Easter Monday we had a girl’s day out. My mum, sister and niece collected me from Reigate and we enjoyed a leisurely drive back through Windsor en route to Reading, stopping for some Italian grub and an Appletiser.
This week I was having a break from hydrotherapy as I had a very special occasion to get back to Reading for… my little brother’s 18th Birthday. My mum had organised a surprise dinner with all the family so I was thankful that luck or fate brought me to the UK so I could share this special day. He was thoroughly surprised when he walked into the restaurant and saw his brother, sisters, aunts, uncles, nan and granddad and we had a lovely evening reminiscing, catching up and attempting food challenges, not to mention admiring this amazing rugby cake:
Tuesday was the first day that I’ve been left to fend for myself as everyone was at work. On request, my dad left two pints of water in the lounge for me and I was confident I could eat breakfast and lunch whilst standing in the kitchen. The day was a success, and for the rest of the week, my sister took the role of chief carer in her stride and was amazing. This past week I’ve enjoyed spending quality time with my gorgeous niece, Phoebe, seeing my beautiful nephews, Jacob and Joseph, and finally getting around to our wedding album.
Getting married and moving abroad occurred in quick succession, so we always planned for me to complete our album when I had my next hip op. We wanted a traditional, long-lasting, aesthetic album filled with large prints of our special day. We needed to showcase the talents of our award-winning wedding photographer and I think our finished album does her work justice. Andrew and I stringently narrowed 700 stunning photos down to our favourite 175 over Skype, and I spent my entire Sunday carefully arranging and sticking them into our beautiful leather album.
- Here's a sneak peak for you
Also this week I’ve spent a couple of evenings in the pub with friends, and on Saturday I reconvened with Kevin and Eli for a day in Winchester at my brother-in-law’s with some of the Stass family. David and Rachel cooked and served a scrumptious meal, which was followed by a long walk around Winchester... Cue the wheelchair.
Without Andrew to wheel me around, David kindly nominated himself and thankfully he was a suitable replacement. It requires a lot of trust to be pushed around as you’re entirely in their hands as they navigate around obstacles and people. The one thing that I still dread is kerbs. When there is no dropped kerb and you have no choice but to be wheeled backwards off the kerb, with all your trust in the person behind you, it’s petrifying. Granted, it gets easier and/or you get used to it the more times you experience it, but I always prepare myself for the worst.
My six week check-up is fast approaching and with that in mind I decided to increase the weight-bearing further. My pain has been low and more than manageable, and although I’ve progressed my exercises on land and in the pool, I needed to test my hip to see where I’m at. All being well at the check-up, Banksey will request that I attempt to walk without the crutches, or at least reduce to one. With that in mind, I wanted to assess my hip on one crutch…
It was Saturday and therefore almost five weeks to the day post-up. I held one crutch in my right hand and attempted to take a step with my left leg. It felt incredibly weak but no surge of intense pain, nor did my hip give way. I took another step onto my right foot and there were no immediate “after-pains” in my operated hip. After a little wait, I took another step on my left and it still felt bearable. I repeated this a couple more times as after all this was for experimental purposes. After the final step on my left side I did experience a rush of “after-pain” and knew it was time to stop.
That evening, I could feel I’d worked my hip and so I gently massaged my thigh and outer hip region. It almost felt more aggravated afterwards and the following morning, however I think and hope it’s just a sign of necessary soft tissue progress. This PAO recovery definitely feels like an easier ride compared to the previous one so maybe it was about time I upped the ante. Given the new pains though, I will take it easy for the next few days; reverting to over-the-counter painkillers before upping my weight-bearing again. I’m really looking forward to getting back into the hydro pool this week and I’m interested to see if I can make more progress with walking in water.
Fingers crossed I haven’t done any damage :)
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