On Monday, I flew to Chicago for my 6 week follow-up with Dr. Nho! They didn't have any wheelchairs available for two hours, so I slowly made my way past security and border patrol. Only having a backback and a cane was very practical! The plane was so small. After one hour, both my hips were hurting. Since I was in a bulkhead seat, I wasn't able to store my bag under the seat so the flight attendant put it in one of their closets. Meaning I didn't have access to my pain meds :( I could of asked them to grab my bag, but I was stupid and didn't want to bother them. Luckily a wheelchair was waiting for me once I de-boarded the plane because that airport is HUGE. Like...20 minute walk (for a normal person) from gate to exit! Would of taken me 3 hours lol. After a terrible night sleep (for some reason, I think I was super nervous), I shuttled my way to Midway Orthopedics for my 9:45 appointment with Dr. Nho. I was quickly brought to an exam room, and a few minutes later Dr. Griffin - Dr. Nho's fellow - walked in. I had met him at my first consult, and was happy to see a familiar face. "Hey, I remember you! I was at your surgery" Funny how I had NO idea that he was there...the magic of general anesthesia. He went over my surgery images, explaining everything in detail. Since my first surgeon barely did anything, they had a large tear to work with and were able to repair by placing three anchors in my acetabulum. I had grade 3 cartilage damage near my tear, but luckily it won't progress any further thanks to Dr. Nho taking down all excessive bone on my femoral head. No more big bump. It was really nice to finally understand those images! "Large tear, anchors, bone, blablabla" is what I remember of his explanations right after surgery haha. Then I saw Dr. Nho...always nice to see him! He's so friendly and attentive, I never feel pressured to hurry, nor shy to ask any questions. He tested my ROM and was happy - good flexion, 40 degrees ER and 15-20 IR. I voiced out my concern about my slow progress to normal ambulation, as I was expecting to be crutch free earlier. He said it's usually longer with second surgeries, and that he's not concerned as long as I'm progressing...which I am! He watched me walk through the hallway and showed what I need to work on. I brought up my left hip. It's been hurting more and more. Compensation is still a possible explanation but to keep an eye on it. If it worsens during my recovery, or if it becomes problematic the day I get back to sports, I will have to consider surgery on that side as well. He confirmed FAI and a labral tear on my left last time I saw him, so I'm probably looking at going through all of this again sometime down the road. But one thing at a time! Important is that he is pleased with where I'm at right now. I need to work on normalizing my gait. Stretch my very tight capsule as often as possible (minimum twice a day for 30 minutes). Core and glute work for stabilization. And to see him again in 6-8 weeks. I then had an appointment with Lindsay downstairs in PT. It was great to see her! She checked my gait, worked on my capsule and my other hip as well. The simply touch of my TFL on my non-op side had me jolt up from the table. You know it's tight when your PT says "oh nooooooo...you poor thing" Ugh. Luckily some traction belt and massaging helped. I then was reunited with the Game Ready! I wanted to steal it but unfortunately it didn't fit in my tiny backpack. Overall, I'm happy I decided to fly out for my 6 week follow up. It reassured me to know that I'm in a good place, and that I'm not behind in my recovery. To know that the pinching at the front of my hip is actually my capsule being very tight, and that I simply need to keep stretching it as much as I can. To have the surgery photos re-explained. And to discuss about my worries for my left hip. I'm also really happy because I got to see two of my fellow hipsters! Jennifer, a fellow Canadian from Newfoundland, booked her 12 week follow up with Dr. Nho on the exact same day as me, without us even consulting each other! Other coincidence, Stephanie had also booked her follow up on the same morning as me. I met Stephanie at my 2 week follow up in the waiting room, and we realized we both knew a common hip patient (that I met in PT and she in her building), it was so nice catching up with her! Crazy how it's a small hip world! I always love traveling with United, and was glad they were the cheapest flight to Chicago for this trip. They nicely upgraded me to Economy Plus due to my recent hip surgery, and I was SO happy when I saw the seat they had assigned! SO.MUCH.LEGROOM! So much that I had trouble reaching my bag under the seat and water bottle haha. It made a huge difference, I was able to extend my leg out, limiting pain and stiffness. Now been back for a few days, I have a lot more of updates but this post is long enough the way it is!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMy name is Marie-Christine. I'm 34 years old and live in Montreal, QC, Canada. I have had two failed hip scopes on my right hip to do undiagnosed hip dysplasia. My amazing surgeon, who is in Quebec City, performed periacetabular osteotomy in November 2017. He also did one left hip scope (non dysplastic) in February 2017. Archives
May 2018
|