Ultrasound scan results

Last week I had an ultrasound scan on my right hip/thigh to check out my muscles for anything that could account for the excessive weakness I still have one year on from my resurfacing surgery.

During the scan it was obvious that my abductor muscle was not attached to the bone anymore. Sigh. Knowing full well what this would mean I decided not to speculate and wait on Mr. O's letter hopefully laying out 'what's next'. I got that letter today and it seems that we're just bypassing another consultation and going straight to surgery! As soon as I make the appointment. Big sigh.

In the letter: "The scans show that there is a small but significant detachment of parts of the gluteus medius and minimus [abductors] over the front and outer part of your right hip joint. The best treatment here would be for us to re-open the wound and re-attach these muscles using synthethic ligament material in order to get a really good attachment."

So, here we go again.... Round 4! Hopefully, as this surgery will not be as invasive as the resurfacing, it won't be so bad. Fingers crossed the detached muscles are still in good shape and haven't part-turned to fat (cos that won't help re-attachment!).

Nothing I can do, so, let's do it! Bring it on, I will shift this limp!!

One year

Today, exactly one year ago I had my hip resurfaced!

Today I was back at the Royal Ortho for my first yearly check-up.

Thankfully I can say that it is unremarkable news, the implant is EXACTLY where it was put one year ago. I have no pain or issues in my everyday life....in fact, life is very very good! Which is one of the reasons I haven't blogged in a couple of months.

I do still have unresolved muscle weakness in my abductors. I have been working hard in the gym and in physio to try and get my abductors to kick-in and start working properly. Without them, I'm stuck with this hippy-limp.

Last week at physio was a bit of a turning point in my treatment. My physio, who is a MSK (musculo-skeletal) physio, took me to meet some neuro physios (i.e. those that deal with people who've suffered neurological injuries or diseases that affect their muscles). The idea was to check I haven't suffered some nerve injury during the surgery that might be causing this muscle weakness and to see if they had any other exercise ideas that might trick my muscles into working correctly.

Four physios manipulating your body at once is both confusing and tiring I can tell you! For an hour and a half!!!! The short story is that everything is 'firing' correctly and as it should. But that my body has effectively forgotten how to co-ordinate it all properly. Chances are, I'm probably a long way off getting them to behave, but it should happen in time, with hard work and patience *sigh*. Somehow we're going to try and incorporate the exercises the neuro-physios did with me, which is no small feat considering it involved two other people! My physio said he's going to sort something out but to keep up my other exercises the now for the next couple of weeks. I'm curious as to how I'm going to do this.....

This was discussed today in the orthopod's office. The surgical team would like for me to have an ultrasound scan done on my leg to check that the muscle hasn't actually detached itself from the bone. Recall the nasty staples holding the abductors to the bone in the x-ray?! Yeah, ouch. Wouldn't that hurt though???? I can't say I'm in hideous discomfort any more than the average person after a session in the gym. I would have thought you'd feel something if a muscle had detached itself - that being said, I didn't feel the full whack pain of osteoarthritis at the moment of diagnosis. Mmmmm. Let's just say, I'm hoping it's not detached itself, because that would mean reattaching said muscle.....and as much as I like anaesthesia.....

Anyhoo, it's all good! Life is good! NO pain = good :o))))))

I love my hip. Can't believe that one year has gone by already!

Hippy Hogmanay!

The last day of a most momentus year for me....

I still can't believe it's been just shy of 10mths since the op. I confess that it is not at the forefront of my mind anymore and I'm aware that I haven't updated in a while. I can't say I've felt this good for nearly a decade! Yes, there are little things that remind me that I am bionic (airport security notwithstanding!).... I still put socks on with foot-over-knee for example, which might just be habit now, and I am still using my walking stick. Although, I keep leaving the bloody thing places cos I can walk without it, but I waddle somewhat (quack! lol). It's become the last thing to go.... Once the sloth-like behaviour of christmas and new years is out the way, I'm hitting the gym big time!! Mission: Waddle-be-gone!

Anyways, I hope that everyone has had a fabulous christmas holiday and may 2011 be pain-less for many!

Have a great Hogmanay folks, ceilidh with care!! :o)

sNOw anxiety

Well, it's that time of year again when the evil white stuff (the 'devil's dandruff' as one friend calls it!) dons the ground turning all those with bambi-legs into quivering wreaks! Remarkably, I'm not as terrified as last winter - because there's no pain!

I discussed my 'snow anxiety' with my physio last week because whilst out walking a week earlier my stick went from under me after hitting a patch of black ice. Nothing happened. Last year that would have resulted in groin pain. HOO-BLOODY-RAY! So we talked about it momentarily whilst doing exercise and he had to go and jinx it by saying "oh it won't be as bad as last winter, that was exceptional, it might snow, but it'll just last a day like it normally does!". Well the whole country's been sitting below 0oC for mmm....a week now, there's snow outside and it's iced up all the pavements. *sigh* thanks mr. physio!

I did take up a recommendation though. Ice cleats for the walking stick!

Genius! Been out with this on the stick already and it's great. It's not going to stop you losing your footing though!! Beware, but it means you don't have to worry about the stick going out from under you if you are still inclined to put weight through it. Yaktrax's are what you want for your feet (www.yaktrax.co.uk).

Thankfully I'm at a stage where I'm not actually putting weight through it and I could, if necessary, walk without it....but I'd be really slow and I'd tire quickly because the hip-gait-sway thing I have is still there. Although, the physio is paying off and it's going (just really really slowly!). I've no expectations of exactly when I might get rid of it..... it's not healthy to beat myself up about still having my hippy-gait because when it comes down to it, I'm not in pain, I have zero stiffness and can actually walk and do the stuff everyone else can do.

In the last 2 weeks I've progressed into the physio gym to push weights. I've been really bad about getting into the gym on my own time though! I'm still doing everything else at home and progressing through increased resistance in the therabands - including using 2 bands at a time, which feels a little like a bondage session! But, it works.

Talking of which.....

Memorable day

This is the date 5yrs ago I had my triple pelvic osteotomy.

This is the date 1yr ago I had my x-ray/CT scan that announced my osteotomy had failed.

If you asked me then if I'd be sat here 5yrs later with a bionic hip, I'd have said you better be kidding me cos I'm not going through THAT again! But here I am, 7mths on with a new hip and better than I ever was after the osteotomy.

If I knew this was going to happen would I have still had the osteotomy? Yes. The joint needed to be put in a better position and it did give me 3ish years pain relief, better than nothing and having an artificial hip at 27 right? Yes.

Having two major hip surgeries before the age of 32, not ideal. But better than living with osteoarthritis at age 32 (or indeed, 22 when I first noticed something was amiss).

Feeling very reflective this evening, but not in a bad way :o)

Flying therabands Physioboy....

....do what, physio at high altitude? physio on our road trip?

You reckon security will let me through with therabands or the flight crew not look at me suspiciously for using them [or the rest of the plane for that matter!]?

I like the idea of flying-fisio but I reckon it would probably make the top-ten list of things that annoy people on a flight!

To be fair he didn't suggest I do, but I am expected to keep up the good work when and where I can. Which is a reasonable request, but I think I'll pack the therabands into my check-in bag. Things are progressing, slowly but surely. There have been a couple of days here and there (visitors) that I haven't done my physio and honestly, you do fall behind and I can tell. So it really is important for me to try and get some physio in on vacation. Still a lot of work to be done overall and he reckons I'm still about 2 months off getting into the physio gym, but he has okay'd my pilates workout I wrote out for him. Which is great, because I can easily incorporate the exercises I have from physio into the pilates workout for double points!!

The spine curls into the bridge with leg extension exercise....we're aiming ultimately for 40-50 right? I asked him if he could do it, a confession, he'd struggle! He said that athletes would be pushing that!! Athletes, er....hello, this is little old me here, I can do 8 currently without collapsing.... one day, one day...

Toodle-oo, back soon.... [unless I get arrested for theraband misuse]

6 mths post-op

Oh my goodness, 6 mths since I had resurfacing surgery! I went to Birmingham last tuesday for a check up with Mr. O'Hara, my implant has not moved one iota and there's nothing on x-ray to cause any concern whatsoever - very happy days!

I've officially been free of osteoarthritis pain for 6mths and that has changed my life beyond words. Osteoarthritis steals people's lives....it won't kill you, but it'll wreak your life and you as a person. I've been given my life back twice now and hopefully this will be the last time before the age of 50 that I'll have to resort to surgical intervention to beat the bugger! No way this is stopping me doing what I want to do.... I might walk a little funky right now, but walk I can..... and I'm not sitting down or staying in anymore!!

The last month hasn't been the greatest psychologically on the recovery front, but I've come to the realisation that there's nothing I can do but keep moving forward with everything. It's done now and I'm pain-free, something that millions are not. I'm in this for the long-haul, so I'd better get comfortable...