Post Surgery Update #3

    Going back to work has been a nice change of pace for me, but man the first couple of days put a toll on my body.  I basically went from virtually doing nothing all day to working 9 hour days, not counting the hour each way of driving time for my commute.  Work itself was fine, and I was able to slide right back into a groove, however using crutches really taxes your whole body.  Every little thing I do takes longer to do and requires more effort from my whole body.  Needless to say the first two days, my body was extremely tired and sore from it all.  The third day wasn't to bad, but it was a really long day.  I had my second PT appointment before work, so I had to get up at 5am because its an hour drive there as well and everything takes me twice as long to do to get ready in the morning.  After PT I headed to work which was another 9 hour day and on my way home I stopped to get my hair cut and pick up one final gift for Mandy.  Phew, I was tired.  I have Christmas Eve off, so I got to rest my body a little, and having Christmas Day off as well gave my body time to recharge.  Plus, I got to go see Star Wars again!!!!!!

     My second PT appointment went great.  Alisha is very happy with the progress I made in just one week.  She told me that other patients she has treated with the same surgery have taken several more weeks post surgery to get where I am at to this point.  She did a bunch of the usually things you expect during a therapy session, such as pushing, pulling, twisting and stretching.  Nothing extreme, just trying to keep things loose and maintain my range of motion.  With my progress she has modified my at home work to include three light and easy muscle building moves like, leg lifts while laying on my back, leg lifts while laying on my side and a super modified plank to work the abs a little.  Again I am to do the routine 2 to 3 times a day till my next appointment a week later.  She again stressed to me that main reason for taking things slow is due to the tissue in the joint needing time to heal properly.  I need to continue making sure I don't put to much weight on the leg which could mess up the repair work and all of this would be for nothing. 

Post Surgery Update #2

     Well a lot has changed in the last week or so since my last post.  Last week I was finally able to get out of the house for a little while, and good thing too because I just couldn't take being indoors anymore.  I had my first follow up visit with the surgeon and it looks like things are progressing nicely.  When I got to the appointment, they had me get some x-rays to check and see how the bone looked after he shaved it down.  After that I was put in the exam room to get my stitches taken out and to discuss the next six weeks.  I'll have to be on these damn crutches for the next 4 weeks, then I start to transition to a single crutch or possibly a cane for 2 more weeks.  When those 6 weeks are up I will have another follow up visit, which I am not really sure what we will discuss then.  He seems optimistic that I will be back to running normally within 4 to 6 months.  I was advised to continue my anti-inflammatory medicine, he prescribed 6 weeks of physical therapy, issued me a temporary handicapped placard for my car and allowed me to go back to work the following Monday.  I immediately contacted Alisha at Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy to get things going.  

     The next morning I headed to PT for my initial visit and evaluation, which went very well.  She told me the two biggest things with this type of surgery is, one, getting your muscles firing and working again, and two, being patient while the tissue in the joint heals.  She was quite happy to see my muscles were already working, which meant I am ahead of schedule with my recovery.  The down side to that is, I still have to wait till the tissue heals, so all my home prescribed workouts are to just maintain and slightly increase my range of motion.  So for now I have a weeks worth of homework to do 2-3 times a day till my next appointment, a week later.

     Friday and Saturday were the first two days my life really felt like I was getting back to normal, despite the fact that I had to figure out how to navigate the world on crutches.  One of my life long friends came into town to be with his family over Christmas, so he and I and three other of my close friends went to see the new Star Wars movie.  Which was AMAZING!!!  I will say this, for all the reports of packed theaters and the box office records, I was a little surprised and how empty the theater was for our showing.  I am not complaining, less people means less noise!

     Saturday, we headed to downtown Toledo to see our local ECHL hockey team the Walleye play.  Our seats were freaking awesome!  We were technically the third row back from the glass, however we were right behind the penalty box so we had the glass right in front of our face and just off from center ice.  I could as for a better game, and the fact that they won with a shutout made it just that much better.

Merry Christmas To All

I just want to wish everyone out there a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

If you are just beginning your weight loss journey, I pray that God blesses you with courage and the determination to make the necessary changes in your life.

If you are just starting your running journey, I pray that God blesses you with the strength to keep moving forward, especially on those days when your head and your body say "just skip it".

To everyone else, I pray that God blesses you to be injury free in whatever fitness activity you choose and those that are trying hard to maintain there weight loss, the strength to do so.

From My Family To Yours

tick tock, tick tock.....TIME IS RUNNING OUT

If running a Marathon, Marathon relay, Half Marathon, or a 5k is on your bucket list for 2016, then don't put off what you already know you want to do.  The Mercy Health Glass City Marathon, the Yark Subaru 5 person relay, Owens Corning Half Marathon or the Medical Mutual Glass City 5k Prices increase December 31st at 11:59pm.

via GIPHY

Post Surgery Update #1

     It has now been just over a week since surgery and to be honest I feel pretty damn good.  The first full day was a little rough, mainly because I felt like I had to pee every 5 minutes and when I did get up to go, I wasn't getting very much.  The nurse said it is common and would eventually go away, but when you need all kinds of help to get out of bed, it is pretty fucking annoying.  Thankfully though this has slowly subsided and not really an issue any more.  I am also happy to report that my pain has been pretty manageable to the point I haven't needed to take any of the really strong pain meds.  I have only been taking one which is more of an anti inflammatory than anything.

 

     The majority of my days have been spent laying on my back, which is NOT the most fun I have ever had.  During the day, Mandy gets me up every 2-3 hours to use the bathroom and do a little walking around with the crutches.  6- 8 hours of my day is used bending and flexing my leg in the continuous passive motion or CPM machine that slowly elevates and bends my knee and hip to a certain degree over and over.  My starting point the day after surgery was 0 to 30 and my goal in about 10 days is 0 to 120 degree of bend.  Currently I am laying here with my leg going to 100 and I have zero pain.

     When I am on a break from the CPM machine I get out in the living room to walk around, eat and play some Madden 2016 football.  After the third day I was able to sit for short burst and would stand to eat or do any other activities.  Now I am able to sit and play a game of football without any pain or the need to get up.  Most of my pain feels more like if you have ever strained a muscle and it hurts to use it to say lift something.  My large thigh muscle is very sore when I try to lift my leg in the straight or bent position, but each day feels better and better.

   

     At night when I am laying in bed trying to sleep and not using the CPM machine, I am having my feet squeezed by a machine that is used to help prevent blood clots from forming in my legs.  If anything it is really annoying, because instead of a slow even pressure, it emits a pulse of air that inflates the foot cuffs immediately.  So I will be laying there and all of a sudden puff and they inflate.

Not me, just a image I found online

  
     So far I have been able to maintain my sanity with typing, reading or watching tv, but the urge to go a little stir crazy is starting to settle in.  Today my Mom, who has been helping me during the day while Mandy is at work, told me how nice it was outside and I couldn't take it anymore.  While I was on a break I said fuck it and headed out the back door just so I could feel the sun on my face again.  I stayed out for 10 minutes or so before heading back inside to lay once again in bed.  You know it is easy to stay in bed when you are in pain or feel shitty, but as soon as you feel somewhat better, all you want to do is get the hell out of here.  Maybe I can bribe Mandy into taking me somewhere this weekend, even if its just for a short car ride.

     Anyway my follow up appointment with the surgeon is on Wednesday, I am hoping, no praying that I will be able to start physical therapy and maybe get back to work so I can feel somewhat normal.  Plus I got tickets for the new Star Wars movie on Friday, and I am NOT gonna miss it!

GCM Yearly Bird Ending Soon!

If running a Marathon, Marathon relay, Half Marathon, or a 5k is on your bucket list for 2016, then don't put off what you already know you want to do.  The Mercy Health Glass City Marathon, the Yark Subaru 5 person relay, Owens Corning Half Marathon or the Medical Mutual Glass City 5k Prices increase December 31st at 11:59pm.

 Click here to Register Now

If you want one last chance to win an entry for you or a loved one to this year's race you can do that by clicking here.  Amanda at There are Two Sides is giving away the last two available free admissions from the Ambassador team.

So What Did They Fix

     So what was the problem, a labral tear caused by a Femoroacetabular impingement.  A Femoroacetabular impingment (FAI) is defined as a condition where the bones of the hip are abnormally shaped. Because they do not fit together perfectly, the hip bones rub against each other and cause damage to the joint.  The ball at the top of the femur that fits into the hip socket had an additional growth or a an extra bump of bone sticking out.  The labrum is a rim of soft tissue or fibrocartilage that surrounds the acetabulum (hip socket). The labrum adds to the stability of the hip by deepening the socket and protects the joint surface. The labrum can tear as the result of an injury or FAI.

The surgery was performed arthroscopic with three incisions in the hip and thigh.  

Here is a look a a few picture the doctor took while performing the surgery the other day.

This is showing the labral tear.  The surgeon placed part of one of his tools right through it.

Here is another view of the tear on the left side of the photo. 

This is what the labral looks like after the repair.  He removed some of the junk around the tear and a flap of cartilage that was covering the tear.  The tear was tied up with a plastic type thread.

This photo is hard to see what the problem is here, but the bump of bone on the top of the femur that was the cause of all this.

This is what the bone looks like after the bump was shaved down and smoothed out

Day Of Surgery

     The day I have been waiting for since all this began in early July, finally arrived.  My surgery was scheduled for an 11am start, so I was instructed to arrive at 9am for all the fun of the pre surgical festivities.  The hospital that I was going to has a good reputation, unfortunately it is a little over an hour drive from my house so We had to get up extra early to get ready.  I couldn't eat or drink anything after midnight and when I got up in the morning I had to take a show with some special soap that is used to kill just about everything.  My Wife, Mom and I headed out the door and made the long trip across town to the hospital.

     Part of my rehab therapy is a cold pack machine that pumps ice cold water from a cooler to a pad that is wrapped around my body.  Its job is to help with pain and swelling, and I was instructed to bring it with me.  Funny thing is because it looks like a beer cooler everyone at the hospital had  to make a smart ass remark about me coming prepared for a party and what not.  At least it showed me they were in a good mood and liked to joke around a little.  For me I thought it looked like I was carrying around an organ I was going to have transplanted or something.

     I was in the waiting room a whopping 5 minutes before I was taken back to the pre surgical area to be prepped and to be asked the same two or three questions a million and one times, at least they are thorough.  I got my IV put in, they shaved and cleaned the area again, and then had me read and sign a consent form.  After all that they sleep doctor came in and asked me a few questions.  He asked me if I had ever had a problem with anesthesia, I told no and I didn't want to start today!  He also offered me a nerve blocker that would help with the pain post surgery and I accepted.

     After that things started to move pretty fast.  They pumped something into my IV to calm me down and they did an ultrasound to give me the nerve blocker.  My wife and Mom were brought in to see me a few minutes till the anesthesia team came in to re-hash everything that the Doctor already went over.  I told them that I don't like vegetables and I really didn't want to be come one.  I was feeling a little loopy and we all had a laugh, but I was being serious.  Kisses goodbye and off I went.  The last thing I remember is a mask over my face and lights out.

     Recovery is very much a blur to me.  I remember bits and pieces, but mostly it is what my wife told me that I seem to recall.  I do remember the doctor coming in and saying that it went well and that my tear was was pretty severe.  The I remember my wife talking to me, but I can't recall what she had said.  I do recall the severe cotton mouth I had.  They kept giving me crackers which instantly turned to  paste in my mouth which I then had to try and wash down with water.  My stomach just could't take it anymore and right before we left I threw it all up in the trash can.  Once we got home it was nothing but sleep for me, and boy did I need it.