Oh, and yes I still had on the heels...she's really tall!
Post-OP Week 11: Dancing in Heels!
This weekend I cleaned my house and hosted a dinner party with 5 families and something like 13 children...with NO pain...well hip related anyway. The next night I attended a cocktail party where I wore spiked high heel boots and danced until the very wee hours of the morning, with NO pain. None, not even the next day. It's been a very long time, so long in fact I can't even remember ever wearing heels without some hip pain afterwards. And thanks to the physical therapy I had no back pain either, and a really great time. Here's a pic of me (left), a great friend and the super cute and sweet Taylor Swift. Who sang a couple of songs on the karaoke machine, so funny!
3 comments:
Yeah~~~~~~~~
So great to hear this. I can only imagine the excitement and relief.
You are one lucky lady Vanessa, well done!
After returning from a 2009 summer trip in which we went on long daily hikes, I realized my 30+ years with hip pain had crossed into a new level of experiences. At age 59 I assumed I would be need a hip replacement in another 5-10 years, so I went to my doctor, Dr. Michael Gaddini, in September to request that we start baseline work. After checking the xray, I could scarcely believe it when he told me I had the good fortune to have a problem that was immediately treatable, and that there was an orthopedic surgeon in the area who was an expert in both the condition and treatment. Dr. Guy Guilfoy diagnosed that I have/had what we know to be FAI. I had a new “word” for my internet searches! Popping open blog after blog of people with the same condition, I felt that I had received the secret code into a fellowship of common sufferers. I read your blogs, and took copious mental notes as I joyfully prepared for my own surgery. After more than 30 years of pain, it was beyond my wildest fantasy that surgery and physical therapy could take me back to place where it might even possible that I could start running again. Deeper investigation revealed that I had the dreaded double – both the pincer and cam were impacted. Again, from you detailed blogs I knew this would mean a longer recovery period. However, my mind kept fixating on who cares if I have a few more months of pain, I’m on the road to being healed!! Surgery came and went on December 21, 2009. As I came out of the fog of the anesthesia I could already feel that some of the old pain was gone and could see that I only had three incision holes. I suspected that Dr. Guilfoy concluded he needed to only focus on the pincer, rather that both the pincer and cam – possibly very good news for me. With the doctor’s approval, I sat up a lot on Wednesday, December 23 and started drawing my knees toward my chest while sitting or lying down, dramatically improving my discomfort, and of course hobbling around on crutches.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009 I went in for my follow-up appointment. The doctor confirmed that once he could actually see the joint, he concluded that he only needed to work on the pincer (shaving off almost .5” of overhang – my words, not his, and a “huge” spur, which is how he described it) and cleaned up some of the debris. The cam was left untouched, meaning that the fundamental orientation (again, my words not his) of my joint was not changed. My mouth almost dropped to the floor when he told me that I could immediately begin to put my full weight on the leg. Basically, he said I was good to go, for whatever my body could reasonably manage and the hip could comfortably bear!! I walked to the car with the light assistance of crutches. Mind you, this is 1 week and 1 day after surgery! I carefully limped into the house without crutches, did a walk around the kitchen just for the pure pleasure of it, and then dropped my crutches off in the garage on my second lap. Tuesday and Wednesday I walked with a bit of a limp, without the assistance of even a cane. Today is December 31, 2009. I walked a mile today, continuing to do so without assistance. I sort of hurt, but that’s nothing new. The old groin pain is gone. I am now starting to run up and down the stairs, and have gleefully thrown out the weirdo toilet seat extender and the shower bench with handles. I’m so feeling so grateful and blessed, because my problem was so treatable and I’ve had such wonderful support. Physical therapy starts on Monday.
I’m posting this long comment on your blog because my journey is too short to create my own story. I know my fast recovery is a combination of things, including my personal condition and the skills of my doctor. I also know my recovery progress is not the norm, but I do want your readers to know that sometimes it is possible for such a thing to happen. And, I want to personally thank you Vanessa for taking the time to blog your journey, giving more courage to each of us. I wish you an amazingly active 2010!!
Most sincerely,
Carol
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