By this point, many PAO patients have reached the downhill stage in their recovery. My own has been so positive and so painless that more than once I’ve forgotten myself and have stood up to walk. I still need crutches when I leave my apartment and still use my walker at home. But I have become a…
I just read this short NPR piece on Prehab (published 29 October, 2014). Hooray, validation for my pre-surgery exercise routine!
The absence of disability access in my apartment building has essentially locked me in. It’s incredibly frustrating. After repeated requests for repair of the non-functioning access doors to and from the building and to and from the community spaces in the building, nothing has happened. Nothing has happened in over two months. The manager has not…
In the few short months we’ve been living in the Seattle area, we’ve taken full advantage of the wide selection of grocery and specialty food stores. QFC, Safeway, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s are all within a short drive of our apartment. On a nice day, we could walk to any of the first three (our community, Bellevue, has lots…
MY PT commented that I was walking like I was in pain. I hadn’t noticed. But I was sore… Pre-dysplasia diagnosis, if my son challenged me to race him up a flight of stairs, I would have been all in. But the last time we raced each other – up a mere four flights to his orthodontist’s…
I finally took one! Only up, and only with my son waiting at the top and my husband a step behind me. Still, it’s progress because just a few days ago I eschewed the way-too-intimidating escalator for the elevator. A lot of my recovery has been this way. What was difficult or daunting a day or…
My hands have been so sore that it’s difficult to walk. Yes. That sounds weird. But it’s true. Using crutches and a walker is like walking on your hands. Cyclists recognize the same pain, tingling, and numbness as handlebar palsy (they’re also symptoms of Guyon’s Canal Syndrome and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome). I’ve been using padded cycling gloves with my crutches,…
Tonight before practice, as the team was stretching by the boat house, my son’s kayak racing coach asked how I was doing. He knew I’d been in the hospital and had had surgery, but wasn’t familiar with the details. As I briefly touched on my ‘hip reconstruction surgery’, I heard a kayaker from across the parking lot call…
I texted my sister with some good news:
I feel great. My PT has received approval from my surgeon to introduce ‘gentle stretching’ exercises for my surgery leg. Mostly, I’d like to throw my walker and crutches out the window set aside my walker and crutches and go for a run. My knees and ankles are aching for activity. These look so easy, right?…