My Screws Are Out

I went in this morning to get my screws out and it wasn't as bad as I expected. I expected it to be easy, but thought I would have some muscle problems. They went in at the top of my scar and never went into my thigh so my range of motion and strength are good. I can feel the incision and a little muscle soreness in my waist area where they cut in. I think they might have had trouble getting out the left screws because the bandage is bigger and thicker, and that area is much more sore than the other side. Of course, much more sore is easy when you have no pain at all on the good side. I can lay on my side already also. The surgery took about an hour and I was home about 4 hours after going in. The funny part of this whole thing is how little it hurts and how many percocet they gave me. My friend went up to the pharmacy and picked up the prescription so I didn't see it until I got home. They sent me home with 50 which seems like a bit much considering after the pao I only took like 20 of them. Oh well, at least I know I will have them in the future when I hurt myself. After all, ski season is about to start. I am going to take a few days off of work and try to let myself heal properly. I will post again soon and add pictures of the screws. My dad was shocked at how long they were, while I was shocked at how skinny they were. If I had known how thin the screws were I might have actually tried to be more careful. My doctor did love hearing about skiing at 12 weeks (turns out he didn't know- his med assistant gave me permission and didn't tell him) and feeling like I broke a screw then going back up for another run. He just laughed and said he wishes he had more patients like me. I never thought I would hear that from a doc.

My Screws are Coming Out

It has been a long time since I posted an update on here, but it has been a hectic time lately. Ripken is doing excellent after his knee surgery (he is tough like me, and heals quickly like me) and Armstrong had another bladder surgery but both are now recovered so it is time for me to finish step 3 of the 3 step hip process.

I am going in Monday to have all 8 screws on both sides taken out. Normally Dr Peters doesn't take them out, but I asked him to because I can feel them sometimes and I don't like that. I told him when I saw hime at my 2 week follow up after the first pao that I want them out so he has been prepared. He told me he wants them in for a year before they come out, but that was also negotiable. I decided to wait until now so he can do both sides at once, but it has only been 10 months for the left side. He is doing it early so I don't miss any of the ski season. I bought new skis and plan to be on the slopes in a few weeks trying them out.

I will be so happy to have this whole thing done. It seem slike I just had the first surgery,but it has been quite a while. I had both knees done after the hips so after 4 major surgeries in 17 months I plan to be done and just let myself heal. I am not nervous about this surgery at all, but I am excited because it is the end. I can't wait. I will post when I get home on Monday, and may even have pictures. Oh, and I am keeping my screws.

Ripken's a Bad Patient Also

Ripken is now 4 days post tplo knee surgery and he is as bad of a patient as I am. His surgery is actually very similar to a pao, but it is in his knee. They cut the tibial bone so the angle is better then rotate it and put a plate and 6 screws in the knee. I can handle that I am a bad patient because that is my choice, but I am struggling with how bad Ripken is. For 8 weeks he can only go out on leash walks and for now I have to use either his harness or a sling under his hips to support him. The first day home, with me holding the harness and him being stoned, he tried to chase a cat. I talked to the vet and we decided he needs to feel the surgery so maybe he will self limit. I have stopped giving him the sedative and cut the pain pills in half. Really, does a 60 pound dog need 60 mg of codeine twice a day? Last night my hopes of him self limiting were dimmed a little when he jumped and put his front paws on the fence and tried to look for a cat (I think there is a cat theme here). I pulled him down and took him inside. When he is in the house he can be offleash because I have closed a bunch of doors so he doesn't have a lot of room and I put up x-pens around the furniture so he can't jump up on it. Well, last night after his cat staring he came in and when I got to my room where he was at he tried to jump over the 3 foot xpen to get onto the bed. I managed to catch him mid air and put him back down, hopefully without injury. I haven't even hit one week and he is already restless. Hopefully the rest of the time passes quicker and more safely.

Ready For Ripken's Surgery

I think I am ready for Ripken's knee surgery on Wed. He is having tplo, which is actually sort of like a pao, but for dogs and knees not people and hips. They are fixing the joint by cutting so it fits better and causes less pain. I have two ramps, one for him to get up on the bed and one for the steps in the front. The harness is a great harness by Ruffwear. It was originally designed for search and rescue dogs and is really sturdy with straps in the right places for support, and padding on them. The best part is the handle on the back so when we are walking or going out I can lift him like luggage so he doesn't put too much weight on it. I have exercise pens so I can put them all over the house so he can get up and move around, but not go on any slippery floors or stairs. I have the platforms so I can raise his food and water, and non skid rugs in case he decides to go on the kitchen floor. I am actually more stressed by Ripken's surgery than I was for mine. I have even set up physical therapy for him, and I refused to go for myself. All in all, I am ready. I will take him for a walk and play quite a bit tomorrow since it will be his last day for a few months that he will be allowed to run. He has to be on a leash for everything for a few months and no running. I seriously will be sedating him. I will post again Wednesday when I know how his surgery went.

The Hits Just Keep on Coming

As if two hip surgeries, and two knee surgeries for myself, now it is time for my dog Ripken to go in. He has to have the acl surgery, though his acl is not torn. The tibial angle is just too steep and is causing him problems so they are going to cut the head of the tibia down to a more manageable angle. This is going to be rough for both Ripken and me. I am lucky my vet lets me do payments instead of making me pay for all of it up front. When you are facing a $3000 surgery within a year of my 3 surgeries it is kind of hard. I am going to try to get some rest now. I just haven't been able to sleep because I have been so stressed about this whole thing. At least having a date is good, and I have his first physical therapy appointment set up for after surgery. I have non skid mats for my kitchen floor, step stools to put his food and water on so he doesn't have to bend as much (I got little fish non skid things designed for the bathtub to put on his bowls and stools so they don't slide around), a friend to come and build a ramp over the stairs because he can't do stairs for 2 months, and carpet to put on the ramp so he doesn't slide. I think I am all set, but I am sure I'm forgetting something. I will keep researching so I am ready for the surgery.

I Get To Have My Knees Drained

I can't even tell you how excited I am that the swelling has not gone down so now I get to have needles stuck in my knees to have the fluid drained. I have no idea how I can have my hip sawed in half, twice, and have very little swelling or bruising, and no complications, but a little scope to the knees has left me looking like I have been beaten with big pockets of swelling on top of the knee. Yesterday I had a doctor appointment to have some medication I am on checked and she asked me if I was in a safe, non abusive environment. I thought it was a weird question and told her I was fine. When I got home I went to ice and saw how bruised I still am . The doc must have thought I was in an abusive relationship because she kept asking, but I had forgotten I was so bruised. I have a long day today then at 9:15 tomorrow I will get drained then take the rest of the day off work. Hopefully I will feel better after this is done.

Still Swollen

I was hoping that after 4 days of rest and ice I would be doing much better. In a way I am as my bruising is beginning to go away. Unfortunately I still have two big pockets of swelling- one on each knee. The best way to describe it is it looks like a small breast implant on each knee. We see a lot of implants at the pool I work at and they all have one thing in common and that is the ridge where it goes from natural to implant at the top. My friends and I were laughing that I have the implant ridge at the top of each knee where the swelling is. I called the docs assistant today and she said I am going in the right direction since the swelling is going down everywhere except the "implant". She said if the pockets are not gone by Thurs afternoon or Fri morning I need to call and come in on Friday so they can drain it. I went in to work today thinking it wouldn't be bad since I had iced for 4 days, but after only 4 hours I swelled up again and it is like I never iced. My boss told me I need to either take days off or take half days because my knees and the bruises are making him nauseous, especially since he has to have the same surgery done. I guess the rest of this week I will only work a couple of hours each day and hope for the best come Friday. On the plus side, my hips feel great.

My Bruises are Spreading

Today I took the day off work because I am starting to get concerned about the amount of bruising I am getting. It has been bad from the beginning after getting my knees scoped, but now not only does it look like someone took a bat to my knees, now it looks like I sprained both of my ankles. Here are two pictures I took today of my ankles.

Everything from above me knees to my feet has so much bruising I am starting to feel like Barney the dinosaur. I have committed myself to resting and icing for the next few days. Yesterday was a really bad day so I probably deserved all of the bruising, but I committed to hosting a bachelor/ bachelorette party and driving so I had to do it. After working for 7 hours I came home then went out to a bar to listen to a really good 80s hair cover band and didn't get home until 3am. I did sit the entire time (I am so glad I thought to reserve tables) but bar stools didn't feel that good on my knees. The only thing I have done today is sleep, wake up, tan for 2 hours, ice, nap, ice again, now I am in bed again. Tomorrow I have to go into work for 4 hours, but I will be able to sit for most of it, then I will come home and rest. Hopefully by Monday I will feel normal again and can start riding the bike.

5 Days post Op Knee Surgeries

Today is 5 days post op for me and I am surprised I hurt as much as I do. I am so swollen and bruised, and the pressure from the swelling is what is hurting. I have been icing and resting as much as I can, but I guess it is not enough. I go see the doc tomorrow so I can at least get answers as to what he did and if my bruising is normal. Here is a pic of the left and right knee at about 2 days post op.

Isn't that pretty. Now I am getting more color and the bruising is starting to turn green and yellow. Anytime you can get multiple colors in a bruise you know it is a good one. The next pic was taken today, but you don't get the full effect of the bruise because of the angle I took it at.

Suffice it to say that my entire leg is one big bruise. It goes down into my shin and all the way around the back of the knee. The hole on the top you can see also likes to bleed on a regular basis so I really am getting it all. I am going to go rest now. I will post again tomorrow when I know what all was done to me.

1 Day Post op Knee Surgery

Today is my first day at home after knee surgery yesterday. I had both knees scoped to clean everything out and had a lateral release on at least the right knee, but I think he did it on both. I will find out all of the details when I go in Wednesday for my 1 week post op visit with the doc. I will also get the video of the surgery that day. I asked about having a video and he said he would do it for me so I will be able to see the procedure from inside the knee. I am really not in pain, but very swollen and stiff. You know it is swollen when your knee is bigger than your thigh. The main issue I am having is I can't get one of the holes to stop bleeding. I am supposed to be doing range of motion exercises but every time I bend my knee it bleeds. I have been doing a lot of icing and am trying to rest. My goal is to do this recovery with no painkillers. I was given percocet but it makes me itchy so I don't really want to take it. I might take one tonight though just to help me sleep because I was up and awake a lot overnight. Anyway, that is the update. I will post again tomorrow and hopefully the bleeding will have stopped.

Just Bought a Laptop

So I finally bit the bleet and bought myself a laptop. I had one for awhile from work, but someone else needed it so I had to give it back. I really like it so far, but hate windows vista. I got it on sale so that is a big bonus. It even has a webcam, but I don't know how to use it, or anyone else that has one for that matter. I am sitting in bed now trying to get used to the new computer. Armstrong had to take another therapy dog test today (for my local group) and he did superb job again. Unfortuantely, I think the stones he has left in him are really bothering him because any time someone got near his waist he tensed up. I really don't want to put him through another surgery so I am hoping they will dissolve. Well, it is time to take the boys out. Only 4 more days til I am under the knife again.

The Good and the Bad

I am now 1 year post RPAO and 5 months post LPAO and all in all I feel good. Normally here in Utah we get 5 days of measurable rain in June, but this year we have had 15 days already, and it is only June 19th. The rain really makes me ache, but the ache is mostly where the screws are so I definitely want them taken out. I can do anything and everything I want to do except run, but that doesn't really count because I don't want to run, and never have. I have fallen off the exercise wagon for the past couple of weeks, but that is just being overwhelmed at work with the start of summer more than anything painful. I am going to start again on Monday to work out so we'll see how that goes.

Now the bad. Once my hips were realigned the knee issues I have had my entire life began to flair up. I have put way more than my 36 years on these knees. I think I have put enough wear on them for a 60 year old man, and I walk like one according to my friends. Now that the hips are fixed and the knees thought they would come out and say hi, I decided it was rime to see a doc about them. The doc came highly recommended and he knows Dr Peters, my hip doc. He is also familiar with the hip surgeries I had so that is a bonus. He checked my knees, felt the grinding under the kneecap, then felt how tight the tendons on the outside of my knee were. He told me he wasn't expecting me to be a surgery case because usually when it is a female in their 30's complaining of both knees hurting it is a pt issue, but I am not. He asked if I wanted to start with one knee or do them both at the same time and I told him I wanted both so I didn't have to go through it again. The goal is to clean up all of the damaged cartilage, fix the meniscus tear he thinks is in there, and release the tendon on the outside. He won't know until he gets in there and sees the damage if there is anything else he will need to do. The amazing thing is the timing on the whole knee issue. I called for an appointment and got in with 10 days. At that appt he told me about surgery and scheduled a date- July 2nd. That is only 15 days after I first saw him. The day after seeing him I was in my preop visit. That is a really fast office. Oh well, the sooner the better. I will post when I get more info.

Strut Your Mutt Today- Not a Good Idea

Today was Strut Your Mutt and this year I thought I would be okay to do the walk. I took last year off (it was 2 weeks before my rpao) because my hip hurt too much, but I thought since they had been fixed it would be fine. Well, I was wrong. I am really stiff and sore now. I don't have internal hip pain, which would be a bad thing, it is more a general achiness in the left hip that was just fixed. The 4 or 5 mile walk was bad enough, but I had to go up and down a steep grassy hill to get to where I parked, and up and down another even bigger steep grassy hill to the place where we were having our pictures done. The dogs were good during it, though it was kind of a Freaky Friday thing where they switched personalities for the day. My perfect role model dog pulled on the leash the whole time, while my brownie stealing, delinquent, crackhead dog was a perfect gentleman. He didn't pull on the leash, he actually didn't try to get food from people (including the girl with the brownie in one hand that was petting him), and he didn't get testy with the other dogs. Somewhere on the way to the park Ripken's good twin must have changed places with him. The other therapy dog people actually asked me why Ripken doesn't ever come and do special events like Armstrong does. Well, he doesn't do it because he is normally hyper, whiny, and all over the place, but that is not the dog they saw today. My friend joked that the crackhead was in rehab for the day, and that is kind of right. Here is a picture of our Strut Your Mutt team. Unfortunately someone else took this picture and didn't tell me that you can't see Armstrong because he is behind a big newfie. That is Ripken (the dalmatian) that I am reaching down to pet, and Armstrong whose head you can kind of see in front of him.

On a side note, my skin cancer screening also went well. I have something on my cheek that I was told to watch, but that didn't need to be removed yet. I have been outside in the sun my whole life and never used sunscreen as my parents never used it. Now my dad has some minor skin cancers and I have lots of sun damaged skin and a mark to watch. All of the years of lifeguarding and now running pools will eventually catch up, but for now I am good.

Strut Your Mutt is Tomorrow

Tomorrow is strut your mutt and I am so excited. I had to miss it last year because my hip hurt too much, but this year I am doing it with my spotted boys. It is a walk to raise money for No More Homeless Pets in Utah so I will be walking a lot tomorrow. I think it will end up being 4 or 5 miles I walk with my dogs. It is looking kind of overcast and my screws are starting to ache so I think rain is coming. It better clear up for tomorrow morining because I don't want to walk in the rain, and my screws hurt too much to walk much in damp weather. I can't wait to get these stupid things out. After strut your mutt I have my annual skin cancer screening then I get to come to work for 16 hours and supervise a graduation party at our recreation center until 6 am Sunday. It is going to be a busy day. I will post tomorrow about how my hip held up on the long walk.

4 Months Post Pao

Yesterday was officially 4 months post pao and I couldn't be happier with the results. I celebrated the day by golfing 9 holes for the second time this week and then doing an hour on the elliptical. I have no pain anymore at all unless I do something stupid, or do something the muscles aren't used to (like golf.) After each day of golfing I had muscle pain in the groin, but by the next morning it felt fine. I noticed today that I can cross my leg to tie my shoe, which I couldn't do a few weeks ago. My right hip is coming up on a year post pao and that one I can't even tell had anything done to it. I looked in the mirror the other day and couldn't even see the scar over the waistband of my shorts so even that is fading. The big success of the whole yearlong process of reconstructing both hips is that my back pain I have had for many, many years is gone. In college in 93-94 I had to have heat, e-stim, and stretching before every softball practice or game just so I could be functional and not get spasms. Who knew it was all related to my hip issue. I don't think I have anything to try to do that I haven't already done. I have gone skiing (at 12 weeks post op), I have golfed, I am back on the elliptical, and I can walk the dogs. Maybe I am just a freak of nature at recovering, but this has been a really easy healing, even compared to my easy recovery on the first hip. I am so glad I did this, and so glad my surgeon is so great. Now, it is time to finish some work for the day then do another hour on the elliptical before going home to get caught up on all of my tivoed shows. I hate finale weeks because I have so much to catch up on.

Ripken's Agility Trial

Sorry it took so long to post the remaining part of the blog about Ripken's agility trial, but I decided to wait until I had talked to Dave, our trainer, about what we were going to do with the problem child. We had our lesson yesterday and Ripken was perfect again, which makes his behavior at the trial even more annoying. Here is the breakdown of Ripken run amok at the agility trial:
Thursday event 1 (jumpers)- did one jump (out of 16) then jumped out of the ring to find me since Dave was running him.
Thursday event 2 (standard)- this time I walked Ripken inside to where I was going to be since I had to watch Dave's toy booth. I handed him off to Dave who then took him outside to run him. He did the whole course, though he did run around a little and missed the bottom contact. All in all, it was his best event of the weekend.
Thursday event 3 (fast)- on the way inside to take Ripken to Dave we passed some food that was sitting out on a chair. Ripken was so focused on it I had to drag him by the collar to get him past it. At the start line for the event, Dave let him go and he didn't even do one jump, he simply ran to the corner of the ring where the food was, jumped out of the ring and stole a guy's brownie. He would have gotten the cookie to, but the frosting was so thick on the brownie he couldn't open his mouth enough for the cookie.
Friday event 1 (standard)- Ripken started the course and was perfect. He got halfway through the course before getting to the brownie corner from the night before. At the brownie corner he jumped out of the ring looking for more brownies (luckily he didn't get any this time).
Friday event 2 (fast)- By this point Dave and I are frustrated that Ripken keeps jumping out of the ring. We were going to pull him from the show then decided since it is fast (which is where you make up your own course) we would keep let him do it. We decided to do only 4 obstacles with him, all in the front of the ring so he doesn't get near the brownie corner. After the four obstacles they were going to leave the ring and Dave would praise him and give him lots of treats. Well, Ripken did the four obstacles, but at the exit where Dave was kneeling down to praise him, Ripken dodged by him and tried to steal a woman's sandwich. When he saw he wasn't getting nay, he made a break for the building I was in, 300 yards away. Dave finally caught him by the building and we decided to pull him from the last two days of the show.

Now, out plan is to practice with plates of food on the ground, and I am practicing just walking him by food and ignoring it. It is hard for him, but eventually it should work. Also, he won't compete in agility again until after he gets an obedience or rally title. Doing obedience/ rally will make him focus more and make him be in a ring under control. Once we have that, he can go back to agility, but not before. Anyway, that was my weekend. Ripken is so hard to train, but he is a great dog. Looking back, it really is funny what he did at the show, though it was frustrating at the time. Tomorrow night is more obedience so he better start to like it.

Testing the Hip

The past three days have been quite a test for me and my hip. I had a 4 day dog show to go to and only 3 days ito it I am hurting. There has been so much walking, and when i am not walking I am standing on hard cement. Add to that the chill and dampness and it is the trifecta of pain. The good news is that it doesn't hurt in the joint itself, it is the muscles and screws that are hurting so i know I am okay. I have put on my pajamas and laid in bed as soon as I got home each day because I just can't be on my feet anymore. Last night I even had to take a pain pill and I hate taking them. One more day and the show is over, and tomorrow is a short day so that will help.

The reason I was at the show was for my dog to compete in agility. I obviously was not running him, my trainer was running him. It as a complete disaster and I will post about his exploits tomorrow when I am not so tired. It was definitely an experience. More tomorrow.

Pictures from Alta Closing Day

Here are some pictures from Alta Ski Area's closing day. It is where I went skiing on Sunday, 12 weeks and 3 days post pao.

I Went Skiing and Tried to Break My Hip

Yesterday was my big ski day and I was so excited to go. I should have known it was going to be a weird day when part of the canyon leading up to Alta was closed because of an avalanche. There is another road that goes around the back of Snowbird that leads to Alta so I was still able to go, but it should have been an omen or something. I said i was going to do either 4 runs or one hour, whichever came first. I was on my fourth run of the day and I was going home after that run when my ski stuck and I fell. The snow was so slushy (it was 55 degrees on the mountain) and that is really hard to ski in. Sometimes the skis "stick" and other times they skid out so it takes a lot of concentration to ski in the slush. I looked up at the trail merge to see if anyone was coming down from the other trail and that was all it took for my skis to go out from under me. The ski on my right side came off, but the ski on my left side, the side that was just fixed 12 weeks ago, stayed on. As I fell the ski stuck while I twisted and I felt and heard about 8 snaps and pops in about half a second. I had to stay down on the ground for a minute or so because my hip hurt so bad. When I finally stood up it hurt so I just stood there for 5 minutes or so waiting for the pain to go away a little bit. After the 5 minutes the pain was gone so I skiied down the hill to the base. That didn't hurt so I said I was going to do one more run so I didn't end my season on a fall. The final run went well and didn't hurt so I was happy.

Unfortunately, when I got ready to go the canyon going down was closed because another avalanche had gone across the road. It was too far down the road to use the back way so I was stuck at Alta. Had I not done the last run I would have made it down before the closure, but instead I had to wait 2 hours for the road to open. At least it was a beautiful day so I sat outside the lodge in the sun with a diet pepsi just enjoying the sun. When the canyon opened, it took 90 minute dot get home when it normally only takes 20 minutes. I live 15 miles from Alta, but the traffic was so backed up and it is only one lane on a windy canyon road so it took forever.

It is now the next morning and I feel really good. I gave the dog a bath last night when I got home so we could go to the hospital today. I wasn't sure if I would feel up to it, but I wanted to bathe him just in case I felt okay. This morning my hip felt the same as it did before I went skiing so obviously I didn't break anything or do anything to the screws. I can't believe I was able to ski 12 weeks post pao, and it didn't hurt. The fall hurt, but the skiing didn't. I think that is progress. Now it is time to get ready to take Armstrong to Primary Children's.

My Surgeon is Letting Me Ski!

Today is 12 weeks post pao and the weather is terrible. The weather has been killing me because it just keeps raining and snowing, then gets nice, then rains and snows again. I normally wouldn't care,but A) it hurts when the weather changes and B) I can't ski yet so it is frustrating. Today on a whim I called the doc to ask if I could ski. Snowbird has gotten 2 feet in 2 days, and another 3 feet in the 3 days before that and it is just too tempting to ski. The surgeon shocked me and said I can ski if I don't do any moguls and don't do anything too technical. I am going to go to Alta on Sunday for an hour or so and just do some blue and green runs. I am really excited. The doc did say I would definitely be sore afterwards, but structurally the hip isn't going to get hurt. The bones are grafted for the most part, and the screws are still in and solid so the hip will be fine. I will update Sunday night when I am laying in bed regretting my decision, but at least I will have fun before I regret it.

I Got Rid of My Last Surgery Concession

Today was the day I finally got rid of the last concession to my surgery. I have had temporary fencing up from my back porch to my back yard so I could just open the door to let my dogs out. Normally, I have to put the boys on a leash and walk them out the 25 feet to the yard then I can let them off the leash because the yard is fenced. Before the surgery I had a friend come put up the temporary fencing so I didn't have to worry about the boys pulling me down the stairs on their leashes. Today, at 11 weeks and 3 days I took the fence down (by myself), pulled out all of the surveying stakes that were holding the fence up, rolled up the fence, then put it all under the porch steps. I feel normal again, though I do hate taking them on the leashes to the yard. Just in case all of the lifting and pulling weren't going to make me hurt enough, I also decided to mow the lawn. I haven't used my mower in 6 months so it didn't want to start. It took almost 20 minutes of trying (pulling the cord and twisting wasn't good) before it finally started. The yard looks great, but I can see all of the swelling in my thigh, and the area by my groin is purple from bruising. I don't care though because I no longer am relying on anything but myself and am back to normal in what I can do. Obviously, normal without pain will still take time, but at least I can tell myself I am normal. I still have the handicap tag for the car, which I don't use unless the weather is bad. I use it if it is raining or snowing because I can't run inside, and I can't walk fast enough to not get soaked. I will have to go back and look to see where I am at compared to my last surgery, but I think I am actually ahead of last time. My doc thought that was impossible to recover faster, but to me that was just a challenge so I have to been trying really hard. I guess my competitive spirit has helped so I highly recommend if you are going through this to set goals and compete with yourself to beat them. I will update this when I get a chance to look at my blog from the last surgery.

Update- I just looked at my previous blog posts from the June surgery and the fence timing is actually exactly the same. The weekend of the 11th week it came down both times. What I did see that made me happy is that it was also at 11 weeks that I first could go up the stairs leading with both legs, not just the good one. This time, I was able to lead with both legs at about 8 weeks so I am ahead of schedule. That makes me happy, and usually I am not really happy around Easter. Now I am going to bed and going to watch the movie Milk. I have to see what Sean Penn did to beat Mickey Rourke for the Oscar. I saw The Wrestler and I can't believe anyone could beat Rourke so I am watching the movie to see what Penn did.

The Dog Tried to Rip My Leg Off

Today i was sitting on my bed on the computer while my two dalmatians were playing tag. Unfortunately the bed is their "safe" so they run from one side of the house to the other with the bed as the turnaround. Ripken was running full speed when he jumped on the bed and snagged my leg so it got yanked a little to the side. The muscles in the groin are definitely not very happy right now. They got stretched more than they had in quite a while, and it wasn't one of the nice easy stretches. Needless to say, I put an end to their tag game and they are now quietly chewing on their bones. Hopefully the pain goes away before the morning because I have to stand for 2 hours and walk around the pool. I organize an Easter Egg Dive at the pool I run so I have to be there on deck helping out. I know I can't wait to listen to 250 screaming kids while I am hurting. Now if my knees would just stop hurting.

10.5 Weeks Post Pao- I Went Golfing

I didn't want my first day allowed to golf to be on an actual course because I didn't want a screw to snap and be in the fetal position on a back fairway. I decided to start on a driving range and see ow it went. I had hit a couple of balls at 8 weeks when I bought my new clubs, but nothing like today. Me and 2 friends from work went and hit balls for almost and hour and a half and I hit a huge bucket of balls myself. The clubs were great, and my two friends liked them also. I was really worried about the hip because it has really been hurting for the past few days, but it held up really well. There were a few swings that hurt, but all in all, it was good. It feels so good to be doing something normal, and I am so glad that my doc allowed me to do it. I left a message for him when I was done so he knows how good of a job he did on me. The most surprising thing about the whole outing is that I hit the ball pretty well. I haven't golfed or hit balls in almost 10 years and it came back quick. I was hitting 200 yard drives, and they were going straight which is very unusual for me. I have now taken some advil to stop some of the swelling and inflammation that I know is inevitable, but it was well worth it. I think we are going to try to do 9 holes either next week or the following week so we will see how that goes.

Finally Figured out the Hip Pain- Back to the Elliptical

I have finally figured out what has been causing the hip pain I have been having for the past two weeks or so. I started to go up stairs like a normal person two weeks ago instead of leading with the good leg for each step. The pain coincides with that and I finally realized it when I tried to go up some stairs yesterday and it bothered me. My quads are still pretty week so it is putting too much pressure on the joint. I guess that is to be expected not even 10 weeks post pao, but it surprised me. I am so used to doing what I want and apparently I can't. Today I had to suck it up and get back to the elliptical machine so I can strengthen the quads and hopefully that will ease the pain. It is a catch 22 because it hurts to do the elliptical, but it is for the greater good of the hip so I will keep it up. Now I have to go to bed because my alarm will be going off at 3:30am so I can be at work by 5am to register for all of our summer programs. April 1st is the kickoff to summer for all of our programs and all staff has to be there. I guess it is a good day when you can register 1000 kids for summer camps in 2 hours. At least it takes my mind off of the fact that tomorrow is also the 12 year anniversary of my mom dying. I never do good around this time, but the registration takes my mind off of it so that helps. Goodnight.

A Rough Hip Week- 9 Weeks Post Op

It has been a really rough week for my hip this week. Thursday was 9 weeks post op, but I am hurting more this week than a few weeks ago. I think I did too much (it is like a broken record with me, I know). I went back to the hospital on Monday with Armstrong for an hour or so on my feet, kneeling, and standing then went to a bar on Thursday to watch a band I like and was on my feet for 5 hours. In between I worked a full week and bought a new car. The car is nice and I love the fun features on it. With the rain, snow, and cold lately it has been nice to have heated seats. I also have windshield wiper defrosters and side mirror defrosters. There is also a 6 disc changer which will be good for my books on cd I like to listen to. I got it preowned so I got a very good deal on the car, and dropped my car payment from what it was. I am now just trying to recover from my week and I might need to take a pain pill for it. I am really sore and my limp is pretty bad. Tomorrow I don't have anything to do so I think I will stay home and relax all day.

Armstrong was Back to Work Today

Today was the first day since before my surgery that Armstrong and I went back to Primary Children's to work. He is a therapy dog in the cancer and bone marrow transplant unit and he is very well loved there. It has been about 3 months since we visited (the 8+ weeks since surgery and the weeks before surgery where I we didn't go so I didn't get sick from the kids.) He was so excited when I pulled his vest out of the closet and was prancing around. He gets so spoiled at the hospital so he just loves going. As soon as we got up to the cancer floor he pulled me to the pharmacy dept. 3 months and he still knows the pharmacy gives him treats when he comes in. After pulling him (reluctantly) away from pharmacy we went to visit the kids. It was so nice to see new faces, as that means our regular kids have gone home and are feeling better. That is at least what I tell myself, I use denial all the time to deal with these young kids dying. Our last patient of the day, after another swing through pharmacy for Armstrong, was a little 2 year old girl who saw another dog a couple of days before but was scared of it. We went in and she just couldn't resist a real dalmatian in her room so she came up and petted him. She even gave him some cheerios and wasn't afraid. That always makes me feel good when we can make a little kid's day just a little bit better. It was a good day, but I kept it short in case I started to hurt later.

I now just finished doing 10 miles in 30 minutes on the stationary bike at a level 7 so i am pretty proud of myself. The other thing I am proud of is that I went shopping because all of my shorts and pants are too big for me. I have been losing weight since last November when I originally hurt my hip. My goal was to lose weight so the joint wouldn't have to work as hard. I have been pretty successful, though this week has not been very good (stupid girl scout cookies). I have now gone down another pant size. That is 4 pant sizes, counting in two's in women's sizing. In men's sizes, yes I wear men's shorts all the time, I have gone down 6 inches in the waist size, and could go down another one but I hate clothes that actually fit. I wear everything baggy, but it is time to go down a size when I need a belt to hold the pants up. I have also had to get a new belt because the one I used in March I ran out of holes on. I am feeling pretty proud of myself today, even if my hip is hurting quite a bit. The weather is killing me. I just don't know how it can be 74 degrees on Saturday, 60 on Sunday early afternoon, and snowing at 10:00 that night. I now have 4 inches of snow in my yard and that is just not right, and it is not good for my hardware. Hopefully it warms up again soon.

8 Weeks Post Pao- Hit some Golf Balls

Today is my 8 weeks post pao, and in general I am feeling good. My biggest issue is how tired I feel a lot of the time, but that may be a different problem than my surgery. I had thyroid cancer so I take a thyroid med daily and if I forget I can get tired. It could also be that I am doing too much too soon. With that said, today I hit some golf balls and felt okay. I decided that since I haven't golfed in almost 10 years, I want to take it up again. I quit because I moved to a place where it was to expensive and my back really started to hurt. Since my first pao was done my back is feeling so much better so I thought I would take up golf again. Today was the day I went to buy some clubs. I got a really good deal on a set of Top Flite XL clubs, which apparently are made by Calloway now. Before buying the clubs I had to try them out so into the indoor range I went with club in hand. All total, I hit maybe 30 balls, and felt okay until about number 25. At that point I got a little sore. It wasn't really painful, I could just feel the hip and feel that surgery was only 2 months ago. I did hit really well for not swinging a club in 10 years and just having surgery. I now have 2 weeks until I am officially allowed to golf according to my doc. I think I will try to take it easy the rest of the day, but I may do some easy biking.

Really Sore Last Two Days

I have had to skip the elliptical the last two days becasue I am too sore to do it. Fortunately, it is not my hip that is sore, it is my calf muscle that I pulled. It is actually making me walk with a worse limp. People think my hip is bad, but it is just a muscle. My quad muscle is sore also, but that is normal after exercising again after a layoff. The good news of the last couple of days is that I am now able to walk up stairs like a normal person instead of always leading with my good leg. I was also able to get rid of the shower bench today. I was worried about standing on one leg while I shaved, but my hip was really strong and didn't hurt at all. I can't believe how good I am for just 7 weeks post pao. I hope by tomorrow I will be able to exercise again, and this time I will try to take it a little easier instead of pushing myself so hard that I get sore.

First Day Back to the Elliptical Machine

Today I decided to go back to the elliptical machine. The doc told me on Wed that I could startusing it, but I wasn't feeling well so I put it off. Today I finally feel better so I bit the bullet and did it. I was hoping to do 10 minutes, but I felt really good so I ended up doing 30 minutes. Occasionally the muscles felt like they were freezing up, but each time it lasted only 10 or 15 seconds so I kept going. I am sure I wil be feeling iffy tonight, but it was definitely worth it to exercise again and get my muscles working. When I got home and was standing outside with the dogs my hamstrings started to quiver, but that has also gone away since then. I really do feel good, and I have one big milestone left and that is to get rid of the bench in my shower. I think by next week I should feel good enough to get rid of it. As it is, I am only using it when I wash my legs because standing on one leg is still not working so next week I should be done. I am just so thrilled with my recovery and how well I have healed.

First Full Day of Work

Today was my first full day back to work. I have been going in for a few weeks now, but only for 4 or 5 hours a day. I think my longest was 6.5. hours one daqy last week and that was difficult. I didn't go in yesterday at all becasue I have been so tired. I don't know if it is from the infection I have or just from beginning to walk again but I just feel worn out. Today I did the full 8 hours and I am dying now. I just took a pain pill because my hip (the muscles around it and not the joint) feels like it is on fire. At the beginning of the day I could walk with a slight limp, but by the time I left I was barely walking. This is all part of the progess so I was expecting it,but I think I may have pushed myslef too much. Tomorrow I am going to try to go in to work for an hour or so and do the elliptical, even if it is for only 5 minutes. I just want to see how it feels. Until then, I am in bed and getting ready to fall asleep even though it is still light out.

Day 1 Off Crutches- 6 Weeks Post Pao

Today is my first full day off of crutches and I am definitely feeling it. Yesterday was my 6 week post op visit with my surgeon so I was given permission to come off of crutches, but he said I should use one crutch for a week or so until I get my balance back. He said I didn't have to, and the joint will not be affected at all whether I use it or not. My hands are bruised and calloused so I have opted to not really the use the one crutch except at home. Here are the highlights of my doc visit:

• my bones are healing really well, though they will not be completely healed for a few more months. The main structural bone in the hip that was cut and where the screws are has healed about 75%, and the bone in the groin that was cut is barely healed which is normal because it has to be shifted so much and barely touches the other side.
• The doc said I will be one of the patients he always will remember because the way both of my hips have healed has shown him what is possible in recovering from this surgery. That made me very proud of myself and my perseverance in rehabbing and pushing myself in the healing process. I did it for myself, but if I can teach this well renowned doc something new it is a great feeling.
• I have been riding the stationary bike with no resistance since week 4, but now I am allowed to ride using resistance. I am also allowed to start using the elliptical machine right now which kind of surprised me.
• I can go golfing in 4 more weeks, which surprised me even more than the elliptical did. The fact my doc is letting me golf 10 weeks post op says something about his belief that being active will help the healing more than sitting around. Many others that have had this surgery are completely non weight bearing for 10-12 weeks so my doc is quite the renegade in rehabbing and healing. I have been 50% weight bearing since 2 hours after my surgery when pt came to my room, and I know that is different than most docs.
• I can't play softball for 3 months because the swing is different than a golf swing. Apparently the step that comes with the softball swing is what makes it bad, but he obviously hasn't seen my golf swing because it resembles swinging at a low pitch.
• My screws can't come out for a year. I could go in in June and have the right side taken out, but if I wait until January I can get both sides taken out at the same time. I am choosing the one surgery even though it means waiting for 6 extra months.
• As a joke I asked him if I can spring ski and he just laughed at me and told me not to push my luck. I will be ready for a full season next year, and I might even postpoine the screw removal a little bit to get and extra month or so of skiing in.

All in all it was a very productive day at the doc and I don't have to go back for a year to see him. Today was pretty tiring being the first day off of crutches. It didn't help that I had a 7 hour meeting for work, and it took place in a damp feeling farmhouse/ barn. We were sitting on metal folding chairs and by hour 4 I was hurting. At lunch time my boss went in search of a better chair for me, and tha helped. I got an ergonomic office chair for the final 3 hours which made it a little more tolerable, even if the meeting itself was not really tolerable. I had already scheduled a dog training class for the evening, but I was barely functioning by the end of the meeting so I pushed Ripken's class up and hour so I could come home and go to bed earlier. I am now in bed having taken a pain killer, and I will probably be asleep before 7pm. At least I am off crutches so I guess nothing else matters.

I'm in the Home Stretch

I only have 3 more days til I see the surgeon to get off crutches. I am doing all of the last minute strengthening I can, and have begun to try to take a few steps on my own. Generally I will lean on something so I am not putting all of my weight on the hip, but once or twice I have just tried to walk. Surprisingly it didn't hurt at all, which wasn't good as a deterrent. I need to feel some pain so I know what I am doing is wrong, but I have been telling myself to stay on crutches and just suck it up for another 3 days and I will be done. There really isn't anything I can't do so sometimes it is hard to remember to behave. I woke up this morning, got out of bed and forgot I am still on crutches so I started to walk to the closet to put on some shoes. I did remember after a few steps so I grabbed the crutches and counted down another day. I just did 7.5 miles in 30 minutes on the stationary bike so my muscles are doing well, and it didn't hurt. Anyway, I can finally see the light at the end of this long 9 month tunnel of surgeries. Hopefully I am done with the major stuff, though I think I will be having my screws removed this summer. I will ask the doc about that this week. Until Wednesday...

One More Week on Crutches

This time next week I will finallybe off my crutches and I am so excited about that. When I get off I will have been on crutches for 3 and a half of the last nine months. My hands hurt and the callouses are getting big so I am just done with crutches. I feel good and the only pain I get is in my quads. I am still convinced I have no nerve endings in my hip because I haven't really ever gotten pain in the hip itself, it has always been in the areas around the joint. I don't have a lot to say, I just wanted to point out I only have 1 week left. Now, it is off to the bike.

Good Rehab Day

Today I decided to go in to work and ride the stationary bike for a little bit. I was feeling good for the first time in a couple of days and I am only 10 days away from getting off crutches so I knew I needed to do something. After the steam cleaning, it was a rough 2 days. The day after I did the carpets I never left the house. I was hurting most of the day and was really tired from the meds so I opted to stay home and rest. I went to work on Saturday for a few hours, but was beginning to ache a little so I didn't want to push my luck by riding the bike. Today, I feel good so I rode for 20 minutes and did a little over 4 miles. I am not allowed to use any resistance, but they didn't say anything about speed so I am able to pedal as fast as I want. I felt really good when I finished so I headed to the pool to do some water work. I did another 30 minutes in the pool doing deep water rehab. I felt good even after that, but didn't want to push my luck so now I am home resting and watching the NFL Scouting Combine. I don't know what it is about the combine, but I love to watch it every year. I get to see who the sleepers are so when I watch the draft (yes, I watch both days of the draft) I recognize even the late round people. The combine ends early enough for me to flip over to the Oscars so it is quite a big day of TV watching, but i have earned it. I always feel so lazy just sitting around, but I know I need it to be able to recover properly. I have xrays in 10 days so we will see if what I am doing is working.

A Setback Day- I am Stupid

Today I am going to stay in bed all day and rest. I was stupid yesterday and steam cleaned my living room carpet and it really hurt. I probably could have waited, but one of the dogs was sick and threw up so there were a couple of places that needed cleaning. I put it off as long as I could, but I just can't handle looking at a stain like that without cleaning it. I bought a steam cleaner a year or so ago just for that reason. Cleaning on crutches though is not easy, and especially when I have to bend over and really push down on the cleaner to get the stain out. Just running the cleaner will clean most stuff, but to get the staining out you really have to push down on the cleaner to get the stuff deep down. The bending, pushing, and twisting at the same time was not the best thing for a recovering hip. The funny thing is that the joint is not what hurt, but the area right above the scar at the waist. I think it was the muscles where they were cut that hurt, but I don't know for sure. I took a pain pill at 6pm and another at midnight so I am staying in bed and trying to rest/ sleep off all those pills. I am really sensitive to meds and felt completely drugged this morning when I woke up so I went back to bed. It is now noon and I am still feeling sluggish. I also don't want to drive if I feel this way because it is stupid. Now, it is back to sleep.

4 Weeks Post Pao

Today is the one month point of my recovery from my pao surgery. I am doing really well and can't believe how smooth the recovery has been (excet the whole blood clot scare thing). I am going to ride the stationary bike today for the first time so we will see how I feel tomorrow at this time. Only 13 more days until I am off of my crutches so I am trying to get as strong as possible going into my appointment with the surgeon so I am able to ditch them for good. Except for walking, I can't really thin of anything I can't do. I am able to lay on the operated side for a few minutes at a time which was my last real milestone. I am no longer having to lift my leg up with my hands to get into bed, or to get into the car. While I am standing, I can lift my leg up so the knee is abot at 90 degrees so the muscles are getting healed. At this point, I feel pretty well healed and am just waiting for some more strength and the ability to walk. The doc say I am his poster child for this surgery so that makes me happy and makes me feel better about what I am able to do. Now, it is just getting ready for walking.

A Blood Clot Scare

I have been having pain in my calf for about a week now and yesterday it began to get worse. I asked a paramedic friend and my dad what he thought and they said I was right to be concerned and i do need to call the doc in the morning. I called this morning and told the med assistant about the pain in my calf, the fact that I have had a blood clot before, and that this pain felt sinmilar to the other clot I had. She said I was right to call an she scheduled me for an ultrasound to check the veins. I was alittle freaked out becasue they told me if I have a clot I would be admitted right away to the hospital to start the levinox (sp?) and would stay in until the levels were at a therapeutic level. The test sowed no clots so that was good. They still don't know what is going on, but the theory is that I maybe got a cramp or a charlie horse and because I am not walking it hasn't had a chance to work itself out. I am allowed to go back to rehabbing now and I will see the surgeon in 2 weeks for my 6 week follow up xrays and getting off crutches. When I went in at 2 weks I was told I could not ride a stationary bike, so today when I called with my results I asked again. Because I am now 4 weeks post op I am allowed to ride a bike with no resistance and with the seat high enough where my hip does not go more than 90 degrees. I think I will try the bike tomorrow. All things considered, I am doing well and counting down the days until no more crutches.

Feeling Too Good- This Isn't Normal

Today is 3 weeks and 3 days post pao and I feel way too good. I actually tried to go up the steps today leading with the wrong foot because I forgot which hip was done. At this point, I no longer have to grab my leg to lift it into bed, I don't have to hold my leg getting out of the car, and I can put all 50% weight on my leg without any pain. I am a little freaked out because it is not normal, even for me, to feel this good less than a month after my surgery. I am having to make a concentrated effort to hold myself back so I don't do anything to hurt the hip or bend the screws. I promise I won't do anything my doc says I can't do, but I think I am going to call on Tuesday to ask again about riding a bike on the days I can't get to the pool. I think my bones are healing fairly well so maybe the biking will be allowed. If not, I will hold off until my 6 week appointment with x rays. I don't want to ruin the surgery so I will follow directions.

Pool Rehab Day 2

Today was day 2 of my pool rehab program and it went much better today. I did the full 30 minutes that I wanted to do and even felt better towards the end. At first I was getting a weird pain at the base of my tailbone each time I moved my leg forward, but after about 10 minutes the pain went away and the walking felt good. I think I worked out some of the kinks that were starting to set in. Towards the end of the time I was beginning to feel stiff, but not painful. I ended up napping for about 2 hours yesterday after finishing rehab, and I think a nap is coming on today as well. It's funny at the pool to do my rehab, I am the only person under 65 years old. Apparently the time I have been going is the unofficial senior time, but they accepted me since I am rehabbing and won't splash them. The women hate getting their hair wet so they are really particular about who is in the pool. I think I am going to take the weekend off and let my hip rest for a couple of days and head back to the pool on Monday. Now it is time to let the boys out and take my nap.

Pool Rehab Day 1

Today was day one of my pool rehab and I had mixed results. My goal was to do 30 minutes of water walking in the deep water. When I got in the pool it felt really good so I started my walking. Keep in mind when Isay walking, what it really is is putting my leg through the walking motion without actually trying to push hard or propel myself. All of the propelling is from my arms with my legs literally just going through the motions. After what I thought was about 15 minutes I looked at the clock and it had only been 5 minutes so I re adjusted my goal for the day. I couldn't believe how tired, stiff and sore I was after only 5 minutes. I ended up doing about 20 minutes, but it was tough. Towards the end I could feel my hip clicking a little bit, but I don't know if it was the muscles around the hip or if it was actually the bone. When I got out of the pool I was definitley stiff, but not in pain. Now, 2 hours after getting out, my quad muscles are a little sore so I know the movement helped. I am not in pain, just stiff and really tired. I am about to get in the shower and go to bed for a nice nap. I will be in the pool again tomorrow so we will see how long I am able to go. I know I am making my hip stronger and staving off the atrophy and that is what makes me keep trying to do stuff. Now, it is bedtime.

3 Weeks Post Op- Pool Rehab Tomorrow

Tomorrow is 3 weeks since my left pao and I am actually ahead of schedule compared to my right hip. I have actually gone to work 2 days in a row, and 3 days total this week. All in al, I feel good and feel like I have turned the corner on my recovery. On Monday I finally started to feel like I was healing instead of feeling like my hip had just been cut in half (which it basically had). Today, the steri strips that went on last week when the staples were removed finally came off (with some help from me- I swear the nurse glued them on because they were really stuck on and hurt pulling them off). Once the strips were off I could see that the incision is completely closed so I get to start deep water walking in the pool tomorrow. I am so excited because that means I am in the home stretch of this surgery and recovery. Three weeks from today I am off crutches and I can't tell you how excited I am by that. Another exciting highlight- I finally got to ditch the ted hose today. I hate those things. I was going to do a list of what I can do at this point of my recovery, but it is easier to say what I can't do. Really I can do anything and everything I want except walking and sleeping on my operated side. I am thinking the op side sleeping will come sometime this week, but I can wait. I am finally able to put the 50% weight on my operated side. Until Monday, it hurt too much to put much weight on it, but I think the bones are healed enough so I am not getting the sharp pains when I try. I am ow relearning my walking motion, and the pool will help with that as well. Honestly, I feel really good. I think my surgeon is a god to be able to do what he did and have me recover as fast as I have. I am 3 weeks post op and the only thing I can't do is walk, and that is amazing. I have even stopped needing a painkiller at night so I am 100% off of pills, except for the aspirin for clotting. Well, that is the latest update and I am ecstatic to be where I am. Now, that may change after the pool tomorrow because I know I will be hurting. I already told work I would not be in for a couple of days until my body adjusts to rehab. Their response was I shouldn't be in now so any time I work is a bonus. My boss jokes with people that I only had surgery like 30 minutes ago and I am already back. He sent me a really nice email about my work ethic and my ability to recover. I guess I am a little strange on the recovery process, but it is better to heal quick and painless as opposed to how this recovery is supposed to go. The doc says I am an inspiration for his patients going into this. He actually tells them about me when they are discussing the surgery to show them what is possible. That makes me feel proud of myself. Well, until tomorrow...

I Slept on My Side- 18 Days Post Op

I couldn't be more excited than I was when I tried to lay on my non operated side and I was able to. At first it was only for a few minutes, but last night I actually fell asleep on my side and stayed there for 2 hours. I am one who sleeps all the time on mysides- I have never really slept on my back so being able to roll over was a great thing. Also, I have been able to start putting more weight on my leg without the sharp pain behind my hip. I am allowed to put up to 50% weight on it, but I have barely been able to put anything on it without pain. Lately, I have been doing the walking motion on my crutches while putting quite a bit of weight on it. I think I am finally turning the corner into real healing. My incision looks good so I think the end of this week I will be able to start in the pool. Lets hope. Until then, I am feeling reall good.

2 Week Post Op Doc Visit

Today I went to see the doc's physician assistant to have my staples removed. The PA has been with the surgeon for a long time and was in on both of my surgeries so she knows what is going on. She walked in the room and asked if I feel as good after this one as I did after my last hip. When I told her yes she just started to laugh. Apparently I am an amazing healer with a good pain tolerance. She thought this one would be worse because usually the second one is, but I feel good. Once the staples came out I feel even better than I did before. I can't tell you how uncomfortable the staples are. I can get in the pool to start rehab once the incision is healed, which will be another week or so, but now I can shower without having to cover the incision which is a huge relief. I cannot ride the recumbent bike, or any bike until my 6 week xrays so until the pool I am out of luck for doing anything.

I did get some good pics of the before and after on the hip they just fixed. The before is obviously the one without all of the hardware in it. You can see the ball quite a bit out of socket and how it just doesn't fit.

Now, on the after xray you can see how they rotated and fixed the socket so the ball fits better in it.

The little marks on the side of the xray are all of the staples that they put in the skin. Just thought I would share some pics because I think they are fascinating.

11 Days Post Op- A Busy Day

So today is 11 days post op and I felt really good when I woke up this morning so I decided to go to a meeting that was scheduled for work. Originally I didn't think I would be up to going, but I did anyway. I sat through an hour of worthless meeting (I should have just stayed home), then went to the store. I needed to get milk and the person who drove me to the meeting would be able to carry it into the house for me so that was nice. Also, we made a side trip to Noodles and Company which made the entire day worthwhile. Just in case I hadn't already overdone it for the day, I got home and put the seat covers on the car seats because Ripken had agility class and he would have to be in the car. Then off we went to agility class, and Ripken did really well at not pulling me on the leash. Dave, my dog trainer, has been running Ripken since the first surgery in June so I just had to bring the dog and sit and watch. Ripken had a good listening day, and is sleeping now. To top off the day, I really needed to change my sheets and forgot to ask my friend to hep me when she was here so I did it by myslef. It was a little hard because the bed is king size and against a wall so I had top crawl across the bed. The good part of it is I realized I can roll over so maybe tonight I may be able to roll onto my side for a few minutes. Anyway, I took a painkiller 30 minutes ago and it is kicking in so it is time for bed. I know I will be sore tomorrow (and tonight) so I am allowing myself to take a pill if needed, but I did go for 15 hours today without one and felt fine. I think I will stay home and relax in the recliner tomorrow so I am ready and not in pain for the doc on Wed. Yay, my staples come out in less than 2 days! Well, off to bed.

1 Week Post PAO- My First Outing

Today I got bored so I decided to go on an outing. The whole purpose was to go to walmart and get the cling wrap for use during showering. Because it is my left hip that was done I was able to drive myself and that was nice. I made a detour to work to say hi to friends. Everybody was surprised to see me, but I was feeling good. I am supposed to take about 6 weeks off work but my manager was guessing I would be back in next week. He was close. Today is alos the day I was targeting to get off pain pills. I am basically there, but still need 1 or 2 each night. Sleeping is the hardest part of the whole surgery because I can't roll over at all. I am pain pill free during the day though so I am almost at my goal. Today I had to take one, but that was because of my outing. Getting in and out of the car sent a few really sharp twinges into my hip and now I am a little more swollen than I was and I think that is why I am hurting now. Here is my one week list.

Things I can do:

• Get dressed by myself and put on the ted hose on my own
• Get in and out of the shower
• Shave my legs
• Drive on my own (which requires no pain pills taken)
• Get in and out of bed
• Pick stuff up off the floor that I have dropped

Things I can't do:

• Sleep through the night
• Roll over on either side to sleep
• No rehab yet

I still have pain, but in general it is not enough to need pain pills. I am doing better than most people after this surgery so I guess I can't complain about the little annoying things I can't do. I wish I could roll over, and can get onto my non op side, bu tonly for a minute or two at a time. Rolling over to sleep on my side is the mecca of this surgery, and by far the day I am looking forward to the most (next to pool rehab start). I will update again soon.