In summary: I had a small amount of hip pain on our wedding
day; NYC involved way more walking than I imagined but the hip did hold out. It
fatigued fairly quickly and occasionally I needed a sit-down, but not once did
I feel any intense pain; and virtually no bother with the move.
The sports marketing company that Andy works for organise an
annual 5k running event at the Formula 1 track in Abu Dhabi. The date of the
run was almost a year to the day since my operation so I decided to enter to
prove (mainly to myself) that I was fit and healthy again. My dad was visiting
at the time too which made it all the more special and I managed to persuade
him to take part too (he power-walked it). I set myself a further two personal goals – 1.
Run the entire distance without walking, and 2. Run it in 30 minutes or less.
I had progressed my rehab and training in the month’s build
up to the event but it seemed the running was too much for my lower leg
muscles. I developed achilles tendonitis in my left heel (likely due to
over-compensating), which abruptly ended the training, and in all truth, should
have prompted a withdrawal from the 5k. However, having set myself the target
of a 5k and knowing it would’ve been such a monumental achievement, I refused
to bottle it.
It was a very emotional day and I couldn’t have achieved what
I did without Andrew. He ran beside me the whole route and gave motivational
comments when I wanted to walk. Thanks to him I didn’t, and I’d like to think
that I was one of the happiest people that day when I received my medal.
The entire 5k I was battling with either tendon or hip pain,
but not enough for me to quit.
Four days later was the actual anniversary of our hip
surgery, and only my hip twin, Natalia, knew exactly how I felt. Naturally we
updated our Facebook statuses and shared our appreciation for each other. As
I’ve mentioned before, we have such a strong bond, and are still in regular
contact. Of course we invited Natalia and Tom to our wedding and it meant so
much that they were able to be there on our special day.
AND, I’m thrilled for the pair of them who very recently
welcomed their third little girl into the world!
Shortly after the run I had an interview for a personal
training job. I wasn’t sure that I was entirely ready to return to PT,
especially as my hip hurt with running and squats in particular. I was
extremely honest about my position and even pointed out that we would both be
taking a risk. It was a risk that we mutually were happy to take and it was an
excellent decision for my hip. My hip strength improved rapidly within three
weeks and after six weeks, I was managing to back squat 60kg. The pain when I
squat has reduced drastically, but even now, I can feel a slight impingement
with every bodyweight squat and small amount of pain with any weight over 30kg.
Had I not been given the opportunity, I know that my hip
would’ve taken longer to recover so I’m very grateful and relieved. Even if I
did/do feel like the most unfit PT at the gym. At the beginning, I wanted to
tell every gym goer that I was 12-months post major hip surgery so they
wouldn’t judge me or compare me to the other trainers. Even now I feel embarrassed
when customers ask why I didn’t take part in the triathlon, or the 10k obstacle
course or that 14k mountain challenge with my colleagues and themselves. I find
an excuse each time but the truth is I really want to do them all. But I’m
still relatively unfit compared to half the gym users that they’ll be wondering
why I finished so far behind them all. My next aim is to regain my
pre-dysplasia awareness fitness so I can enter all of these events and be proud
of my achievements, rather than worrying too much about what others think. I
have already knocked 4-minutes off my 5k time since the end of November so I’m
heading in the right direction.
18-months post-op and I feel my hip is as good as it will
get, and despite my general strength improving, I’d still rate it 90% of
previous capabilities. There are no issues at all with walking, not many issues
with demonstrating or performing exercises at the gym or running, but I’ve
attempted a couple of netball games and even a mini touch rugby tournament, and
unfortunately I’ve had to sit-out a couple of times due to some sharp shooting pains and throbbing
aches. I believe these are pains I’ll just have to deal with if I want to play
sport as I think my hip will never truly be able to cope with the ‘change of
direction’ that’s involved. It’s just nice to occasionally be part of a team
again.
There’s still a fair bit of ‘clicking’ but no ‘clunking’
thankfully, and my left hip appears to be holding out. - Although I have heard
a few ‘clicks’ recently. I will try to arrange an appointment with Bankesy in
August when we return home for a couple of weeks. I’m sure he’ll have forgotten
who I am. So I’ll just have to remind him that I was the ‘athlete with one of
the worst dysplasia angles he’d seen’.
Probably the most important news to update you with is that I
can wear heels again. When we moved I shipped out a box of shoes, most of which
I didn’t think I’d be wearing for a long while, but by December I was strutting
around in the new French Connection pair that I purchased in my wheelchair!
In my previous post last year I mentioned our ‘mini-moon’ trip
to NYC before the main honeymoon this year. Well that time has arrived people
and Andy and I will be heading to Thailand in thirteen days to explore some of the
islands and relax with a few cocktails. It will be the most amount of time we’ve
spent alone since NYC so I can’t wait!
Ta ta for now.
