Summer Bucket List & Surgery

I love these faces.  

Even when I come home and hear that Jo pumped out all my lotion everywhere, Calah refused to ask for “more please” at dinner so much so that she was in a standoff with Hubs and every time I looked at her, she buried her head in the high chair because she was mad, and Jo decided that getting to the potty in time is overrated.  It’s so hard to stay mad when they blink their little eyes at you and when all they want to do is pile on top of you for a wrestling & tickling party.  We have had a great summer so far and the past couple weeks have seen quite a few items get crossed off our bucket list. 

The bucket list is going to need some renovations because next week I'm going in for my first FAI (Femoral Acetabular Impingement) Surgery and will be out of commission for a few weeks completely.  On June 24th, I went to the hospital for a bilateral hip arthrogram (MRI with injected contrast).   I had to get the injection in the right hip and then lay in the MRI machine for about 30 minutes.  Then, I got the injection in the left hip and laid in the machine for another 30 minutes.  The right injection barely felt like anything but my left side actually hurt.  The doctor had a harder time getting the needle in for some reason; maybe I have more scar tissue on that side.  The left side is where I've been hit by a car twice in my life (1988 & 2005), so I guess it is possible.  The doctor put more lidocaine at the injection site and the pain went away pretty fast.  My legs felt like they were completely filled with fluid, so they felt very swollen and it was weird to walk but no difficulty or pain there.  The only problem I had with the MRI is that my circulation is horrible, so my arms were dead after a few minutes and my lower back and legs were sore for about two days from laying still for so long.

A week later, on July 1st, I followed up with my orthopaedic surgeon to read the MRI.  He confirmed that I have severe bone spurs in my hip joints as well as pre-arthritic bumps on the femoral head.  The labral cartilage appears to be damaged to some extent as well, though he couldn't tell for sure from the MRI.  The only option is surgery because these conditions will not heal on their own.  My hips get very sore every day after sitting for a while or being active for a while.  The other night, I was working on the kids' clothes AGAIN, and when I laid down to go to sleep, my hips were throbbing until I fell asleep about an hour later.  I only worked on the clothes for about 60-90 minutes.  This really confirms that I need to get the surgery done AND SOON.

I scheduled the surgery for this coming Tuesday, July 16th, and started the paperwork shuffling exercises with the doctor and my company and our short term disability company.  We started making arrangements for childcare and figuring out how the first couple weeks post-op will look.  We are joining Planet Fitness so that I can have access to a recumbent bike and other equipment that will help in my recovery.  I plan to wear lots of skirts and dresses the first few weeks because I don't really see myself being able to put anything on over my legs, especially if it's even semi-restricting.  Honestly, I think that will help me mentally a ton - to feel like I'm not just lounging around in my pj's all day, even if I AM glued to the couch for the first week.

My doctor gave me some instructions for the best recovery:

1. First week, no weight on the hip AT ALL.
2. By the end of the second week, I can (maybe) pick up the kids again.
3. Crutches for 2-4 weeks
4. P.T. after the first week - not sure how long this will take.  It may depend on how well I do my exercises at home and how much strength I can build from my gym workouts.
5. Back to work after 4-6 weeks
6. Two-month mark, back to normal life - but even better because I shouldn't have any more hip pain (on the right side anyway)

Once we pass the two-month mark, I will evaluate whether I'm ready to do the left side.  My left side doesn't hurt nearly as much as my right side, so I'm sure it will be a huge relief just having the right side done.  But I still have the same condition on the left side and it WILL NOT get better on its own, so I just need to remember that, even if I don't feel like it's that bad.

All that to say, our bucket list is going to fall short because we won't be traveling anywhere and I definitely won't be able to lay on the ground to go camping for a while.  My hope is that we can still do some of these things while I'm off work and once I'm feeling up to it.

These faces motivate me to get well quickly.