18 months – 2 years post-PAO surgery… and 1 week until the second PAO

Less than two weeks after my last post, Andrew and I flew to Thailand for our amazing Honeymoon. Starting in Bangkok, we ventured onto Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi and back again. The trip was so jam-packed; it felt like we had been travelling for a month when we finally returned to the desert. Despite being poles apart from New York, we mutually agreed it was equally as awesome, and we’d happily visit both destinations again in a heartbeat.

The Beach

Thailand has so much to offer and we barely scratched the surface. What I am extremely happy about is my hip didn’t hold me back from doing anything on either holiday. Had we visited Thailand immediately after the Wedding, I would not have been ready or able to achieve half of what I did.

Phi Phi has many different viewpoints and secluded beaches which can only be accessed via a little trek. The infamous viewpoint was an approximate hour and fifteen minute ascend from our beach-side hotel and it was an extremely humid day. My hip did me proud. We hiked and scrambled for miles and not once did my hip complain.

You can see how humid it was from Andrew’s sweat-drenched T-shirt.

This is the secluded, idyllic beach we literally had to vertically clamber into and out of to reach. It was more than worth it though.

On our penultimate day in Krabi, we couldn’t resist the rock-climbing the island had to offer. To the instructor’s disbelief, neither of us had previous experience and we always reached the summit of every attempted climb. Andrew resembled Peter Parker and scuttled up with ease every time. I wasn’t quite as quick and I could feel my hip pinching every time I hoisted my right foot up to the level of my left hip. Flexibility is definitely an essential aspect of rock-climbing, but it was the combination of flexibility plus weight-bearing that proved to be challenging for me. I refused to be defeated though, and despite pain and a fairly extreme fear of heights, I always reached the top. Unfortunately, I then had to juggle hyperventilating with a bit of abseiling until I could celebrate my success.

Negotiating a precarious path…

Andrew and I both commented on how unimaginable these activities were one year previous. I can’t not appreciate and celebrate each accomplishment, and Andy always reaffirms my intrinsic positivity. Every conquered milestone spurs me on to the next level however. After Thailand, my thoughts turned to “What next?”

Our friends had discussed entering the Desert Warrior Challenge in October 2014; a 10k obstacle course in the heart of Dubai’s desert. Predictably, this was my next challenge and I began upping my 5k distance.

It was mid-June and the unbearable Summer temperatures were fast approaching. With that in mind, I decided to up my running distance on a treadmill in the air-conditioned safety of my community gym. Two 10ks and a couple of blood blisters later, it was time to pound the pavements again. I set off from my house, and got 50 metres down the road before bad luck struck. I glanced left before attempting to cross the road and hadn’t noticed the raised drain my left foot hadn’t cleared and was about to collide with. I fell forward, off the curb, onto my left hip and hands. Luckily there were no cars, and luckily I had only turned two corners, so I picked myself up and limped back home covered in dust and grazes.

Both hips had been aching during the long runs, but now my left hip was really sore. Running was replaced with rest temporarily, and I turned my focus to Andrew. He wanted me to train him for not only the 10k obstacle event, but to help him bulk up again. We had two months of training before returning for a couple of weddings in August. Since my left hip was still aching most days, I thought I would request a meeting with Banksey whilst we were back.

…

The prognosis was that my left hip was deteriorating. The beginning of the end of my 27 year old hip. The only treatment to prevent an arthritic hip was PAO surgery. Again. I always knew I had bilateral hip dysplasia and at some stage my left hip would need the same daunting procedure that I had on the right hip 21 months previous. It was impossible to predict when this time would come, so the advice was to continue with my life, continue rehabilitation and progress the right hip, and that’s exactly what I did. Every new milestone I achieved with my right hip was negatively impacting on my left hip. There’s no doubt that all the running, and especially falling onto my hip, kick-started the decline. I explained to Banksey that my right hip generally ached a lot, but never interfered with daily life. His response was it’s likely to be painful still because the joint was so worn down prior to the PAO operation. If you recall, I could not walk easily before my last PAO in November 2012 and from time-to-time, I required a wheelchair to get around. Banksey’s new advice was to cease exercising in an attempt to preserve the left hip joint and deter a repetitive outcome.

Of course I listened, and adopted a fairly sedentary lifestyle. The only exceptions being prehab exercises (to strengthen the relevant muscles), and certain activities that I’ve wanted to ‘tick off my list’. Activities such as skiing and wakeboarding! Obviously these won’t help my hip, but I won’t be able to do either for a long time after my next PAO so why not take some painkillers and live on the edge?! Besides, neither is an impact exercise that involves a lot of flexion and extension of the hip (unlike running for instance). I know most people won’t comprehend how someone can participate in such sports when they are right around the corner from major hip reconstructive surgery, but it’s a case of now, or 2016. Go figure.

Instead of competing in the 10k Desert Warrior Challenge, I spectated at various checkpoints, and cheered Andrew and the gang on from the start to finish line. It was a real shame to not participate, because I probably could have, but I knew in doing so, it would’ve accelerated my joint deterioration. Not only did I have to give up being active, but I had to seriously think about my career. Once again, this surgery was going to be a huge inconvenience to my life as a personal trainer, as well as our financial security. All of my thoughts were absorbed by the prospects of three-months (minimum) off work, alongside a potential career change. Maybe it was time to reconsider a return to the classroom…

I figured the best next step was to gain some recent teaching experience to see if, after four years out of education, I was still suited to, and would enjoy teaching again. The transition back seemed plausible and I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity at an amazing school. My initial fears of work post-op don’t look so bleak anymore and I’m optimistic I’ll be teaching there again soon.

…

So, I’m exactly one week away from surgery number three; my second PAO. I’m in daily pain with my left hip but nowhere near as painful as when I was one week away from having my right PAO. I’m limping every other day with this hip but never have I experienced the same feeling of my hip giving way and then not being physically able to take another step. I can’t stand for significant periods of time, but I’m rarely restricted to what I want to do every day due to how much walking is involved. I believe this is because I’ve successfully slowed down the deterioration of the hip joint by adopting a virtually sedentary lifestyle for the last six months. Fingers crossed, these changes will have positively impacted upon my imminent recovery and enable my left hip to improve better, quicker and stronger than the right did.

My right hip is still painful so I have been worried about how it will cope after next Monday. My left hip’s recovery relies heavily on my right hip doing a good job, so I just hope that the two years of hard work and rehabilitation pays off.

As of next Monday, I’m temporarily relocating back to my second home on Sarah Ward, in Guy’s Hospital, before recovering at Andy’s house with Eli. I’m anticipating a shorter recovery than last time as the angle of rotation is less severe than my right hip was. The level of dysplasia in my left hip is relatively average, so fingers crossed (again) that this recovery will also be relatively average…

I think I had enough bad luck last time if you remember. Wish me luck for the 9^th March :)