Terrible Blogger!!

Much to the chagrin of my roommate (love you, @Julie!), I am a terrible blogger. My life is boring, so I don't think that people want to know. But then, when it gets interesting, I get busy and forget. Oops! So, here's a long-overdue update.

Halloween went very well. Sara's costume was adorable. The only bad part was that she got sick with a kidney infection right around then. She looked pretty miserable in the pictures (as I'm sure she was). On a brighter note, she looked fantastic and got over it quickly.

December was her big hip surgery. Julie and Kevin both got terribly sick with (we're not exactly sure what but my suspicion is) a version of whooping cough. Sara got a VERY mild version that lasted a fraction of the time, luckily, and was still able to do her surgery. She came through it like a champ! You can see Julie's posts and pics on it on her blog. She had her spika cast and a few complications with swelling and whatnot, but was a trooper and did marvelously! She got her cast off right before her birthday (holy cow, she's 6 now! Who allowed this?!?).

Now we're into February. It was a much calmer month around the house, but I started having medical issues. My hip, that's been a struggle for some time now, really hasn't gotten better. We need to back up a bit...

My chiropractor, whom I trust wholly and is amazing, did a big adjustment on me right before Christmas; I could barely walk on the big day, but she promised it would help in the long run. Around New Year I was able to fly down to Dallas and surprise my mom! It was great. My hip was back to its "normal" pain. When Dr. Rachel checked in on me, I informed her of such, and she was not pleased. I came in as soon as I got back in town for what should have been a quick 20 minute adjustment. Unfortunately, things weren't cooperating (in my body!? Shocking, I know). Every time she'd adjust me, it would fall right back out with little aggravation (walking, rolling on my left side, etc.). So, she called in Dr. Ken (cue dramatic dun dun dun). He pulled and poked and prodded. An hour and a half later, he explained to me that he'd done everything he could think of, De. Rachel had, too, and the next step was to get more information. I needed an MRI. From that, the most likely scenario was A: he'd see what soft tissue was the issue and make a plan to fix it or B: surgery because it was structural. And he warned me that B was more likely, given my treatment history with them. I didn't like this.

I called my insurance and scheduled an appointment with an orthopedist. He did X-rays and said that nothing jumped out, so I'd need an MRI. Ok. 2 saying the same thing. Thanks.

After my MRI, the ortho called back and told me that I have femuroacetabular impingement (fai). In English, it means that I have a hump of bone growth on my femoral head and on my hip socket that rub together--bone-on-bone. Very painful. The next step was a shot. Eek! Basically, I'd get a shot guided by a camera directly into my hip joint of steroid and pain meds. From this we would see if this was the source of my pain. The pain would either go away and never come back (not likely), not be phased (so, it's not this issue, after all), or go away/get better and then come back. Bingo! That's what happened. It lasted about 3 ish days. The next step was to talk to a surgeon.

I made my appointment (we're now caught up on the timeline. We're in February again) and was terrified. What if he ordered a bunch of new tests? What if he didn't believe me? Not that I want to rush into surgery, but my pain has gotten so bad, I walk with a limp and am in constant pain. [Side note: after getting my diagnosis, I did a ton of research (surprised? Haha, no). In that research I found out that this bone rubbing is wearing away and tearing apart the cartilage in my hip joint (I have 80-year-old-lady hips). Now it's down to bare bones. And the pain significantly increases rapidly at this point.] So, I just want my pain gone. Anyway, he didn't do any of that. He did a short exam, looked at my images, and agreed that this was the proper diagnosis. He gave me the explanation of options (both surgical and non) and helped walk me through the best course of action for me. Bottom line: my surgery is April 10.

==================ALERT: Graphic medicallyness to follow!!======================

So, in the surgery, he will grind off the bone growths/pieces. Then he will pull the soft tissue back into its proper place, stitch it back together and screw it into my bone to hold it together. Neat!

==================OK, you're clear!===================

So, Sara's recovering well (we had her last post-op appointment the other day, and he affirmed she was healing very well. Her leg was staying in the socket nicely!), and I'm turning around and having my own hip surgery. Go figure! Mom is coming up to be with me for the surgery and the first few days to follow. It will be a tremendous help!

On another note: school has been good. Jess and I are still co-teaching and doing well. The kids are growing so much (physically and mentally). TCAP (Colorado's state standardized test) is finishing up tomorrow (yay!). The kids have been fantastic through it. I am so proud!

On one last bit of news, Julie is buying a house (yay!), and so I am moving. Chris and Alicia have graciously opened their home to me, and so I will move in with them over spring break. And since Alicia shattered her pelvis in a car accident a few years ago, they're totally prepared for my recovery and are willing to help me. They're awesome!

So that's been my life in a nutshell, really. Kinda crazy, but what do you expect? Haha.