Crutches are hard

I found this nice picture Lila took of me when I first got back to my place after the surgery.

The Crutchless Wonder

On Wednesday I saw a new doctor here in Atlanta, Stephen Smith. I took him the x-rays that I had from the previous week. He didn't say a whole lot about my situation, probably because I told him I had already had the core decompression on the right hip and had scheduled the resurfacing on the left hip with Dr. Mont. He seemed to think that my choices were good ones and he said he could be my local orthopedist, which was a relief. I needed one here but the ones I had already met didn't seem to be on the same page with me. He seemed like he would have been reluctant to perform the resurfacing himself, which kind of just reassured me about my choice to go up to see Dr. Mont in Baltimore. Dr. Smith has only done around 40, and Dr. Mont has done over 1,200 I believe. I'd happily go to Dr. Smith if I decided to just get a replacement though.

As soon as the appointment was over I Fedexed the x-rays up to Dr. Mont. Jill, his physician's assistant, called me Thursday afternoon--it must have been right after they received them. She gave me the okay to walk crutch-free! She said it would help with the pain to use assistive devices (crutch or cane) when possible, but that I had no more restrictions on weight-bearing. Well, she did say not to do heavy loading on that joint for a year, but with the combination of the ON and the future surgery on the left hip that shouldn't be a problem!! I'll be perfectly happy to stay far away from heavy lifting, marathon running, and downhill skiing, thank you very much. Jill also said she thought my left hip looked good for the resurfacing in November, although she was going to check with Dr. Mont and call me back next week. And, she said he had some number of grams of wine that were okay to drink! I was kind of excited about someone telling me an amount to drink that was considered safe, if this is true. I'll check back when I talk to them next week. I'm not always good at estimating what is a reasonable amount of yummy wine to drink or food to eat! I am, on the other hand, VERY good at justifying "just a little bit more won't hurt!"

It's very exciting to be able to use my arms for things other than getting around. Still, it's a little disappointing to recover from surgery and still be in pain and not be functioning normally. As much as I try to fake it, I'm just not very good at walking these days. A girl in the locker room asked about my limp today. I didn't mind answering her questions and I'd much rather someone just be upfront and ask if they are curious, but I guess I thought maybe if I didn't have my crutches that people wouldn't know anything was wrong with me. On the other hand I realized I've grown sort of attached to my crutches: I didn't have my card to get into the gym, and the receptionist wanted to see it. I said "don't you recognize me? I'm the one with the flame crutches!" even though I didn't have them with me. It still didn't work, she didn't recognize me but I stood there and dug through my purse until she got sick of me and just told me to go.

A week from tomorrow I'm leaving for Paris and Monaco! Between now and then I have two major tasks: complete two papers at work and figure out how I'm going to get around over there...

Girls' Weekend and Flame Crutches

I finished the rest of last week at work, and ended up being pretty productive. This past weekend I switched places with my brother-in-law--he stayed intown in my condo, and I stayed with my sister and nieces in the suburbs. We had a nice, relaxing weekend and it was fun to have so much time with the girls. On the flip side, I had just spent some time with my parents recovering from the surgery so I felt a little homesick for the city-I would have liked to have gone to the Decatur Book Festival, for instance.

I'm doing alright with recovery, except for the crutches--I'm so tired of them. Yesterday at work somebody told me that I had the hand grips too low and that I needed to move them up a notch. I did that and could hardly control myself, I felt like I was wobbling all over the place and bobbing up and down! Then, last night at band practice, Joe (probably realizing how sick I was of them) tricked out my crutches for me. He painted them flame-style, blue at the tips with a little white-hot turning to yellow, orange, red and then black at the top with a few orange sparks. Today I put the hand grips back where I like them and got to show off my new flaming crutches to everyone at work! They made everybody smile, and then Young 'n Cute at the gym walked out with me and chatted me up on the way out... ;-) Thanks Joe! Still hate the crutches, but maybe I hate them just a tiny bit less. And, instead of people wondering about what's wrong with me since I don't have a cast or anything (heavens! it might be a disability!! don't look...), they're just checking out my awesome paint job. My camera battery is out of juice but I'll post a picture soon.

My right hip has been hurting some, which is kind of worrisome. I keep telling myself that it's normal from the surgery, but it seems like it might be getting worse. I have an appointment next week for an x-ray, and I'll be interested to see what's going on in there. So please, keep those prayers, meditations, incantations and good vibes coming my way!

The Long Set of Stairs Home

So I'm almost home, have been staying with a friend for a few days and am glad to be back intown closer to friends (although I miss my family, especially those nieces). Tomorrow I'll be heading home. I'm excited about being there but I'm nervous about the climb up the stairs to the third floor. Thank goodness there are landings halfway up. I'm also a little worried that everyone will think I'm fine now that I'm home again, and I'll be stuck with a lot of smelly garbage to take out!! Carrying stuff with crutches is way harder than it should be.

The good news is my arms are getting pretty buff from using the crutches all the time. I've been showing off my guns to everybody that I've seen...

Recovery blues

I feel like I shouldn't complain because I'm doing so well with the surgery. I'm not really in a lot of pain or anything. I'm not even sure I have stitches--the surgical area is very small.

But--I have to be on crutches for at least four weeks, and that means putting most of the weight on the bad left hip. And, that means at least four weeks of having to use my arms and hands to help me get around, instead of to carry things. I'm sure I'll figure out solutions but in the meantime, carrying a glass of water, cup of coffee, or book from one room to another seems like a major ordeal.

And, I have to wear these white knee-high anti-embolism socks to prevent blood clots--for two weeks--in 100+ degree weather. I'm trying to figure out how to make them fashionable, but since my current wardrobe is basically limited to elastic-waistband pants, I'm not having much luck yet. They are also tight and uncomfortable to sleep in.

Anyway, thanks for listening to me gripe. Everything is really fine, just slightly annoying.