I can feel that I’m nearing the home straight of my recovery,
but I’m not quite there yet. In the last two weeks I have experienced a couple
of self-inflicted set-backs. My dad has that “told you so” attitude about one
in particular, but from here on out, my recovery is very experimental and I
have to trial and error new things. It’s just unfortunate that almost everything
I attempt results in increased pain for a while.
Since the op I’ve lost most of the flexibility and strength
in my hamstrings and I’ve somehow managed to strain one at the gym. I can’t remember
what I was doing exactly but it gradually worsened throughout the gym session. I
believe it’s my semitendinosus muscle that’s damaged and it’s very high up; near
where it attaches to the bottom of the pelvis. It could even be the tendon as
it feels worse than a standard muscle strain. Either way, I’ve stretched it,
rested it, massaged it over the last two weeks and it’s still pretty painful,
especially on standing and ascending stairs. Either way, two weeks of
consistent pain warrants another physio session. I briefly mentioned it in an
email to Debs but as I wasn’t too concerned, the main focus was establishing when
I could run again. She explained that I needed to be very careful and only
attempt it if I could master multiple repetitions of single leg squats with
good control. So naturally, I’ve been working on these and it hasn’t been too
difficult. - Although I could feel my hamstring niggling at times. Debs is now
on holiday until next week so I’ll have to wait for some “hammy” treatment but
I have tried running a few steps around the house and in the garden and it felt
ok. I will attempt the treadmill at the gym this week and following Debs advice,
I will walk and run for a minute each, for no more than five minutes.
Despite the new persistent pain, I’m still managing to get
out-and-about and you would be none the wiser that I’m facing surgery in
7-weeks. My quality of life has definitely improved in recent weeks as I’m now
able to walk further and faster than I have been able to in the last two years.
Andy took me to Stamford Bridge to watch his beloved Chelsea play last
Wednesday and I managed to do a significant amount of walking without any
problems. When I think back to how much pain I was in at the Harry Potter
studio tour or at the Olympics last summer, last Wednesday definitely
highlighted not only how much I needed the surgery and how successful it was,
but how far I’ve come on this huge journey.
There are things that I still can’t do such as hug my knees
or wear heels (as I recently found out), and there are many things that I can
do but hurt, such as putting shoes and socks on or performing most lower body
exercises. It feels as though I’ve exchanged all these things for walking and although
I’m in slightly more pain now than before PAO-surgery, overall I’m happier.
Last Saturday was Andrew and I’s five year anniversary and he’d
organised a nice surprise in London. He told me I had to wear something nice
and approved the dress I selected. In the January sales I’d bought a pair of
French Connection nude heels whilst in my wheelchair (it was a very unique ‘disabled
Cinderella’ experience for me) and they complimented the dress perfectly. I
wore them around the house in preparation and my hip was fine. I knew that I
wouldn’t be able to walk long distances in them so I wore flats on the tube and
discreetly changed when we were in view of our destination. Andrew had booked a
table at Gordon Ramsey’s Claridges restaurant and explained it was an evening with
no expenses spared. He didn’t need to tell me twice! We devoured the most delicious
seven courses before the maître d’ presented this:
Everything was perfect and we had the most amazing evening… until
my hip ruined it. After dinner we were offered a tour of the kitchen and within
ten steps my hip gave way. It was identical to what happened in the Dubai mall
and very reminiscent of the ‘going, going, gone’ feeling I used to get prior to
surgery, only much worse. Once my hip ‘goes’ there’s no turning back and just
moving my leg, let alone weight-bearing, is excruciating. The pain brought tears
to my eyes and to say it put a dampener on the evening is a major
understatement. I immediately reverted to flats and after a cheeky cocktail (to
numb the pain) we were forced to get a cab home. I could hardly walk the
following day and the pain didn’t fully disappear until the third day. When it
first occurred I thought I was back to square one, but as it improved and after
my hip twin recounted a similar story after trialling heels, I was reassured
that it wasn’t too serious. Apparently I need to allow more time for my muscles
and tendons to become accustomed to their new position. Clearly five months isn’t
long enough and I doubt my hips will be ready before the next op; therefore I
won’t be in heels until at least 2014. My dad thinks I was an idiot for wearing
them and believes I should avoid heels for three years! Sorry dad but that’s
not going to happen!
It's almost been a year since I found out the bad news about my hips and I can't believe how quickly time flies. Even the last five and a bit months have gone extremely fast and my life practically came to a standstill. With only 7-weeks left until my next set of ops, I am starting to get a little apprehensive. Obviously I know what to expect this time around so I'm not as nervous, but I know how hard the recovery is so that's massively daunting. So, as I said at the end of my last post, I'm trying to make the most of every day and I've got a jam-packed schedule between now and the 1st July.
~
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