomach. yikes!!! I am pretty sure at some point, my leg is going to completely come off.

ok, 40 more minutes of lying on my stomach this morning and that will make almost 2 hours. We'll see what difference it makes today.

Physical Therapy

2009-04-26T14:29:00.002-06:00

Since I had my right hip done 6 years ago things have changed on the physical therapy front drastically. I have had 5 pt appointments since surgery and Lindsey is already moving the hip around in the socket. Today I started strengthening exercises to begin to rebuild all the muscle that I am already losing. Small steps but making significant differences already. The other thing that's new is the amount of time that i need to spend lying on my stomach. It stretches the hip flexors and allows my leg to lie completely flat. It's painful . . not hugely . . but my hip flexors in particular are very tight so I get scolded by Lindsey every time I see her to spend more time lying on my stomach. So, my day consists of 4 to 6 hours in the continuous passive motion machine, at least 2 hours lying on my stomach (Lindsey would like me to do more and I have promised to do so), about 1 1/2 hours actually in physical therapy, 1/2 hour driving each way and about 2 more hours a day icing my hip. The day flies by just by trying to fit everything in that I need to get done. As of today, I also have some isometric exercises to add to all of this outside of PT. And, of course, at some point in there the drug cocktail that I am taking to keep the pain down just knocks me out for awhile.

Here's another thing about me . . . I am even competitive at rehab. :-) Dr. P did 4 surgeries on my day. One was a girl who had 3 other hip surgeries . . all unsuccessful done by other dr's and found Dr. P to fix the damage that the others had done. One was a woman from Colorado Springs in her mid-40's and the last was a guy from Denver in his early to mid-40's. So, of course, each time we all show up in PT, I try to do more than they do. How crazy is that? There are lots of people who have come here from out of town for knee or hip surgery and we all tend to be in pt about the same time. We all joke around and tell stories so it's kind of like having a family away from home. There is a soccer player here from Kuwait who is having both of his knees done. There is a dark side to physical therapy though -- and that would be the girl just out of surgery who threw up all over the place today. Gruesome. Glad it wasn't me.

Today is the first day that I have really eaten much too. No appetite so absolutely nothing sounded good. I had a salad in the cafeteria here after PT and am currently hanging out for another hour before my next PT appointment. Then 1/2 hour drive home, 4 hours in the continuous passive motion machine, at least 2 hours lying on my stomach and then figuring out how to sleep on my side tonite.

I did manage to take a shower this morning to scrub off all the yellow surgical goo and changed my bandages. They looked swollen and puffy but relatively clean so I get to switch to bandaids. It looks like i may have to have some touch up work on my tattoo too. Oh well . . .

Right now I am sitting in a surgical waiting room, watching the IRL race in Kansas City with a magnificent view of the mountains out the window. It snowed here last night so everything is a bit more magical. I am glad the really hard part is over and I have such a phenomenal rehab team.

:-) < - - - - - that's me . ..smiling. It could be the Percocet/Robaxin cocktail or it could be that I am truly happy.

Thank goodness for drugs!!

2009-04-26T09:03:00.003-06:00

Wow . . so many things have happened since I last posted (the morning before surgery.

Let's start with surgery -- arrived at the hospital at 7:30 and they took me immediately to pre-op prep. No idle waiting time at all. I had a great nurse, Rusty, who did all my vitals and then put my IV in. My anesthesiologist came in around 8:30 - Dr. Billig and did a spinal nerve block for my hip. Also injected something into my iv to help me relax. . . amen!! They wheeled me off to the operating room around 9:00 am and I remember that they were strapping me down and that's it . .light's out. The next thing I remember, I was waking up in recovery and they were trying to get pain and nausea under control. As soon as we accomplished that, I was carted directly to my room. The nerve block was still working to the pain was manageable with some diladid injected into my iv every few hours. Great nursing staff at Vail Valley Medical center!! I was up on an excercise bike within an hour of arriving in my room and was on it for 20 minutes even though I couldn't walk on crutches yet due to no feeling in my hip. One of the purposes of the excercise bike is to get excess fluid out of the hip joint. I won't go into the gory details but let's just say it worked effectively. In fact, it took 2 bandage changes that night.

Friday morning, an occupational therapist came and helped me get dressed and showed me a few things about walking on crutches and let me brush my teeth!! Soon after, I was put in a wheelchair and taken downstairs to physical therapy where I met Meghan and Lindsey (who I have spent a lot of time with this weekend). Meghan went over post-op instructions with me but it was about this time that the real pain begain to kick in. I started taking some serious drugs but it wasn't helping much. Finally got the pain under control and then Lindsey came in to move my hip around in the socket. Wow!!! This is totally different than my last surgery where I didn't move my hip at all for a long time. Therapy made me feel a little better and we came back to house where I did the continuous passive motion machine and the game ready ice machine for the entire time before I went back for more physical therapy. Friday was kind of a bad day. Lots of pain that was only somewhat relieved by medicine and it was very hard to sleep.

Saturday, all of Dr. Philippon's patients were to be in at 9:00 to meet with him for a post surgical check. I found out why the pain is so much worse for me this time --he had to shave down more of the bone than he expected or did last time. And, in some very rare cases, the 100 lbs of traction that they put on your ankle to pull your hip out of socket causes an issue with the ankle. That would be me. I will spare you the gory details but my ankle pain is significant too. I then did PT with Lindsey, got a bite of lunch and did more physical therapy with Lindsey. We arrived there yesterday morning at 9 and left at 5:30.

oops -- i just looked at the time and have to get ready for more physical therapy this morning so will write more later.

3 1/2 hours to go

2009-04-23T05:28:00.002-06:00

Since I will be spending tonite in the hospital, I won't be able to post until I get home sometime on Friday. I am strangely calm for someone who is about to have surgery. I hope that lasts once I actually get to the hospital. I suspect it won't . . .especially when the anesthesiologist walks in. If it's anything like last time, he will shoot something into my iv pretty quickly just to make me shut up. I tend to talk when I get nervous. :-)

I still have the altitude headache and am looking forward to gettting oxygen so hopefully that will take care of it.

Thank you everyone for all of the thoughts, prayers and well wishes. I will hopefully be posting tomorrow to let everyone know what happened during surgery and how the recovery is going post op 1 day.

April

All Systems Go

2009-04-22T17:39:00.003-06:00

Let me start by saying that if I had any doubts at all about this surgery, they were quickly dispelled when I met with Dr. Philippon and his team today. Wow!!! I am actually looking forward to surgery now with absolutely no dread.

In 14 hours I will be checking in at Vail Valley Medical for surgery. So, here's the details -- check-in at 7:30 am, surgery probably around 9:00 am and hopefully in recovery by early afternoon. Will spend tomorrow night in the hospital where I will start physical therapy at 8:40 Friday morning. As soon as I am cognizant, I will be on an excercise bike in the recovery room.

So, today, I met with a physical therapist who did a strength and flexibility evaluation. The weight lifting before surgery paid off and she commented about the strength in my legs. (big pat on the back). After that, I had a 30 minute MRI and then headed up to the Steadman Hawkins clinic for my appointment with Dr. Philippon. It was fun to walk down the "hall of fame" and see all of the signed jerseys from the famous sports figures who have been there. Let's just say it's a long hallway and it is full.

I first completed about a inch of paperwork and then Dr. King came in to see me. Dr. King is training under Dr. Philippon and did the initial evaluation today. He did a fantastic job explaining exactly what the problem is with my hip and how they intend to fix it tomorrow. The ball of my hip sits too deep in the socket and has torn the labrum (cartilage that surrounds the hip socket and keeps fluid inside). They plan to repair the labrum and shave down my hip socket to make the ball move more freely. He also did a thorough evaluation of both my already repaired right hip and the damaged left. It was amazing to see the difference in range of motion between the two. I also found out that I will not have matching scars. Dr. Philippon has changed the site for the portals. There is a slight chance that my labrum will be too badly damaged and they will have to harvest some of my IT band and fashion a new labrum but they won't know that until they get in there. Whatever it is, I am completely confident that they will fix me.

Then Dr. Philippon came in. He wanted to know how my right hip felt and if I had any issues with it over the years. Then he did his own examination. He was incredibly pleased with my right hip and said that it is performing perfectly. No issues there whatsoever. On my left, he explained that he is doing exactly the same thing as he did 6 years ago for the right as it is exactly the same issue I had with the right hip. He expects a full and complete recovery. And, the best news . . . . only 2 weeks on crutches. I just about hugged him. Last time it was 6 weeks. He also explained that they have changed many other things since the last time I had this done. You know that I have been living with the constant dread of waking up after surgery with immense pain. Well, now the first thing they do is a spinal nerve block that lasts somewhere between 24 and 48 hours so the pain after surgery is less. Yipeee!!! And, the meds taken after surgery have changed up somewhat too. Still Vicodin but I also have a muscle relaxer that may solve the root cause of the pain allowing me to stay off of the Vicodin or at least take a minimum amount.

I wrapped up my appointment with his surgical nurse, Penny who gave me all my prescriptions and detailed instructions about who I had to see before I left the hospital. She has also had a labrum repair done by Dr. Philippon and so we were discussing the difference pre and post surgery. I also found out that I am #2 on the surgery schedule tomorrow so he will be warming up on someone else. :-) She sent us on our way to lunch at a fabulous Italian restaurant just down the street and then I came back to complete everything at the hospital -- admissions, payment and a pregnancy test. Ok, really? A pregnancy test??? Lawyers run the world (sorry to all my lawyer friends but you know it's true).

After lunch, I did a little shoe shopping and walking around Vail village. My hip was absolutely killing me after all the twisting and turning during 3 earlier examinations so I cut the walking short and headed back to complete all of my pre-surgery assignments.

Here's what I walked away with today -- Dr. Philippon is confident but not arrogant. He has assembled one of the best teams that I have ever dealt with. He instilled confidence in me that I will be repaired and better than ever once I get through about 2 months of physical therapy.

So . . . here's a picture of me . .the last one you will ever see of me with hip pain. I bid farewell to a life limited by pain and embrace one with endless possibilities. That, my friends, is the big smile on my face!!!

My home away from home for 6 weeks

2009-04-21T17:57:00.002-06:00

For all of you in Indiana and other flat places, eat your heart out . .. here's my reward for having hip surgery . . . my home away from home is only gotten to by driving up a mountain adjacent to a national forest. The picture window looks out over the forest and the mountains but the best part is the deck . . . . I was sitting out there a few minutes ago drinking a very fine glass of wine and saw a fox hunting just a few yards away. Ok, I know I am about to have surgery but this certainly takes some of the "sucky" factor away.

We went to the grocery store today and got easy to fix food and are now about to go out for dinner in Edwards. It's a very cute little mountain town. We ventured out to Avon today and got groceries at Walmart and went to get some beer. For you beer lovers - I bought New Belgium Pale Ale. The clerk at Beaver Liquors recommended Odell 90 Schilling after he saw what I was buying. Guess I may have to try that also . . . eventually . . . well after vicodin and crutches. :-) Maybe my very nice sister will pick some up on her way up to see me next week if she makes it up the mountain.

It's amazing what the mountains can do for my state of mind. Today I am pretty relaxed and at peace with what is about to come. Tomorrow at 9:20, I get plugged into the Philippon process and all I can do from there is cooperate and let the expert do his thing. Deep breath, find my happy place which seems to be in Colorado and a big smile. Life is good!

Colorado!

2009-04-21T08:08:00.000-06:00

I always forget how much I love Colorado and equally hate driving across Kansas to get to Colorado. I think it took us 3 days to drive across Kansas yesterday. It was incredibly windy so you had to fight with the car every step of the way.

We did one fun thing before we left Kansas, however. I found a fun, very old, drive-in called Bobo's who claimed to have the best burgers and onion rings so, of course, we had to check it out. It's in Topeka, KS so it was a good stop for lunch after my meeting in Kansas City. Indeed, their burgers and onion rings are hard to beat. The funniest thing though was that there was a very odd man who appeared there, very nicely dressed with a hair-do that could rival Donald Trump. As he went inside and then came back outside to his car no less than 8 times, we noticed that he was obviously impaired. In fact, I think he was coming back and forth to his car while waiting on his food to have more of whatever was making it difficult to stay upright and walk in a straight line. Mildly amusing and trust me -- when driving across Kansas, you'll look for anything to amuse yourself!!

On our way to Vail today. An easy drive. We are just outside of Denver so it's probably less than 3 hours to Vail. Have to find the house, a grocery store and get everything ready. The big countdown to surgery has arrived. Tomorrow is my day of appointments with the physical therapists and Dr. Philippon. My heart starts to pound a bit as I even type that. I didn't sleep very well last night because I had dreams all night about surgery and the things that were going wrong. Yikes!! More Fat Tire ale tonite I think will be the solution for that. :-)

And, as soon as we started climbing in altitude, the headache arrived. I always struggle with adjusting to altitude and this time seems to be no exception. I am hoping that, with lots of water, it will magically disappear. I can't take aspirin because I am too close to surgery so I will have to tough it out. :-(

My hip is screaming from the long car ride and my lower back desperately needs Kathy so I think I can still convince myself that I need this surgery.

That being said . . . off to Vail!

The Road to Kansas City

2009-04-19T20:33:00.000-06:00

Ugh! I hate long car rides. I am good for about 2 hours and then I get very fidgety and find it hard to contain myself. Today was no exception. Add to that running into a sign in the middle of Missouri that read "Accident - I-70 CLOSED at 115 mile marker". I won't actually repeat here what I said and immediately started looking for an alternate route. A GPS is good for lots of things . . finding a way around a closed interstate is not one of them. Luckily, I pulled off to get gas and found a very helpful gas station attendant who sent us to Jefferson City and then on to Kansas City . . .not exactly a direct route but it worked. And, for some cheap entertainment along the way . . I found a sign outside a gas station/bait shop that read "Minners". It still makes me giggle. For those of you without relatives in southern Indiana -- what they really meant to write was "Minnows". :-) And, THAT my friends was the highlight of the trip.

Had some really great Kansas City Bar-b-Q for dinner - Arthur Bryant's. It's a hole in the wall but the pit cook has been doing it there for almost 50 years. He's experienced and it shows. Very tasty.

Tomorrow I have a meeting with a client and then driving across Kansas. Yikes!! Hopefully staying somewhere around Denver tomorrow night and then heading on to Vail on Tuesday.

I was hoping to take a picture of the "minners" sign today but somehow my camera battery is dead so I couldn't. I am charging it tonite in case I find another equally entertaining photo op tomorrow.

I came close to a couple of melt downs today -- one when I pulled out of my driveway and one when I said good bye to my parents -- but I managed to pull it together, take a deep breath and drive west. I actually feel good about things right now and am looking forward to seeing the mountains. Spring in the mountains . . .does it get any better than that?

Done

2009-04-18T20:41:00.000-06:00

I have answered the question on what to pack to be away from home for 7 weeks. Now, the question remains . . did I get everything that I needed? I guess I'll find out. It's 10:30 and I have been at this almost all day. Almost meaning that I took time out to run errands and have a little fun. You know what they say about all work and no play.

I was going to pack the car tonite but there are things that I will need to use in the morning so it seemed futile to pack some things but not others so I have decided to wait and do everything in the morning. I guess that shouldn't be surprising since I tend to put everything single thing off to the last possible moment. This will be no exception. No need to change now. This system seems to work so well for me. :-)

At this point, I am just ready to go get this done and over with. It occurred to me today that this is the last weekend that I will be walking around without crutches, braces and other assorted paraphernalia. I will miss that. Taking away my independence does not come easy for me and that may be some of the hardest part of this recovery. I hate to ask someone else to get or do something for me.

Good news though -- I have finally worn Mitchell down and he has agreed to shave my legs. I think he has agreed just to make me shut up about it but I figure if it worked once it should work again. Wish me luck on that.

In 10 hours, we will pack the car and I won't see my house again until June. My hip was especially painful today. I dropped something in the kitchen and bent over to pick it up. When I stood again, my hip seemed to be out of place and it took a minute for the pain to subside. It has also been very tight and pops periodically. I will be grateful for all of that to stop as I know it will since I never have any of it with my right hip.

So, Vail here I come. Let the adventure begin . . . .

36 hours to go

2009-04-17T21:27:00.000-06:00

I am leaving Sunday to drive to Kansas City to see a client on Monday so today was my last official day in the office. The Indy office is great! In fact, they took me out for beers to celebrate today. I am not entirely sure what they were celebrating but I suspect it might be the fact that they won't have to put up with me for the next 7 weeks. :-) Whatever the reason, it was lots of fun. In fact, here's a picture of the motley crew that makes up the Indy office. They actually are very wonderful to me and I appreciate the beers today everyone . . .THANKS!!

I had to face facts today that not everything was going to be finished when I walked out the door. I brought lots of files with me and I promise not to look at them until I am completely out of Vicodin . .. with a couple of exceptions . . . the only way I may be able to make sense of them is with Vicodin -- you know who you are!!

I have been running errands and packing tonite. I have a much better handle on what goes with me. I am totally focused on the task at hand . . remember 36 hours and I work exceptionally well under pressure.

More music on the i-touch tonite. Finger Eleven was the band of choice tonite.

I talked to a co-worker in Denver today who told me they were getting 24 inches of snow. Yikes!! Glad I bought the new tires and have all wheel drive. Getting up to Vail could be a bit tricky. I was hoping for warm 70 degree weather there. Guess I'm going to have to wait awhile. Oh well . . .

I am definitely ready to get on the road and let the adventure begin.

Last minute details

2009-04-16T20:11:00.000-06:00

Details are excruciating for me. I am a big picture girl . . let someone else worry about the spreadsheets listing all the pros and cons and the lists with everything that needs to get done. I prefer to fly by the seat of my pants. Except, of course, when selecting the restaurants that one must try along the 1200 mile drive . . those have all been researched and thoughtfully planned out. Are you starting to understand the level of my lack of preparedness here?

My focus now is absolutely not on the clothes, toiletries, pills and other things that are absolute essentials but instead on making sure that i have new music on my i-pod and that i make sure to take my bose noise cancelling headphones. And, let's not forget the stack of books that will be packed first in the car. Here's the current list of what goes (in no particular order):

1. Angels & Demons -- I read The DaVinci code and liked it and have tried to read Angels & Demons about 10 times but have never really gotten into it. I figure since I will be trapped it might just be the time to finish it. We'll see.

2. Talent is Overrated - Recently recommended to me by a dear friend, the premise of this book is that there is no innate talent. Success comes from pure hard work.

3. Survivor - Written by Chuck Palahniuk who also wrote Fight Club and Choke. Recommended by my nephew, Mitch.

4. The Pillars of the Earth - An Oprah book club choice and recommended by Julie. How can I go wrong? Plus it's 973 pages long so it should keep me busy for awhile

5. Explorers of the Infinite - This may be my first read as it is about a subject that fascinates me. Why do people risk their lives for the sport they enjoy. It's a question that is difficult for me to answer about skydiving so I am looking forward to reading how others explain it.

6. Marley & Me -- Light and fluffy . .maybe for the Vicodin days.

7. Edgar Sawtelle - I think another Oprah book recommendation and definitely recommended by Kathy.

8. The Traveler's Wife - I don't really know much about it. Again recommended by Julie who I trust with my life so I figure I should take the book.

9. Mutant Message Down Under - I read this book years ago and have wanted to read it again. It's about a woman who goes on a walk-about with an Aboriginal tribe in Australia. Awesome book!

10. An assortment of Christopher Moore books -- haven't chosen them yet but will probably include his newest - Fool - and some golden oldies.

I am strangely calm and relaxed having convinced myself that I am taking an extended vacation with a personal trainer who will work with me twice a day every day for 6 weeks. I am blocking out the waking up from anesthesia and the inevitable pain that comes from having your hip dislocated and an expert surgeon poking around in the socket, cutting things away and tacking others back in place. I have talked to awesome people from the Howard Head sports medicine facility as well as Dr. Philippon's surgery scheduler and they are starting to execute on their end of the plan. They confirmed today that they have received all of pre-surgery lab works and physician release so I am good to go. One week from tonite, I will be heavily medicated and on my way to a life with no more hip pain.

I dug out my brace from my first hip surgery with Dr. Philippon and tried it on tonite just to prepare myself for the inevitable. Ugh!! I read in the instructions again that I will only have to wear it for 10 to 17 days. Ok, I can do just about anything for 10 to 17 days. Same with the anti-rotational boots. I got those out again today and shuddered so quickly put them away. These are the worst part for me. When you sleep, someone puts a pair of foam boots on your feet that have a strap that goes around your ankles. They keep you from accidental hip movement. For someone who is claustrophobic, all they end up doing is making you feel trapped. Yikes!! It's only 10 to 17 days though. I can do it!!

But for now . . . back to the details . . I think my i-pod is ready to sync new music.

I love pressure

2009-04-15T19:04:00.000-06:00

What is it about me that makes me put everything off to the last possible minute, fret about it and then suddenly kick into high gear and get it all done? When the chips are down and things HAVE to be done and there is no time to get them done, I think more clearly, know exactly what to do and do some of my best work. The other thing that's weird is that it actually relaxes me. So tonite, having had one of my most productive days, I am relaxed, happy and ready to get to Vail.

The other thing that I realized today is how truly important friends and family are because, just like me under pressure, when I really need them, they totally kick in and are there for me. It makes me feel like I am the luckiest girl alive. So, thanks everyone!!

And, now the hip update. What I don't think I have actually written about in any great detail is the lengths I have gone to in my head to try and convince myself that I really don't need this surgery. In fact, on Tuesday as I was walking through my house, I decided to cancel surgery because I was having no hip pain. Dr. April decided that, with all of the exercise and building of quad muscle, I had built up enough support to carry a torn labrum without having it fixed. Well, apparently my hip had it's own evil plan. I went shopping downtown tonite for last minute things -- more yoga pants, capris and loungewear as well as athletic shoes that slip on -- so I walked a bit more than I have been doing. Let me just say . .the hip is bad and needs to be fixed. In fact, it's currently throbbing just to make sure that I got the message loud and clear and so there will no further fantasies of canceling surgery. Ok. . .got it!

So, one week from tonite, I will be enjoying my last dinner thinking about what's to come. I also realized tonite that I will be spending 6 weeks working out twice a day every single day. It almost feels like I am going to a fat farm or leading the life of a hollywood starlet getting ready for a bikini scene in a movie. I've never worked out twice a day 7 days a week for 6 weeks ever in my life. What is the potential here??? Well, we're about to find out. Yippee!!

The adventure begins Sunday morning around 8:30 am when we pack and car and hit the road. Whatever is undone at that point stays undone until June and my focus will be looking forward onto bigger and better things.

The countdown continues

2009-04-14T19:21:00.000-06:00

Today is Tuesday and my time is running short. Since I always work better under pressure, I am actually starting to get things accomplished. I have brand new tires on my car, I have an appointment to get the oil changed and the car checked out before I drive 1200 miles and I have a stack of things that need to go with me.

Vail Valley Medical and Howard Head Sports Medicine has also kicked into high gear. Apparently there is a magical number of a week away from surgery that causes them to call with some frequency to get you on the "plan". Now, let me assure you that I am VERY good with that. It gives me great comfort to know that someone else is thinking through details other than me. :-) I talked to a lovely person named Chelsea today who is the patient coordinator for physical therapy. I confirmed that I will be staying out there for 6 weeks of physical therapy and she applauded. She said that half of her job these days is convincing people to stay longer than absolutely required. She explained that Dr. P has a fairly intense therapy schedule but it is tried and true and told me that I will have a much easier recovery by staying out there rather than trying to coordinate it from Indy. Yipppeeee!! And just to show how truly organized they are: here's my own personal schedule - on Wednesday, April 22, I arrive for a PT assessment at 9:20. At 10:00 I have an MRI. At 10:30, I see Dr. Philippon and his surgical staff. Chelsea told me that he is doing 3 surgeries that day and will determine who goes in what order after he assesses all of us. There is a chance, if I am last, that I will spend the night in the hospital. Boo!! If I am released on Thursday, I will come and have a PT session before I leave the hospital. If I spend the night, I will see them at 8:20 on Friday morning. Starting on Saturday, April 25 and continuing through May 31, I will have PT every day at 11:20 and 4:30. I keep thinking . . . flat stomach and great legs. :-)

I promise to post pictures so you can see the progress I am making.

I will close tonite with a giant THANK YOU to all of my friends who are doing their best to keep me calm and focused on the end result. I appreciate you more than I can ever tell you.

One week to go

2009-04-12T07:16:00.000-06:00

I hate last minute details. Since I am driving to Colorado, I decided that I should take a look at the tires on my car yesterday. There really is something to the saying, ignorance is bliss. Yep, you guessed it . . need new tires. So, I did the call around to all of the local tire stores to find out what they had in the right size and spent way too much time listening to lectures about what I should do. Just answer my questions please . .. I am not stupid. I settled on Goodyears but no one had them in stock so i have to wait until Monday to actually get them put on.

Probably the worst part of yesterday was going to Walmart. I realized that I will need prescriptions refilled before I get back to Indy. The only way to get it done was to register them with a national chain with a location close to where I am staying in Edwards. My most hated store -- Walmart -- has a location 10 miles away from me . . on my daily drive to and from Vail. I swear the people at Walmart are worse than those who hang out at the BMV. The pharmacist, however, was awesome and extremely helpful so the almost 2 hours that I had to spend there was worthwhile.

Today, I will continue to pile things in my bedroom that need to go with me and then next Saturday will decide what actually goes. One week from right now I will be driving out of my garage for the long drive west. Wow. It's sunday morning, I have really good coffee and am cooking so, for a change, I am calm and rational.

I even watched some video on youtube of the actual surgery and was fascinated by what they really can do. In fact, for those of you who aren't sqeamish, here are a couple of links that actually show an arthroscopic labrum debridement and repair. If you can get past the dislocated hip, it's pretty cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVBmxqNqEqY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25L8249gsr4&feature=related

The pain level in my left hip is up a bit today and my lower back is killing me which appears to be providing the proper motivation to look forward to this surgery rather than dread it. As I prepare for my conversation with Dr. Philippon, I have been thinking about all of the different pains and problems I have had in the past year. Most of the time, when I walk, it clicks or snaps but that has stopped happening recently. I still have to hesitate for a minute when I first stand up to make sure it's going to snap back into place and allow me to walk forward without falling down. There was a time last summer that my hip simply would give out without notice followed by me hitting the ground. That seems to have stopped also.

Bottom line . . . I am looking forward to working with the physical therapists at Howard Head Sport Medicine and working my way back to being in great shape again!

Sometimes I am my own worst enemy

2009-04-10T13:11:00.001-06:00

This morning I came dangerously close to a full blown meltdown. I decided that I needed to surf the web to see if I could find the exact post operative physical therapy protocols. Why you ask?. . . . Why do I do anything I do??? So, I find this dr in new york who trained under Philippon and has all of his pre and post surgery pt protocols posted online. Excellent I think and immediately click through. What I find initially is that he does indeed follow Philippon's post op instructions -- CPM machine, crutches, etc. so I feel confident that I will have something similar in physical therapy to what he prescribes. There are several pages of boring PT stuff which i quickly lose interest in . . . especially when I find that he has posted videos of the actual surgery. For those of you who are sqeamish . . stop reading right here!

I immediately click right to the video of how they establish portals for the arthroscopic instruments into the hip socket. What was I thinking????? So, the first thing I notice is that something doesn't look quite right in the upper thigh area then I realize that's because the hip is dislocated and is causing a grotesque bulge in an area where there shouldn't be a bulge. Yikes, a little freaky I think. Ok, got through that. Then, of course, the next step is actually making incisions to get through the skin. Fine with that too . . a little blood but the incisions are small and the scalpel is really sharp so no big trauma there. What came next caused me to scream out loud, stand up out of my seat and immediately exit out of the web site. In order to get the camera into the hip socket . . . well, let's just say there is MUCH force applied. It literally made me feel like i was going to throw up. I so understand now why the pain is so great immediately after surgery. Wow. . . . I know I would have been better off not having actually seen that. It's now seared into my brain and I can't close my eyes without seeing it. Yikes!!!

All of this being said, I am forever thankful that there are people like Dr. Philippon who things like this obviously don't bother. And, I am infinitely thankful that I have found him and that he is willing to do this to me. So, two weeks from today, I will be one day post surgery in a blissful Vicodin haze.

This is my last full weekend at home so there will many, many things to do as I prepare to move to Vail for 7 weeks. For those SRM's and CSM's reading this blog -- THANK YOU for all you will do to help my clients while I am out. You have my eternal gratitude. For all of my friends -- no calling and making fun of me in my Vicodin haze.

2 weeks from today

2009-04-09T20:21:00.000-06:00

It will all be over . . .and just beginning.

I need to start making a list of things to do this weekend. I have to admit, when I feel overwhelmed I have a hard time getting things done because I really don't even know where to start. That's basically how I feel right now yet somehow I have to make this work. My stomach feels like I swallowed a boulder and I can barely eat. I wake up in the middle of the night after having dreamed that i am in Colorado and have forgotten to bring something with me. I am oddly hyper yet get nothing accomplished. I feel like the energizer bunny that simply spins in circles.

I am not doing very well in focusing on the positives rather than the negatives. I tend to be a worst case scenario girl so I can be pleasantly surprised if things turn out better. It drives me crazy. I go over every possible outcome in my head over and over.

I am working out like a maniac yet I know that these lovely muscles in my legs will disappear right before my eyes and I will be helpless to do much about it.

I am worried that Mitchell really won't shave my legs and I'll have to go to physical therapy with hairy legs. What will A-Rod think? It might ruin my chances with him. :-)

But in the end, when I can relax for just a minute and breathe, I know everything is going to be ok. Actually, I know everything is going to be better than ok. I will have my life back once again.

15 days till surgery

2009-04-07T17:46:00.000-06:00

Today I got a phone call from a coordinator at the Howard Head Sports Medicine facility. They have sent me a very thorough email outlining all of the requirements for therapy. Looks like I will be quite busy. She left a message on my cell phone and laughed when she said I would be surprised how much physical therapy protocols have changed since I had my last surgery 6 years ago. It was sort of an evil laugh. There are also multiple instructions to bring an extra gym bag to the hospital to pack all of the post-op braces, instruments and assorted "things" that will need to go home with me. I think I am beginning to understand the evil laugh. I did read an article today that said A-Rod was spotted in Vail 2 weeks after surgery without crutches. That would truly be my dream come true . . .not spotting A-Rod without crutches mind you . . .me being without crutches after two weeks!! In the post-surgery instruction manual, there is also a reference to having an occupational therapist come by to teach me how to dress and go to the bathroom. Ok, now what's up with that???? It's hip surgery . .what exactly happens while I am under???? Do I forget how to dress myself and go to the bathroom? Mitchell - get the Depends.

So yesterday I said that I am having a major freak out over the waking up after surgery part and have promised myself to stop focusing on that and look forward to all of things that I will be able to do again after surgery. So, here's my initial list of things:

1. go for a long walk with buzz
2. spend a weekend kayaking down a lazy river and camp on a sandy beach
3. plan my canyoneering trip for next spring/summer
4. sleep without waking up when i move my leg wrong
5. spend all sunday cooking
6. yard work
7. learn to snowboard or ski
8. plan a trip to use up some frequent flier miles
9. spend 2 days walking through the St James art fair with my sister
10. buy some new clothes

I am feeling a little apprehensive but ready to get it done and move on to having my life back!!!

Good news!

2009-04-06T20:49:00.000-06:00

The physical therapy clinic in Vail is part of my PPO! Yippeeee!!! I got a call today from them and they had actually called my insurance company so they had all sorts of good information. I am thrilled. I am wondering . . . if they can get A-Rod back to playing baseball and Kurt Warner back to playing football, can they get me back to playing something? anything? :-) Maybe I'll have surgery and suddenly become a pro ______________ (you fill in the blank).

As the time gets closer, I get more and more anxious. Even though he's done my right hip, I keep going through all of the what if's . . . what if it doesn't work, what if it can't be fixed, what if . . . . . Well, the last one is a result of a phone call with a friend of mine today who informed me that a co-worker of his went in for knee surgery and died at age 51. Now THAT'S something that I really didn't need to hear today.

It's also time to worry about the really stupid stuff -- do i leave the outside lights on or off? How will I get my sprinkler system turned on and running for the year? I won't get to see all of the landscaping that I did last year bloom this year. Who's going to shave my legs and paint my toenails after surgery? Who will pick up the pamphlets that the Jehovah Witness people keep leaving at my door?

Ok, and my last thought for the night -- I am obsessed about the pain and nausea when waking up from anesthesia. It's a dread that has begun to take over any thought I have about the upcoming surgery. I have to get it out of my head and focus on the positives that will come about as a result of surgery. That is my focus for the remainder of the week. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed.

Two weeks before I leave

2009-04-05T08:47:00.001-06:00

Ahhhh Sunday morning . . mostly a time for some serious peace and quiet but not the case this morning. Remember that I said I had been having no hip pain . . . HA!!! So, as typical, I did yard work yesterday for about 3 hours which appears was about 2 hours and 59 minutes longer than my hip could stand. I guess in a way it's ok. At least now I can say, with 100% confidence, that I am ready to get to Vail and get this over with. In fact, I am even going to start packing today to make sure I get all of the things that I will need for 7 weeks away from home. Which, in fact, brings up an interesting question . . . what exactly will I need for 7 weeks away from home?? If I sit and think about the coordination of all of this, I will have a complete and total freak-out, meltdown so I don't. I just plug away one step at a time.

Still no word on whether or not the physical therapy facility is a PPO with my health insurance. I am hoping to get a final answer on that on Monday so I can go to Plan B if necessary.

I also get to go have even more blood drawn tomorrow morning. Yippee!!! I think that will take care of all of my pre-op testing though.

I still need to notify all of the neighbors that I will be missing for some time and ask for their help in insuring that some, nice family doesn't take up residence in my house . . . a la The Visitor for those movie buffs. I also need to get my car in for the "please do everything you can to make sure it doesn't strand me in the middle of Kansas" check-up.

Ok, must stop now and get a whole list of things done.

Still counting down

2009-04-03T14:56:00.000-06:00

Ok. It's been a week since I last posted. Sorry! I have a really great excuse because my sister has been in town and she makes me drink and forget to do things. :-) Are you buying that?

So, here's the update. I was just noticing this morning that I am not having much hip pain. It's kind of like the noise in your car that disappears the moment you pull into the mechanic's bay. Now I am fantasizing about seeing Dr. Philippon on April 22 and having him tell me that it's healed itself and sending me on my way with some fabulous physical therapy (I am picturing a big, strapping physical therapist named Hans with the piercing blue eyes). Deep down I know it's crazy talk but a girl can dream, right?

As of today, I have 10 office days left (and I am in a total state of panic over that). Many things to do and not enough time to get them all done.

I am seeing a lawn service this weekend and having that strange new noise in my furnace looked at and getting the stray leaves from the winter picked up. Oh yeah and I am working out like crazy and trying to have a little fun at least. All of my friends are trying to see me before I leave. Do you think they think I am never coming back????

Everything is set with Dr. Philippon's office. I am still waiting to hear whether or not the physical therapy place is a PPO with my insurance. That could be a HUGE wrinkle for me. Worst case scenario is that I stay out there for 2 weeks and do physical therapy and pay non-PPO rates (YIKES) and then fly home to do the remainder. Not ideal but it may be all I can afford to do. Stay tuned on that one.

3 weeks from today, I will be one day post-op, drugged up on Vicodin and looking forward to scheduling my canyoneering trip!!

26 days to go

2009-03-27T07:43:00.000-06:00

I talked with Dr. Philippon's office yesterday to get appointment times cofirmed and got the bad news that my health insurance company has been regularly screwing them out of money so I have to pay up front. Yikes!!!! It's not exactly what I wanted to hear but given the choice between losing much of my hard earned cash and pain, I'll gladly give up the cash. I got a huge packet of information yesterday, made appointment with my dr's here to get all the pre-surgery testing completed and am still counting down the days. Let's hope the economy improves so I get to keep my job and replenish my savings account in the coming months.

Hip pain is somewhat better today. . . at least tolerable. It has been throbbing for the past 2 days so a little relief today is much appreciated.

And, if I haven't already said so, thank God or whoever sent him, for my friend Bill. He is giving me his ski place for the entire 6 weeks that I am out there. I am not sure that he knows this but I will be forever in his debt!

March 26 - 4 weeks pre surgery

2009-03-26T12:44:00.000-06:00

Exactly 4 weeks from today I hope I will be finished with surgery and on the road to recovery . . painful though it may be.

So . .. here's the history. I have slight hip dysplasia in both hips . . thanks mom and dad for the bogus hips. And, knock off the jokes about the pure bred dogs. Six years ago I finally met the most incredible hip dr who actually diagnosed that i had a torn labrum in my right hip and that was the source of the searing pain that kept me up at night contemplating suicide. He sent me to see Dr. Marc Philippon who was in Pittsburgh. On April 3, 2003 I had the labrum in my right hip repaired by Dr Philippon. Waking up from that surgery was surreal. It was supposed to be outpatient but my damage was extensive and the surgery took longer than anticipated so I ended up spending a night in the hospital. Two days in a hotel later, my cousin drove me back to Indianapolis where I started physical therapy.

At my six week check-up with Dr. P, he informed me that I had the same issue with my left hip. I argued vehemently that I did not but what did I know? :-) He was right and 5 years later while standing in my kitchen and twisting to grab something out of the refrigerator, I think the tear happened. I cried. I denied. I walked with a cane for weeks convincing myself that it would heal and I would be fine. This was in April, 2008. When, by July, 2008, I was still walking with a cane, I decided it was time to do the arthrogram and get results to Dr. Philippon.

Diagnosis of a torn labrum came back quickly from Dr. Philippon and the process started to find a surgery date in Vail. I settled on April . . .immediately after ski season . . to assist in my finding a place to stay and decided that I would stay for the entire 6 weeks to do all PT in Vail. April 23 was chosen as the date and I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that was a LONG time off and I would probably be fine by then.

So, here I am a month away, wishing I could be pain free and have this over. Anxiously awaiting April 18 when I pack up the car and half of my belongings to start the long drive to Vail. Focusing on getting my life back . . . walking, hiking, backpacking again!!

Welcome to my journey. It begins