Life with a Flare

I am down to one crutch! There is such a greater level of independence with one crutch then two, like I can hold my coffee/tea by my self. The simple joy of carrying your own cup! My PT is very happy with where I am at. I am in no hip pain. My PT is actually worried about me overdoing it, which is a problem I never had with my knee surgery. In fact this whole recovery process has been like day and night to last year's. I feel very confident in my ability to walk on my hip (even over a year later I am not sure I can say this about my knee) I also am in no pain (which I can NOT say right now about my knees). To make up for the lack of pain in my right hip, my left hip as well as my knees and shoulders have been acting up a ton! I am hoping to be completely off crutches by next week, and hopefully that will help my other joints calm down.

Tonight I went to a Purim carnival, for those who don't know what Purim is, it is a Jewish holiday where people dress up. I decided on a penguin, so I could make my crutches wings. I thought it was a good idea, but since it was the first time I had seen most people there since I had surgery, they couldn't get past the fact I was on crutches again. Mind you it has been a year since the last time I was on crutches. Everyone kept asking if the crutches were my costume. Why would I ever use crutches for fun? Ever? Peoples reactions are really starting to get to me. Some people just stopped bothering to react to the fact I am on crutches, again it has been a year! Others tell me I am too young for hip surgery, well my hips disagree! Some people ask but don't know how to react when I tell them I had hip surgery at 17. Some people automatically assume there is something wrong with my knee, which I understand if they are aware of my knee problems, but if not they shoul...

Ever wonder how to really confuse a radiology department? All you have to do is show up for a hip x-ray then come back an hour later for a hand ultrasound. Now about the hip and everything. The appointment went really well. We went back over the fact the hip was worse than expected, with the added information that there was a bone spur. Even though it was bad I am doing really well with recovery. I got the ok to ditch the brace. In a week I get to stop using the CPM machine(I am going to have so much free time!) and in a week I also get to wean off crutches! I was done with the OS before 8:30, even though my appointment wasn't even till 8:45! Even though my ultrasound appointment wasn't supposed to be till 11 we decided to go radiology to see if they could fit me in sooner, and they usually are pretty flexible so I got in pretty quickly. However since I was there an hour earlier, getting another type of imaging on another body part ordered by another doctor, there was a bi...

Friday night my fingers on my right hand started swelling and became painful. I ate dinner and brushed my teeth with me left hand. It only got worse Saturday morning, and I had a debate tournament. Not willing to let myself or my partner down I still went. I took my NSAIDs as usual and added in some extra strength Tylenol. Determined to make it through I threw my roll-on thing of IcyHot in my bag. When I got there and was given the topic and had to start writing my case I could barely grip my pen. The swelling and pain in my pointer and middle finger were horrible so in a final attempt to be able to write I whipped out the IcyHot. A year ago I would have laughed if someone told me I would be using IcyHot on my hands, after-all the reason I have the roll-on kind is so it won't get on my hands! Desperate times call for desperate measures! It took a lot of application to kick in, which wasn't till half way through round 2. To mak...

It was recently announced Lady Gaga has a torn labrum in her right hip, and will be undergoing surgery on it, just like the one I had last week. As sorry as I am for Lady Gaga, and do not want anyone to have to go through this I am also kind of excited. I know that sounds horrible but have a celebrity have a hip scope will create awareness. When I tell people I had hip surgery they often assume I meant I had a hip replacement. And if someone asks why I am on crutches and I respond saying I had hip surgery, many times they do not know how to respond to a 17 year old who had hip surgery because clearly that can only happen to old people. Hip braces are so rare most people don't even know what it is, someone asked me why I had such a weird knee brace once (in their defense the top part was mostly covered). Another thing about Lady Gaga is she tested borderline positive for Lupus, and auto-immune disease that can cause joint inflammation. The orig...

I survived the first week! Funny how my head was a bigger problem then my hip. At one week my hip feels great! Today I went to school for 3 hours, it was really tiring, but I made it. It was the first time I was crutching a lot since surgery and I had forgot how much I hate crutches. Although my hate might have grown on account of my other joints making it harder. Both knees have been bugging me. My left knee had been doing really well since the Euflexxa but now that it has to compensate it is NOT happy. After all I went through with the Euflexxa injection my knee better hold up till the end of this recovery! My right knee has also been annoying me, it really does not like the CPM machine, also the during the surgery the whole leg is pulled on through the foot which can cause knee pain. And my shoulders are freaking out with the whole crutches thing, and my hands(thumbs) and not excited either. In fact today I was having trouble holding a cup the regular way so I had to...

I may have spoken to soon when I said my headache was gone yesterday, it came back later in the day with a vengeance. I guess it was pissed I dismissed it too soon. It attacked for a but this morning as I attempted to do some homework again, but went away around noon, this time for good I think. I finally managed to complete some homework today. And I am going to school for about three periods tomorrow, I figured I would ease back into my normal routine. I will see how that goes. I am actually really excited to go. I get to see people who are not related to me or in the medical profession for the first time in like a week. So now about my hip. It really has not been that painful, last night was probably the first time I really felt pain since the first day post op. Although the whole top of my thigh is just a huge bruise, I will not be winning any sexy leg contest in the near future. Everything just feels really tight, which is impressive considering I spend 6 hours a...

I was doing pretty well with recovery. Ok so the CPM machine takes up most of my time but not too horrible. Then around noon Thursday I started to have this terrible headache. After about an hour of it getting worse my mom called the OS's office and the PA said it was a spinal headache and prescribed some medication for it. A spinal headache happens after a spinal procedure, in my case it was the block that was used as anesthesia during surgery. It happens because sometimes some spinal fluid leaks from the area punctured by the needle, this messes with the pressure and produces a wicked headache. By Thursday night it was pretty much under control with medication and lots of water. On Friday I however had the brilliant idea of not taking any more percocet because my hip was feeling so good. The hip continued to feel good, my head on the other hand did not. About an hour after I only took the headache medication but decided not to take another dose of percocet ...

In the morning it was like a parade of doctors in my room, each one testing the exact same movements and feelings. The OS's resident came in an explained my hip looked "angry" (his words not mine).  I had a small breakfast. Finally at about 10 two PTs came, since I was not allowed out of bed at ALL until they helped me walk, I was really excited to see them. Along with them I think every doctor on the floor came int, there were about 6 people in my room who had never been there before for the most part.  I only crutch to the bathroom and down the hall and back but it was nice to get out of bed. After lunch another PT came in and we attempted to put the brace on for the first time, it was big, like really big. This was not going to work so about an hour later a guy from the brace shop came. Apparently most of the time people are fit for braces in pre-op, but for some reason I never was. It took a few tries to get a brace to fit, sometimes being ...

I arrived at HSS at 6 am and was brought back to pre-op. My medical history was taken, IV started, yadda yadda ya. All the my different doctors and residents came to talk to me, then it was off to the OR. Instead of taking 1.5-2 hours the surgery took over 3 hours, I was out for over 4 hours. I woke up in quite a bit of pain because the spinal had worn off quite a bit since I had been under for so long. I had to eat half a cheese sandwich before I could take any pain meds. At this point my mouth was really dry (it is still pretty dry),  but I also really wanted the pain meds. So I ate the stupid sandwich, sipping juice in between each bite and the nurse was like "wow you are really hungry" I really wanted to shout at her "No I just really want the pills!" but I used my better judgment and did not. Finally she handed over the meds but I think they didn't do much so she gave another kind as well. I was in a lot of pain at this point. I also want to say the hospi...

My right hip surgery is tomorrow. I have been trying to pack as much in to this weekend as possible before I am on crutches! Saturday morning I woke up early for a debate tournament. It was the first time I had partnered with my best friend, and it turned out great! We went 3-0 and had so much fun. If we go 3-0 at another tournament we qualify for state championships. So even though I am missing the over night national tournament because of surgery at least this weekend's debate went really well. After the debate the two of us rushed to our school to see our other friends in the senior show "The Awesome 80s Prom."  Next had to rush over to a youth group dance and overnight, still wear my debate attire. I was utterly exhausted and in a ton of pain at this point, but it was totally worth it to see all my youth group friends.  My dad picked me up this morning and I had just enough time at home to shower then I went to pick up my grandma from the airp...