Week 12 Follow-Up

Tuesday July 26th was my 12 week follow-up in Boston. I was excited to see what Dr. Millis had to say. Immediately he said I could use 1 crutch and took it away. He did give it back since I got around with it faster but I was given the all clear. I did get a new set of xrays and he was very pleased with the result. He also asked how my right was holding up but I didn't get to respond because he already knew and said probably not very well and was very painful. Right on the dot. He asked if I could feel the screws and he felt for them. He said he did try to cover them up with the muscle tissue but he could still feel a couple of them. He also said they could come out any time. And I also need to have my right hip done in the fall too. Sooner rather then later. I also met with physical therapy and was given 5 new exercises. Surprisingly my right was weak too. She said that I could do outpatient PT back home but wanted to be in contact with them to explain some exercises further exercises. She said that most therapists will do exercises that are for THR (total hip replacement) patients which aren't good for a PAO patient. For example they may want to try and bring my knee to my chest which may not happen.
Since 3 of the kids were with us, and one of them being Arianna and knowing she had issues with her hips he took some xrays of her hips and did some ROM with her hips. He looked at her xrays. Didn't say anything but mmmm with a serious look. I knew that wasn't good. So as he walked back with us he said that she would need to have hips fixed too. He mentioned some other doctors but knew that we would have travel anywhere we were to take her. He said that he doesn't mind accepting her as his patient. He also said that we could schedule our surgeries for the same week to save on traveling.
As crazy it all sounds, I do like the idea and know it would and can be manageable. As Dr. Millis pointed out, I have already been through one so my left would be stronger and reliable. The anticipation for Arianna would be high but her recovery would be faster since she is younger. Her surgery does involve cutting bone and placing screws but the cuts are differently and her cartilage is all still there. Dr. Millis did sit down and talk seriously about all this. But he felt confident that this would be the way to go. Honestly I think it is the way to go myself. I don't want to see my daughter to live in pain like I have for at least the last 15 years of my life. I want the best for her.
Dusty and I will be discussing everything this week and will make a decision to what we think is best. His mom is out of annual so she won't be able to take time off to watch kids. His dad has already said he is open to helping out where he is needed.

Week 12 Vacation

This has been the best and most interesting week.
I scheduled my 12 week followup in Boston. The appointment was scheduled for Tuesday July 26th. Instead of flying we drove and took half of the crew with us. Originally the entire family was going to come with us and we would take the time to enjoy some history! But Dusty's mom took the week off and wanted to keep Hannah, Emma, and Paylynn. It was a very nice trip. I will break it up into 2 posts...1.)About vacation 2.)About the follow-up
We left Saturday afternoon after Dusty got off work and showered. Everything was packed and ready to go into the car. The 3 girls going with grandma were packed and by the door. The 3 girls left shortly before we left. We were on the road by 445pm with a 23 hour car ride ahead. We did stop for about an hour at a rest stop around 4am in Ohio. A little rest of the eyes was better then none. I did drive for a little bit. Ohio and Pennsylvania were long states to drive through.

The goal for Sunday was to make it to the Statue of Liberty and drive through New York City to see Times Square and maybe stay in a hotel and walk around. Well we did make it too the Statue of Liberty at 5pm Eastern time. It was amazing to see her! Our next stop was to head over to NYC. We took the Holland Tunnel. Our GPS said it should take 11 minutes and I said in a perfect world yes with no traffic but this is NYC with lots of traffic. And in my opinion just trying to pass through the tunnel was a mess. There was 6 lanes to start which then spread into 8 lanes to pay the toll but only 4 were cash only then after the toll it went down to 2! And yes it is bumper to bumper honking cars. Definitely not my style. Dusty fit in well though. Once we passed through the tunnel I was ready to turn back around. There are so many people. The kids couldn't believe all the people that walk and all the traffic. I couldn't either. Movies don't do the city justice. We did see Times Square but we changed our mind about walking and staying there. I said we can save that for another time. So then came the challenge of deciding where we would stay. All I know is I wanted a shower, I felt stinky. We drove through Connecticut, which was beautiful. But not their gas prices $4.23-$4.69 was the range. We didn't need gas but that would have been a lot $$$. Actually gas wasn't too bad $3.69-$3.75 in the other states. We did end up staying in Hartford, Connecticut at a Holiday Inn Express.

Monday we headed to Boston. We did a duck boat ride and shopping! The duck boat ride was a lot of fun and very educational! It was good to get to spend a day enjoying Boston. I honestly wouldn't mind taking more vacations here. Of course the shopping was fun too. Brady got to go to his Lego store and Arianna her American Girl store. Both were in awww. And for a treat the Cheesecake Factory. We stayed at the Best Western Inn at Longwood so we could just walk to the appointment the next day. We did do a lot of walking and my right did act up but my left did great.

Tuesday was appointment day. I was excited to show the kids where mommy had her surgery. Brady, especially, asked me lots of question. We ate some breakfast from the cafeteria and then proceeded to my appointment. Along the way Brady said that if he ever needed to go to a hospital he wanted to come here. Smart child I have. I won't blog much about my appointment in this post but will in the next one. It was a long day. My appointment was at 1045 am and we left CHB (Children's Hospital Boston) at 330pm. Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and headed off to Atlantic City in New Jersey. We stayed at Harrah's.

Wednesday we had plans to go to the beach but I was really sore from PT(physical therapy). So no beach. Bummer too for today was also Brady's 1oth birthday!!! I just didn't think I could crutch in the sand. Instead we went shopping at the Disney outlet store and walked around a little bit before heading off to Phillie to see a baseball game Phillies vs. Giants. We were cheering for the Giants. My husband has been growing his beard since the winter and looks like one of their pitchers, Brian Wilson. Some of even thought he was. Some wanted a picture of my lovely husband and his beard, some even wanted a picture of him. It was too funny, all the attention he received from his beard. We were even caught on tape twice! Even though, we didn't get to the beach it was a really fun day. We stayed at the Marriot in downtown Philly.

Thursday we were up early 530am so we could be on the road by 630am. It was sad how fast the time went by. But I was ready to see the 3 we left behind. When we hit Missouri, we drove so we could see the Arches. They were really big. We also decided that we just wanted to get home and to keep on going. We arrived home and pulled into our garage at 208am. My bed and sheets were greeted with much welcome.

New York

Duck boat ride (Boston)

 SFGiant FamilyPhilly vs. Giants game

Excuses

"If something is important, you will find a way. If it isn't, you will find an excuse."


How true this is. So true. I couldn't have said it better myself.
I always told my mom as she was undergoing chemo that she could live her life with chemo or she could let chemo live her life. To me she let chemo live her life. She let chemo be her excuse. Finding an excuse is much easier. We all do it. And we all have our reasons for it but it all comes down to the fact that it is still an excuse---good or bad.
Excuses can hurt as I have found out this recovery. I looked forward to having my mom around to help me. But it didn't go that way because chemo lived her life. My sister was too busy to come over too. Even my husband's step mom was too busy to come over or call. It has just been really hard. I am not the one to speak my feelings. But I feel like the trials I have been going through are not well understood by others. It isn't easy but I am trying my best to do what I can. It just really saddens me to know that those close to me haven't been around that much and it just really hurts.
I have let it get to me and depress me. I looked forward to going to my father in laws birthday. But with short notice we were unable to attend. This was a difficult time for me and missing a birthday seems like such a little thing but to me I was struggling emotionally and this really hit me hard. I understand now that surgery is also an emotional journey. Being surrounded by family really helps me but I just didn't feel like I got this.
I just really needed to get this off my chest.

Week 10

Not much news this week. I must admit that after watching the house around me come falling down into a disastrous mess, I made a personal decision to lay my crutches to the side for 2 hours a day to pick up. This really requires me to listen to my body and to really focus on not limping.
The first day I started in Emma's and Paylynn's room and started with the floor. It was a slow process because I just can't bend, squat, kneel. I have to think about what I do. And then getting back up requires thinking and using furniture as help. It is a bit of an exhausting process. And since I haven't been cleared for physical therapy yet either it really is a challenge. Also there is the guilt that I am doing something wrong because I haven't been given the "OK". But I am tired of waiting for a miracle to occur.
After that 2 hours of just picking up the floor and running the sweeper I felt pretty good until I sat down to eat some lunch and wow the soreness set in. Was it worth it, yes. I felt some peace and comfort knowing that I accomplished a chore on my own. It was a lot of work to just pick up a floor, one floor but I did it. And I haven't done any more rooms since then either.
I also did get lectured from family members about doing this but had no offers to come over to help me. I also have been told that I am nuts for driving. This is hard! Even more so now that everything I do I have to put thought into it. I start to second guess myself. I try to stay strong. But I am very vulnerable right now. My emotions are shaky. I can't just do things. For instance when I took the girls outside to play in the sprinkler and then to find out that we had a cracked water pipe and playing in the sprinkler caused a huge water mess in the basement. I couldn't just pull out the boxes that were soaked. I couldn't just get in there to start sopping up the water. I did manage to set up a couple of fans, lay towels down where I could but I just couldn't jump in and begin drying the water up, picking up the wet boxes and start drying them out. Or how about yesterday when I thought I was doing good and washing up the kids sheets and comforters only to find out that my washing machine was leaking water. There again I couldn't just pull out my washing machine. I did what I could.

12 Week Followup Scheduled

Yesterday I scheduled my 12 week post of follow up with Dr. Millis. It is Tuesday July 26th at 1045am. I do plan on asking about the right hip and scheduling that surgery.
We decided that we would drive and turn it into a family trip. Yes we will be bringing the kiddos. They are all very excited! So am I. I wasn't even sure if any of the grandparents would be able to get off so I didn't even bother to ask. Plus this was something Dusty and I have talked about since I had the surgery. We thought it would be a really great trip! As long as I have food, movies, and their ipods the car ride should go smoothly.
Now we just need to decided what we want to do. The options at this point include, Statue of Liberty, Six Flags, baseball game. We just need to decide. But I am ready for this get away!

Beware of the Gimp

With limited weight bearing on the left and horrible right hip pain, I am losing this battle currently. My right hip is causing my back to hurt. And moving around is a clown act for me. Talk about gimpiness! I would win that award for sure. I can hardly move with the right hip being so painful.
It is leaving me in a foul mood. I need a sign that says "Beware of the Gimp!"
One thing that really has been getting to me is when others take my problem and have to out do it! Now I am not by any means out for sympathy but some understanding would be nice. And no not the typical "you are young, you will heal fast." But someone who listens to what I am saying. Like one of my hip sisters put it, we aren't terminally ill but we do have a life altering hip problem. It isn't a hip replacement. This is major surgery. And bone was broken, therefore recovering does include allowing for the bone to heal.
I do not regret one bit my decision to have this surgery. Actually having my right hip acting up really awakes me to just how I was living my life before surgery and how my life would have continually gotten progressively worse.