2 years post open surgical dislocation/ sdd

I guess time really flies. It has been 2 years since I had my open SDD, 2 years since the hellish roller coaster ride of a violent, gruesome surgery. 2 years since my life was turned upside down and permanently changed. But looking back now, 2 years later, I have come a very long way. I now function like a normal person. No one in my new city even has a clue about my past. No one walks up to me and says "wow, you are walking so well" or "wow, you are finally off of crutches". I look just like everyone else does on the outside. Of course no one has X-ray vision and sees my scars, my surgically reconstructed labrum, my cadaver hip, my reattached glute etc. But from what they can see, I look normal. I have come a very long way in 2 years. And yes, most people would have made it to where I am a lot sooner than 2 years, but nonetheless, I am grateful I have come to this point and hope I will continue to make improvements.

14 months post hardware removal

An update....appendectomy was 4 months ago... The most common and simplest surgery! Of course I had a complication. My incision opened up due to the sutures dissolving too early. Fast forward to now ....let's just say my scars will prevent me from ever being a bikini model. But anyway... I had a benign tumor detected and removed from my appendix which had the potential of becoming cancer. I am grateful for that. On all other fronts, my family has relocated from NYC to south Florida. We have always wanted to live in a warm climate, have a house with a backyard and pool for our kids, and we finally did it! I scheduled a cortisone injection into my trochanteric bursa a few weeks before the move because I continued to have pain and discomfort there. I also wasn't able to (still) sleep on my op side and it has been over 1.5 years since my open dislocation. It took 3 weeks but the pain finally diminished and the area doesn't look swollen like it used to. About 5 weeks ago my body was ready to go back to exercising. In my previous life (before hip problems) I was an obsessive Spin class goer. I am happy to say that I am back in the saddle, literally and figuratively. My life is really coming back together and although I know my hip will never be the same, I am finally reaping the benefits of a very very long ordeal. val An update....appendectomy was 4 months ago... The most common and simplest surgery! Of course I had a complication. My incision opened up due to the sutures dissolving too early. Fast forward to now ....let's just say my scars will prevent me from ever being a bikini model. But anyway... I had a benign tumor detected and removed from my appendix which had the potential of becoming cancer. I am grateful for that. On all other fronts, my family has relocated from NYC to south Florida. We have always wanted to live in a warm climate, have a house with a backyard and pool for our kids, and we finally did it! I scheduled a cortisone injection into my trochanteric bursa a few weeks before the move because I continued to have pain and discomfort there. I also wasn't able to (still) sleep on my op side and it has been over 1.5 years since my open dislocation. It took 3 weeks but the pain finally diminished and the area doesn't look swollen like it used to. About 5 weeks ago my body was ready to go back to exercising. In my previous life (before hip problems) I was an obsessive Spin class goer. I am happy to say that I am back in the saddle, literally and figuratively. My life is really coming back together and although I know my hip will never be the same, I am finally reaping the benefits of a very very long ordeal.

Post-appendectomy

It has been 1 week since I had a laparoscopic appendectomy. What a breeze this surgery was. I was in and out of the hospital faster than with any of my hip surgeries (9 hours from check in to discharge) and today, one week later, I went out to work (not to see patients but to meetings). Pain was minimal and manageable. It helps that I already have a list of which meds work and which don't and have no qualms requesting the right meds. I had a long talk with the anesthesiologist before hand and things could not have gone smoother. Of course there is always some issue when it comes to me and surgery. In this case I am having some issues with one of the incisions but its not a big deal and should be fine in a few days. Nothing compared to the nightmare I have been through with my hip!

I was actually hoping that 2014 would finally be the year of no surgeries.

As you probably already know, life throws us a curveball every now and then. The last few weeks I have been trying to run away from my current curveball but have failed. I probably have mentioned that I have Crohn's disease. It is very mild and not a big deal, it just requires some monitoring. A few weeks ago I had a routine colonoscopy which showed swelling of my appendix. I had to have a CT scan to further investigate. It turns out I have a mucocele, which is when the appendix fills with mucous, which is an abnormal finding, and must be removed. I met with a surgeon this week and scheduled surgery for 4/30, less than 3 weeks away. I figure I just want to get this over with and move on, rather than have to think and worry about this. I was happy to actually have a normal appointment with a surgeon. And know that we will not be having a long standing relationship! I figure I saw him for the consult, will see him the day of surgery and maybe once or twice post op and be done. This is how relationships with surgeons should be! I am more than happy not to have his cell phone number and carte blanche to text anytime. We will not be seeing each other extensively for the next 8 years, he will not lose sleep over my case and I won't have nightmares where he appears! This will be routine, normal and quick!

16 Months Post Open Dislocation

Wow, I just realized I haven't blogged since January. Well, what happened was I stopped using crutches and I returned to my life! I am busy running my practice and reaping the benefits of being a hands-on practice owner. I don't have to rely on someone else to do my marketing, do my lectures, go to meetings etc. As I mentioned in my last post, the bitter cold of this winter has been great for me. We are still dealing with cold days and I always feel better on those days. When it warms up I have some pain, but I manage. As we transition into spring, I am a little bit nervous about how the weather will affect me. I will try to post updates more often!

Is this "The Corner"?

Over the past year, and really over the past 8 years, my blog has been full of my downs more than my ups, so today I wanted to write about an "up". Today I finally felt normal! I went through my day like any 30-something, mother of 3, entrepreneur, wife etc would. No crutches, no pain, walked throughout the neighborhood from one activity to another. Basketball game, birthday party, bbq....This is the day I have been waiting for for a very very long time. I will say that it is bitterly cold in NYC and these bitter cold days work miracles on my hip, I can't figure out why but whenever we have had these cold snaps I feel amazing. I hope that this time this feeling is here to stay.

One Month Post Trochanteric Bursa Injection

Things improved with my injection. The swelling in my leg went down miraculously and the bursa started to feel better. I have been able to pretty much get rid of my crutches for the most part. I had a little scare a few weeks ago, my groin pain came back. I had a melt down. Literally. I flipped out. Luckily my OS and PT were very responsive to my drama and I had an MRI and an appointment with him right away. Luckily there is no problem with my new labrum, and even better, it has integrated so well into my hip that the radiologist didn't know it was an allograft. The pain may be from an inflamed suture in my capsule, but things will hopefully settle with some more PT. Pt has been going well, but has been incredibly painful. I have a very very angry hip, and all my muscles are always angry and have developed tendonitis. My OS broke it down nicely, I basically have 4 problems, adductor tendonitis causing medial pain, abductor tendonitis and trochnateric bursitis causing lateral pain, hamstring tendonitis causing posterior pain and the suture issue causing groin pain. All in all one big barrel of fun.... Life has begun to be more normal in some respects. I am able to run short errands with no crutches and attend work meetings as well throughout the city. I get pain with prolonged standing and walking. It has been about a month since my injection and I feel some of the bursitis returning,but hopefully it won't be so bad this time. It has been 13 months since I had the open dislocation and I never, in a million years, expected such a roller coaster of a recovery.