Graduated!

This post has been the one I've been waiting to write since May 8th.  3 Months and 1 day after my surgery, I took the physical test that I had been dreading for weeks.  I kept thinking that there was no way I was gonna pass and I was going to have to come back over Thanksgiving break and try again.  I stressed and worried and practiced for a week.  When the day finally came, I was a nervous wreck.  The test was out of 20 points and to "pass" I needed 17 of those points.  There were 4 sections to the test, and of course we started with most difficult part first.  When I only missed 1 point, there was finally hope that I could actually pass!  When I had completed the test, I still had only missed 1 point.  I passed and officially graduated from physical therapy!  Needless to say I am thrilled that this recovery process has been so successful and is finally over!

Touchstone Therapy and Wellness

I've been meaning to give a big thank you to my wonderful physical therapist, Kelly Sykes, and all of the people at Touchstone Therapy and Wellness in Columbia, MD for all the of the support throughout this recovery process.  It has been a long road and a lot of hard work and with physical therapy 3 times a week its all starting to come together.  Today I will be running for the first time since I injured my hip last year and this time next week I will be taking my "graduation" test as required by Dr. Petre.  I still can't believe that I have been pain free for two months and I am starting to workout again.  In the beginning I thought I would never feel "normal" again and I can't believe the progress that I have made.   Touchstone Therapy has been a crucial part of this recovery and was a great place to go even if it did mean working my butt off.  After seeing how much Kelly has helped me through my recovery, my mom is now going to Kelly as well for her lower back pain.  I am very thankful for all of the support and motivation that Kelly and all of his staff have provided me during the past 3 months.  I will be posting a few pictures of my exercises that I have been doing over the past few weeks.  I hope these will give an idea of the type of exercises that are included in the last part of physical therapy.

Videos!

I want to give everyone a chance to see what the surgery actually looked like from the inside!  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlmk8WK6jSw&feature=youtu.be


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6cC9q8ImVE


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-xdc52O6Ww

Feeling Normal Again

So last Wednesday was one month since my surgery.  It was also the day that I was first allowed to gradually move towards walking by only using one crutch.  This was the first taste of freedom.  I could move faster and easier and I didn't get so tired after going to the grocery store for 20 minutes.  Needless to say, I only wanted to progress further and get off crutches completely.  I was anxious to move without restriction.  Today I am very happy to say that I took my first steps without the assistance of crutches! To those who watched me begin to walk at physical therapy, including my mom, said it was like watching me take my first steps.  As you can imagine there were many smiles and congratulations. Taking the stairs was another big moment of the day.  With one hand on the railing, I slowly and cautiously attempted to ascend the staircase.  Once I got going it wasn't so bad, but that was going up.  Coming down was a whole other story.  Lets just say it was a bit shaky.  It didn't hurt which I was grateful for, but it wasn't easy.  My leg was shaking so much I thought it was gonna give out and find myself taking a face plant down the stairs. No need to worry though, I made it down the stairs unscathed and exhausted.  I'm not sure if I will be able to get out of bed tomorrow because I will be so sore, but I would call today a huge success! 

Two week follow!

Today I went to my two week follow up appointment with Dr. Petre.  It really was the best doctors appointment I have ever been to.  The first thing the nurse did was take out my two stitches and place steri strips on my two incisions. Next, I was taken to get two xrays taken, which the doctor said looked great.  Dr. Petre also went through the pictures and the video he took from my surgery, which I will try to put up on this blog!  He said that I had great movement and was progressing very well, however I should not attempt to progress faster than I have been in physical therapy.  The first 6 weeks of physical therapy are critical in making sure that scar tissue forms in the correct way and doesn't form in a way that would require further surgery.  Dr. Petre did lift a few restrictions.  I no longer have to wear my hip brace or the TED stockings, I can now sit at 90 degrees, and I can go in the pool as long as I keep my incisions dry with waterproof bandages.  All in all a great day! 

Personal Milestones

Since I've last written an update,  I have reached a few of my personal milestones.  A few days ago, I made it to the top of the stairs and took my first shower since the surgery.  It took all morning, but it was well worth the effort!  I still couldn't get my incisions wet so I had to waterproof the top of my thigh.  The waterproof tape I had worked really well, I just put a small square of regular gauze over the incisions and made sure all the edges were sealed.  However, the biggest challenge was getting up the stairs.  I made it though, with my mom standing behind incase I fell backwards.  Lucky for me I have pretty good balance.  The stairs took a lot out of me so I had to take a break before a ventured into the shower.  Trust me, it was an adventure.  It would have taken me forever if my dad hadn't installed a removable shower head so that I didn't have to move much.  I still can't put more than just the ball of my foot on the floor.  After it was all done, I was exhausted but I felt accomplished.    

Another milestone I accomplished just today was getting into the front seat of the car.  I have been just sliding into the back seat and letting my leg rest on the seats as I sat sideways.  It has been very difficult for me to lift my leg at all because Dr. Petre had to cut my Psoas tendon so that it would grow back longer.  Needless to say lifting my leg into the front seat was much more difficult than usual, especially because I am also not allowed to sit at greater than 70 degrees.  Today, I decided that I was feeling well enough and a little more flexible after physical therapy to try the front seat and it worked! To make my day even better, my mom wheeled me around the mall just to get me out of the house for a little bit!  The cherry on top of a very successful day was a lovely nap in my own bed upstairs!  I'd say I'm definitely making progress. 

Day 5

Its day five and I’m still moving along!  Today I indulged in coffee and popcorn.  Any idea what those two things help to relieve?  They fall into the same category as foods with fiber and whole grains and a popular one, prune juice!  Did that give it away?  Well if you know what I am talking about, great, you figured it out!  If you still aren’t sure, well that’s probably for the best.  Never the less, there is no avoiding it when you are taking narcotic pain medications after surgery.  I am not particularly a big fan of prune juice so I decided to go with two things that I do enjoy, but there are many foods that serve the same purpose.  It also helped that I was feeing well enough to stay off my pain meds for the day since I didn’t have physical therapy to work through.  I have also been taking a medication since the day of my surgery to help with this specific situation.