Week 22 - 24

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.

 ~

It’s my Birthday in a couple of weeks’ time and I’m planning a big night out. Not only am I turning 26, but it’ll be my first night out since the op and it’s likely to be my last before the next op so I’ll be hitting it hard. Watch out Reading!

 

It was Jacob’s first Birthday party yesterday and we all went to a petting zoo.  These are some of yesterday's snaps of the Birthday boy.

 

Week 19 - 21. ~ Five Month Mark ~

No news is good news people. I haven’t been M.I.A. the last three weeks due to wallowing in self-pity. I’ve actually had a taste of my old life! It sounds crazy but I’ve finally had some good luck come my way…

When I saw Debs a few weeks back, I was still experiencing the deep pain in my groin. When I gave her Banksey’s verdict she seemed more devastated than me. Debs explained that in her 15-years of physiotherapy she had never known or heard of someone having to have labral surgery after a PAO procedure. Banksey himself admitted it was rare, but it can happen to those real unfortunate souls, (*sob sob*). She was even more surprised when I told her that Banksey wanted to operate on both hips on the 1^st July. Her opinion is that after labral surgery I should only be partial weight-bearing and therefore it’s not really possible to do both at once. However, if the “boss” was confident it could be done then she wouldn’t argue.

I returned the pelvic brace to Debs, while explaining I wasn’t a fan, and she agreed that it doesn’t agree with everyone. The remainder of the session involved more soft tissue work around my hip, during which Debs stated that she didn’t believe she could do much more for me and that I should save my money. Debs believed that I was capable of doing my own exercises and self-massage from there on out and that she would be at the end of an email if I needed her. She also gave me permission to return to the gym and we discussed which exercises I could and couldn’t attempt. Then, we said our “Goodbyes” (for two and a half months) and I’ve been left to my own devices since. On my way out I asked the receptionist what my total cost was for rehab so far… £660! Crazy aye. I’m not going to go down the route of complaining about the NHS again, but if they’d pulled their finger out, I could’ve at least halved my costs. And I have another round of rehab to pay for. These damn hips of mine will be my most expensive possession.  

 

Friday, Saturday, Sunday came and went, and I had the usual intense pain, then Monday brought a delightful change. I awkwardly walked into the gym with the pain, and hobbled out with quite a few aching muscles but minus the pain! Since that amazing Monday morning, the intense pain hasn’t returned either! I mean, I’ve always liked going to the gym but I didn’t realise it could perform miracles! I honestly can’t believe the difference and I am so relieved that I won’t have to live with that horrible pain until the 1^st July. (Touch wood).

I still had some pain in my groin but it was minimal and bearable, and proportionately improved with gym visits. I’ve been going four times a week and it has virtually cleared up now. Certain movements will aggravate my hip and I still get daily pains, but they’re very different to the constant ache I had, and I’m sure these are much more in line with usual recovery pains. Three months later than initially expected but my goodness am I glad I’m out of the dark tunnel!

Debs instructed that I take it easy at the gym but after five months of being cooped up, I did not and have not been holding back. Obviously I haven’t made my hip do anything that it really didn’t want to do, but there was a fair bit of trial and error during the first week to identify my limits. The treadmill and rowing machine have been out of bounds, as well as squats, lunges and certain abdominal exercises. Nevertheless I can almost do everything else and my hip is getting stronger and stronger. So much so that I’ve managed a shopping trip, my social life has returned, and I spent a weekend decorating a friend’s house. If you saw me in the street, you wouldn’t know that I’ve had a relatively recent hip reconstruction. I actually have to stop myself from running at times: for instance, when I’ve been crossing a road and car is fast approaching; or when it starts to rain and I want to find shelter quickly; or while ascending stairs – something that I always used to do. If things remain this good, I hope to be able to run in June before the second PAO. The professionals say you can’t run until 6-months post-PAO but I need to find out if that applies to me or whether I have to wait for an extended period due to my prolonged recovery. I’ll email Debs to check.

For those who are interested, I’ve devised my own gym programme. All of my cardio is on the bike and cross-trainer and it’s mostly interval training. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how quickly my fitness has improved and how well my hip has coped with the increasing resistance. I can use all of the resistance machines except for the leg press. – Debs and I thought I would be able to manage it but during my trial and error period it aggravated my hip too much for the time being. I mainly use the machines for leg abductors and adductors, chest, back, bi’s and tri’s, and continue to do my glute and hamstring rehab exercises.  

Since this miraculous improvement I’ve been debating with myself whether I still require the double hip op. I would hate to say no to the keyhole, and then be struggling down the line if the intense pain returns. On the other hand, if you don’t need surgery then you should avoid it. I’ve drawn three different conclusions: 1; it’s still too early to definitively say. 2; Banksey will have an opinion on it so mine may not matter. And 3; I need the screws out anyway so even if I have the keyhole and he feels there’s no immediate cause for concern, he can take the screws out and the right hip is done and dusted. I’m seeing Banksey on the 7^th June so I’ll debate it with him then.

You will recall that I was really inconvenienced by my 1^st July date. Now that I’m relatively pain-free I see the silver lining; I have two months to live my life to the max!