Monday, October 19, 2009

"And That's The Way It Is"


Last winter it didn't make sense for me to continue the blog. Two of my nephews have very serious medical conditions (Charlie is still in a vegetative state), the economy was/is down, and many of my friends and family are/were without jobs. I didn't feel right blathering on about me when everything else was so dire - my hip issues are nothing compared to all of the rest.

That said, I do feel like I should wrap this blog up officially, so here's my final update:

- The blade plate in my left leg never stopped bothering me. Every single step up that I've taken in the last 10 months, I felt it. Everyday I had moments where I moved the wrong way and could feel the connective tissue rub against the plate. The swelling never completely went away, although I was able to get back into most of my regular jeans by September.

- I was in PT from the end of January until the third week of July. I hit the point where I had plateaued. Still unable to run, still having a slight limp, I resigned myself to the fact that as long as the blade plate was in, there wouldn't be any more progress and my PT agreed.

- The big news is that I had my final surgery last Thursday - the blade plate is OUT. I chose to be awake for the surgery this time - it was only about an hour - so as to avoid some of the after-effects of the anesthesia. It paid off - I'm much less groggy and my lower tract is back on schedule.

- I have 4 more weeks on crutches (Canadian/Gimp Stix/Tiny Tim's/Polio Sticks - take your pick.) I'll start up PT again sometime next month and will probably be in it until March +/-. The goal is to be able to run again by the time I'm done.

- Having double FO's was the best decision I could have made. I've had plenty of pain over the last many months but I don't have any of the grinding joint pain. It's all good; it was definitely worth it.

And so today, I'm 4 days out from my final surgery and feeling pretty good. Haven't had any narcs today. The big test will be seeing if I can make it through the night - I'm thinking that I can.

And so this is it. Fellow and Future Hip Chickers - please feel free to leave comments here. I will get your message and email you back directly.

I wish you all the best,
Laura Hill

3 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Laura -- thank you for writing this blog. Its incredibly helpful to read about other hip stories for FO!

Best,
Monica

Getfithipster said...

I know it's been a while for you. How are you doing after a few years? I am going to see Dr. Buly for the first time next month. Is he nice and does he spend time discussing? Thanks and I enjoyed the blog!
Joan