Week 14


The big day was a success, and in more ways than one!

For the first time in over three months I took public transport, and not only that, but I managed the journey to the hospital alone. I’m aware this doesn’t sound like a big deal but I feel vulnerable when I’m using crutches, so it's reassuring to have some company. There was a significant amount of walking and standing involved too, so for me, just making it to the hospital was a huge accomplishment; especially as I had regrettably decided to take one crutch.

My appointment with Banskey was at 2.30pm and I had to have my pre-operative assessment (for the next surgery) and an X-ray before I saw him. When I arrived at the hospital at 11am, I began queuing in the waiting room for pre-op and all the hospital staff were understandably confused as to why I was having a check-up and a pre-op on the same day. I lost count of the number of times I had to explain that I’d been through one PAO surgery and required another for my other hip. Once the paperwork, MRSA swabs, blood tests and measurements were taken, I made my way to the X-ray department. I was eager to see my X-ray to check if the bone had reconnected this time…

This X-ray alone doesn't show a lot, but spot the difference below:



It may not be glaringly obvious what the difference is, but hopefully the blue circles will aid you. The area between and around the screws is more filled in on the left X-ray, compared to the slightly darker right X-ray. This signifies that my bone has successfully grown and my pelvis is officially connected again! Whoop whoop. The bottom (south-east of the blue circle) part hasn’t re-joined yet, and it may never. Either way it’s not an issue as doesn’t affect anything.

The Orthopaedic lounge was brimming when I arrived at 2.10pm. I just hoped that they weren’t all waiting for Banksey.  At every appointment, you’re handed a colour-coded form which monitors your progress: yellow for hips; purple for shoulders; and blue for ankles. I believe I have four yellows forms in my file now and the monotonousness of completing it doesn’t wear off. However, it does allow you to identify and make conversation with fellow ‘yellow form holders’ in the waiting room. On this occasion, I met a nice 23-year-old awaiting arthroscopy for a labrum injury and we had a good chin-wag until we were the last two remaining in the waiting room. My name was finally called at 4.20pm and I went through to the patient room. I’d also been messaging my Hip Twin, Natalia, all day and she gave me the pep-talk I needed to ensure I didn’t back out of telling Banksey how I felt about my non-existent NHS aftercare. When he walked in, he expressed his delight with the new X-ray and asked how I was getting on. I handed Banksey the letter from Debs and explained the constant pain and ‘popping’ I’ve experienced. I made him put his hand on the side of my hip so I could demonstrate the ‘popping’ and he confidently told me it wasn’t subluxing. The ‘popping’ was more of a ‘snapping’ motion as my IT band rubbed over the outside of the greater trochanter (see diagram below), and it was occurring due to my leg length discrepancy. He asked me to walk a few unaided steps, before I hopped onto the couch for an examination. After a few painful prods and pokes, Banksey attributed the extreme pain to inflammation around my greater trochanter; namely the bursa, and would require a steroid injection immediately. **


I believed that the ‘popping/snapping’ and the pain was unrelated but it appears that they are completely associated. I’m in a bit of a vicious circle at the moment because every time I walk (with or without crutches), my IT band snaps over the greater trochanter; aggravating the bursa and causing extreme pain. This will continue until I have surgery on my left hip and my legs are the same length again. However, I can’t get my left hip operated on until the pain stops and my right hip can support all the rehab. The temporary solution is either: walking without fully straightening my right leg; or wearing an insole in my left shoe only. Banksey did say that if the ‘snapping’ hasn’t stopped by the time the keyhole surgery (to remove the screws and fix the labrum) comes around then he can give the IT band a little snip to relieve some tension. All of which I can live with, and I’m very relieved that I don’t require any additional surgery to the two lots that I’m already facing.


** Debs and I had concluded it was probably bursitis pain, so I knew an injection was necessary but I wasn’t aware that Banksey could and would do it there and then. In hindsight, this was actually a good thing as I had limited time to work myself up. - The entire morning I was dreading having my bloods taken in the pre-op. You’d think after self-injecting for a month after surgery I’d have left behind my fear of needles, but apparently not. Banksey returned to the room armed with a big needle and a nurse to hold my hand. I predicted it would hurt, but felt the need to double-check. Banksey’s reply was: “Unfortunately yes, but you’ve been through PAO surgery so you can go through anything.” Every time I hear someone say this to me, I feel somewhat invincible, but I also feel a sense of pressure to kerb any pain-inflicted reaction. As soon as Banksey pierced my skin, it was as traumatic as anticipated and I couldn’t help blurting out a few expletives. Luckily, the fluid contained local anaesthetic too so it went numb pretty quickly.

If I hadn’t have taken deep breaths, I’m sure I would’ve fainted, so after carefully getting to my feet, I was thrilled to be able to walk with no pain at all. Banksey explained that it would be enough to get me home and then I would be in a bit of pain for three days. He’s said I’m fine to enjoy a holiday and that he’d like to check my progress in four weeks’ time. If I’m still in some pain, then I may require another injection but that’s nothing compared to PAO surgery!  :P  

Before I left, I did explain that I felt let down by the NHS aftercare and that I was disappointed his nurse hadn’t called me back the other week. He apologised on both accounts, and stated that he’s been trying to increase awareness of PAO surgery and rehab with GPs and physios but the general consensus is a reluctance to learn. I asked him what he expects others to do rehab-wise, who truly can’t afford the private aftercare, and he was sorry to say that it’s a regional lottery whether the local NHS physios know what they’re doing. The news isn’t at all comforting and I regret not investigating the NHS services prior to my surgery. Thankfully, I have found a really good physio (even if she’s pricey), and I have every faith that my right hip will recover fully now.


I can report that last week’s taping was successful for about 24-hours and then my bursa got too aggravated and inflamed. Since Thursday’s monstrous injection, I have been able to walk around indoors without crutches and limping, but I’ve had to adapt my stride length to avoid the ‘snapping’. It’s still mildly painful when I walk so I’m anticipating another injection in a few weeks. However, on a scale of 1 to 10 of pain, I’m currently at a 4.5 compared with the 10 I was at this time last week. I can’t complain and I’m over the moon with Thursday’s developments… Now I’m really looking forward to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday!! 

Week 13


It’s been eleven days since I saw Debs and up until four days ago, I hadn’t been able to replicate the crutch-less walking. I couldn’t believe that it took an entire week for the intense hip pain to subside enough for me to take more than ten consecutive steps without limping. Despite the walking pain, I religiously completed all of my physio exercises two-three times a day and I’m pleased to say there was progress.

In the last four days, I’ve managed to walk around the flat without using crutches but most of the time, I’m either limping or I’m in a lot of discomfort. I still have to grit my teeth and concentrate really hard to walk properly, or, as I discovered on Friday, I just need enough wine in me! Who would have thought aye?

After the turning point four days ago, not only did walking improve slightly, but so did the apple and pears; if anything, I find walking up and down stairs easier so I’m happy about that. I’m also off all medication again as I’m really not a ‘pill fan,’ and I like to gauge my pain and progress on a day-to-day, level playing field. It occurred to me the other day that my current position is not too dissimilar to before I went under the knife. Obviously, I’m a lot less mobile now, but the common denominator is that I still can’t walk easily.

These past eleven days gave me adequate time to truly analyse the ups and downs of my hip, so I was half looking forward to passing this info onto Debs today. I say “half,” as I concluded that something is still wrong with my hip. I’ve just returned home from physio and my suspicions have turned out to be correct. The good news is that I didn’t have to convince Debs that there is an issue; she came to the exact same conclusion herself after some assessments. The bad news is that the pain is hindering my rehab and it needs investigating. Debs believes it could be either bursitis or a tendon issue, and that it’s completely separate to the ‘popping’/subluxation. She has requested that Banksey examines both matters on Thursday and reports back so she can tailor the rehab accordingly.

In a way, I’m glad the NHS failed to provide me aftercare, as I have the utmost faith in Debs and see logic in everything she says. This is very complicated but I’m going to try and explain her opinion and thoughts:

In the last two and a half weeks, Debs has prescribed me exercises to improve my strength and motor patterns, which in turn should decrease the pain. Sometimes, especially after surgery, certain muscles don’t function optimally, so rehab is all about retraining and reprogramming muscle stimulation. Due to a lifetime of sport, I’ve always been relatively strong and therefore had a good base prior to surgery; however, my glutes have never functioned efficiently because of the dysplasia, so I’ve been attempting to re-educate my stupid bottom muscles during these past thirteen weeks. The body tends to adapt the movement when you’re in pain though, and therefore the correct muscles don’t function. So in my case, it’s literally been a right battle to get my arse in gear.

After assessing my movement patterns today, Debs concluded that there’s been a big improvement in my gluteal strength, and they finally engage when I walk. It is because of this progress that she has eliminated underactive glutes as a contributor of the pain. Apparently, it’s common for PAO patients to experience pain during the transition from crutches to walking, but this is the first time that Debs hasn’t seen the pain dissipate after successfully rehabbing the glutes.

Although it’s not ideal that something else appears wrong with my hip, I haven’t been upset with the bad news for once. Possibly because I’ve cried enough tears recently; or because I was a little preoccupied staring at Sir David Attenborough in the physio waiting room; or, most likely, it’s due to the preparation and anticipation of bad news. Everyone knows their own body, and just like I knew there was something initially wrong with my hip last year, I had strong reason to believe that something else was up. I didn’t have to persuade someone there was an issue this time around and I’m so grateful for that. Hopefully, the next stages will be relatively hassle-free and Banksey will locate and rectify the issue quickly. I’ve been through the most painful hip-related procedure there is, so even if I require more treatment to get this right hip fixed, it will be a doddle in comparison.

At the end of the physio session, Debs wanted to do one last experiment so I could supply Banksey with more information on Thursday. She carefully taped a big triangle on my hip/bum to see if it alleviates some of the pain and told me to monitor it for 48-hours. Taping is a common physio technique that is designed to facilitate the healing process while providing support and stability to muscles and joints. It’s frequently used with professional athletes or footballers and typically bright blue in colour so if you haven’t seen it already, keep an eye out. Mine isn’t quite as lairy, but it seems to be doing the job so far. So much so, that I managed to walk back to the waiting room unaided before realising I’d forgotten my crutch. That made me chuckle. Debs did say if I think it's helping then she'll tape me up every week. I think I might wait until after Abu Dhabi though...


So, the big day is fast approaching, and I have a lot to get off my chest with Banksey. Let’s hope he takes me seriously. In the meantime, I need to get things washed and packed for our holiday next week, and we need to continue packing for the big move. We’ve received confirmation that we have to vacate our beloved flat so for the first time in almost eight years, I’m moving back home. The vast amount of belongings that have accumulated during this time is crazy, so I’m biding my time with the World’s biggest declutter-thon.

The Bio-oil is working it's magic as the scar is looking a little better i think: