Reflection on my ONE year hip-versary

So April 9, 2010- a day that will live in infamy- well in my life anyway. It was the day I went under the knife to fix my hip. I had a torn labrum tendon and needed to have the top of my femur shaved (FAI old post) I thought I was never going to walk again much less run.

Surgery was a very scary thing for me- thanks to my friends and my family I got through. It was tough 4 months without running. But in November I got back to it.... RUNNING!

Since then I have finished a few 5ks, a few 10ks and a half marathon. I honestly couldn't believe it had been a year. My core isn't back exactly where it was pre surgery- with months of no ab work but I am getting there. And I have to say that even tho my run this weekend my legs felt heavy and tight. I just enjoyed the fact that I can still run!

I know a lot of people decide not to go with surgery but for me it was the only option. I wanted to keep running and I wanted to keep doing triathlons! I just didn't see any other option. I have to say a year later and I am so glad I did what I thought was right.

On saturday- my hip surgery anniversary- I recorded myself running and sent it to my coach. It was kinda sweet it worked out that way. I have some work to do with my left leg but funny thing is my surgically repaired hip and leg strike very well. I am going to try these new techniques in hopes it will help me avoid having to have the left one fixed- since heel striking is bad for your hips. I think my right hip had problems to start and if I was a heel striker I wasn't helping them along.

Well- I spent a lot of time this past weekend thinking about where I was a year ago. I looked at my old pictures of my scars and looked at how little they have gotten in a year. Its amazing how different things are now! And I like it!

Post surgery recovery starts

I had my surgery on Friday morning. I had to be at the hospital at 715. My mom took me in. I had somehow thought through all the variables of the day and was doing pretty well. I checked in changed into my Johnny and grippy socks. The nurse came in checked my vitals and gave me a rundown. Surgery was scheduled 915 to 1045. I would go upstairs about a half hour before and they would start my iv and get me preped fro the or. I would get to see dr. Busconi one more time when we signed my hip then they would start the drugs and get the or ready and off I'd go.

I sat with mom for about an hour and chatted. I was laid down and wheeled upstairs. All alone with a bitch nurse in pre op. God she was mean. you could tell the whole hospital knew she was. I answered all her questions and then they came to start my iv. The anestesiologist who did my iv happen to be a triathlete so we talked events. Took my mind off the needle. Dr. Busconi came in. He and I signed my hip and he told me they just did the surgery in someone else."they were all warmed up" i asked last minute questions he told me he wanted me walking w the crutches that day! I met the rest of my team and they gave me something to relax me.

I was wheeled down into the or. I helped them out moving to the operating table. He checked the traction for my leg and the I laid back. I remember busting the resident for having a Yankee thing on and talking lacrosse. Then I was out!

The next thing I remember was waking up in the recovery room. I had a sore throat I was pretty out of it. And it felt like the largest person I could think of was standin on my hip. There was a baby who just had surgery and was screaming. I was really confused. I was told in 10 min I could move downstairs. So they came wheeled my bed downstairs and nurse checked me back in. I told her about the pain she got me a pill and something to drink. My throat was killing me from the tube. Finally they got my parents and they came in. Apparently they talked to busconi and my surgery was cleaner than they expected. He didn't have to shave my femur much the tear on the labrum wasn't bad and the synovitis cleared. There was a healed fracture in my hip from before. I had at one point fractured my hip it isn't exactly clean heal it's slightly off. I think it is from the half marathon since the pain post surgery was really close to my pain after the race. Since I haven't run since November I assume that's why it is healed. I'll have to ask when I go to post op.

I got crutches from the nurse hobbled to the bathroom. After that I was free to go. The getting in and out of the car was the worst. Luckily it was a short ride home and there was an elevator to get me to my condo. I stayed in bed for a couple hours. Pain was tough. I got up to use the bathroom again and ended up passing out. My mom and dad took care of me and I made it back to bed. Alright next post will be the follow on days.... Thanks all!

Upcoming Surgery... Hip Femural Acetabular Impingement

I found out around Christmas that I had a torn labrum tendon. After my chiropractor sent me for a MRI arthogram (which hurt like hell, we found the torn tendon in the film.The torn tendon was enough for my chiropractor to find me a orthopedic surgeon.At the end of February I met with Dr. Busconi.

He did some X-rays in his office and looked at my MRI. He determined that I had two options 1. cortisone injection into the hip 2. surgically repair the hip. I thought cortisone would be delaying the inevitable. And when he said it was only 40% effective I wasn't really liking the odds. Surgery was 98% effective and I would be up and running in 4 months. When I decided surgery is the way I wanted to go I started firing questions (of course I have questions I'm an engineer). I asked about:
recovery 2-3 weeks on crutches with no driving and limited mobility
anesthesia- general anesthesia I had to go fully under
when can I run again- 4 mo
We discussed the procedure where he will go in through 2-3 holes arthroscopically to shave the top of my femur repair the tendon and remove the fluid built up. The surgery itself lasts an hour to an hour and a half. Depending on the repair needed for the labrum. The repair to the tendon also changes some of the variables for the recovery. If it needs to be braided or pinned to the bone it will be longer. I scheduled the surgery for his first available date 9 April.

After leaving and finally getting the name of what is wrong with my hip Femoroacetabular Impingement I looked up as much as I could find about it. This site seemed to explain things well http://www.hipfai.com/ I have the cam form. So my femur needs to be shaved. It also appears this is something I was born with. It is possible I could live my whole life with it and if I wasn't active I may have never needed it repaired. But now that I read more it looks like if I don't get it fixed I could possibly need a hip replacement in the future. I would rather do the arthroscopic surgery.

I have to be honest, I am nervous. I know this is what I need to do in order to be active again- training for triathlons and half marathons and other races. But It is still scary. I had my pre op testing last Friday. I met with a nurse practitioner who took my history, then an anesthesiologist, then had lab work done, then a nurse- I expected a lot more explanation about the day of surgery. I am still a bit in the air about what will happen that day. They say I will be in the hospital for 5-6 hours.

I am having a hard time sleeping. I am trying to be sure I drink enough water this week. I am also trying to get in workouts, since I am not sure when I will be able to do what. The workouts also help me clear my head. I am coaching lacrosse again, so my assistant coach will be taking that over till I can get up there again. I have a lot going on this week but I would rather be busy up till the surgery, because when left alone for long enough to start thinking I get upset.

I try to keep myself calm but it is tough. Part of me is looking to the surgery to be like a vacation from work and lacrosse. I have been working a lot and even got an agreement from work to do some work from home in bed. I am trying my best to look at this procedure as a start to getting back out there. I really can't wait to do my next triathlon and sign up for races again. Its hard to pick a recovery race but I think I will sign up for a sprint Triathlon in September as soon as I am cleared to starting to do workouts. I figure I will be able to swim/bike during recovery and running will come in time so I should be okay come September. It will be nice to have a mark on the wall to train for again!

I will try to update the blog again before my surgery on Friday. There are lots of thoughts floating around in this head and it is nice to get them out.... Thanks all!