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Surgery is Scheduled
Happy Monday Last week, I did something that I haven’t done since January. I scheduled my first knee arthroscopy. I say first because while my left knee is being put on the chopping block first, I will have to go back in to get my right knee done in January 2022. Surgery has always come with a lot of emotions for me. On one hand, I’m hopeful and excited to be one step closer to a relatively chronic pain free life. On the other hand, surgery always seems to feel like I’m testing fate. There was a lot of back and forth about whether this surgery will be effective as…
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Surgery on the Horizon
For a minute, I really thought I was done with surgery. Everyone kept telling me to stop saying that my right hip was my last. Low and behold, they were right because I am back on the path to surgery. My heart is heavy facing that reality. It’s something that I really wasn’t mentally prepared for. My knees have an abundance of swelling within the joint. It’s clear from the cortisol injections that there is a problem within the joint itself. It is causing the problem and pain. I went to my three month follow up for my hip excited but weary. I was well aware of the possibility that…
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Health Updates
Since it’s been a while, I thought I’d give you some updates on my health. Great news to start, I have still remained out of the hospital. Bad news, I have had a few run-ins with the ER. I also had syncope for the first time in quite a while. Both were difficult blows. That being said, I’m working really hard to maintain my health. I’m working closely with my doctors to find a regiment that works. I’m utilizing both medication and home remedies that keep me up right and functioning. My allergies have been kicking up. As normal allergy season comes around, I start to struggle a little more.…
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I Got Knee Injections
It’s been six weeks since my latest hip surgery. The recovery has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. Most of that is to be expected, although some of it is harder than I would’ve imagined. My knees have become a significant problem. It’s something I anticipated but hoped would go away. I have had knee pain and issues since high school. It’s been a difficult endeavor to recover my hips without causing more problems for my knees. There are a lot of emotions surrounding this topic. It’s not easy to consistently have new problems that come up frequently. I’m extremely grateful for my care team. They are absolutely…
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What You Need For Surgery Recovery
I have recently completed my seventh surgery. That feels crazy to say. I have learned quite a bit since my first and I wanted to share that wisdom with you. I’ve written before about what to expect. I highly recommend checking that out if you haven’t. Now we’re going to talk about items that you need for recovery. This will obviously depend on your specific surgery but these are the basics. Notepad and pen This is great to have handy to write down medication times. It’s also good for pain tracking. In general, I find it incredibly helpful to have. I have always still accepted calls post surgery and if…
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How Crush Helps With Surgery Recovery
Crush has been incredibly helpful throughout all my surgeries. Although, most of the time after surgery he can’t perform his regular tasks, he can still help. So what does that look like? Here’s how my service dog helps me after surgery! Get Help This is a big one. Crush is trained to go and find someone in my house. I can simply say, “get help” and he’ll find someone and nudge them until they follow him back to me. This can be helpful if I’ve fallen or simply can’t get to my phone. Retrieve Crush usually has retrieving tasks. Picking stuff up off the ground is incredibly strenuous for me…
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Five Post Surgery Distractions
If you’re like me, all you want after surgery is distraction. It’s easy to wallow in the pain and get lost in napping. Although I appreciate letting my body rest, it’s helpful to have distractions when I’m all rested. So here are some ways that I like to distract myself post surgery! Writing I really enjoy writing. Whether it be journalling, writing blog articles, or working on a project, writing is a good outlet. It can be difficult to get started, especially if the pain is intense. Once I find my rhythm though it’s easy to get into a flow state of mind. Not only is that helpful to alleviate…
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I Had My Second Hip Surgery
I finally did it. I went through my seventh and hopefully, my final surgery. It was worse than I anticipated. I beat my own record of the worst labral tear my surgeon had ever seen. They had to put so much fluid into my hip it was equivalent to that of a hip replacement. I woke up in intense and severe pain. It wasn’t at all what I anticipated or hoped for. Luckily, it’s day two and things are already improving. Once that fluid is absorbed by the body, the pain starts going down. Although I’m still swollen throughout my entire leg, it’s nowhere near as bad as yesterday. I’m…
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Preparing for More Surgery
Here we go again. I’m preparing for another surgery. I’m excited at the prospect of getting this done and over with. I’m grateful that I have the opportunity to receive great medical care. This surgery is going to be more complicated to prep for though. I need to have my left hip fixed. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that almost a year ago I had a labral repair on my right hip. Along with sewing my labrum back together, they pulled apart my tendon and shaved down my bone. I’m waiting to find out the extent of the surgery I need on the right…
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Dealing With Bad News
My medical life has been relatively stable lately. It’s been an incredible change that I’m very grateful for. That being said, I have suffered a setback. Several weeks ago, I started having pretty intense shin pain. It would come and go varying on activity level. It masked itself as knee pain or other various complications of weak hips. Now, the pain has become daily. I brought it up to my surgeon, per the advice of my physical therapist and they’ve told me that I need to rest. That may seem like an easy answer to most people. If you’ve followed my journey for a while, you know that exercise is…
