HOMERUN

“I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday” -unknown

So the hip went under the knife on December 10. I flew into San Diego and then drove up to Los Angeles for the surgery. Dr. Matsuda was performing the surgery (he’s the best in the area for FAI/Labrum repair). My other ortho, Dr. Shoemaker, drove up from San Diego to be there as well. I felt pretty lucky to have two of the best doctors in the area there.

However, I was scared…very scared. Honestly though, I think the anesthesia scared me the most. Maybe it was the fact that during the pre-op the doctor that did the consult looked at me and said. “You’re high risk because of your high blood pressure and congenital heart defect and I need to also let you know, as I do everyone, that death can result.” AWESOME… way to make me feel comfortable and secure!

Pat calmed me down (seriously, he’s been a saint through all of this) and I put on a brave face as we arrived early Thursday morning for the surgery.

When Dr. Matsuda came to check on me, I was instantly reminded why I had traveled all the way back to LA from Ohio and why I waited this long to go under the knife He marked my hip before the operation, explained what he would be doing, and calmed my nerves with his confidence and kindness. After that, I just remember being wheeled into the operating room, seeing Dr. Shoemaker and saying hi or something like that and then I was OUT.

Woke up a few hours later in recovery. I felt extremely nauseous. It wasn’t long before the pain followed. It was shooting pain. The worst I’ve ever felt in my life. They hooked me up to the morphine pump and that helped, but it was a very LONG day and night.

I was pretty out of it for the first 24 hours or so. From what I've been told, I got really mad at the nurses for not telling me exactly what they did to my hip and when I could expect a full recovery.

Finally, I got some some answers and some pictures of the procedure (really cool but I don't want to gross everyone out). Anyway, my surgery went very well. In fact, according to my doctor, it was a Homerun...very necessary due to the amount of damage but they were able to fix everything, so I should have a full recovery. They shaved off bone spurs and reshaped my acetabulum and my femur and eradicated the impingement. They released my iliopsoas tendon and saved and repaired my badly torn labrum. I do have metal in my hip but it’s not an implant, just metal suture anchors.

The first few days were pretty painful and it was so awkward not being able to move my leg…all my motor skills were gone. I confirmed with the doctor and I guess the amount of work and releasing the tendon has this effect. I’ll pretty much have to retrain my leg/hip to do everything again but I confirmed it will eventually work again :)

Saturday (two days after the surgery), I went to the gym and got on the raised stationary bike (no resistance) for 10 minutes. It was not easy but it’s required as part of the therapy to reduce scar tissue build up. That day, I also took my first shower….not easy at all. Good thing Pat was there to hold me up when I almost passed out after seeing the size of my leg and the incisions and bruising.

Monday (four days post-op) I went off the pain pills and just took Aleve (I'm required to take two a day for a month).

One week after the operation, I was doing much better. Still having trouble with range of motion but making progress. The pain was minimal and riding the bike for a few minutes each day actually felt pretty good.

I got the stitches out a week after the surgery and hopped on a plane back to OH later that day. Traveling was not so much fun.

It's a little over two weeks today and I get off crutches in four days...just in time for the New Year and I’m thrilled. I’m sure Pat is too….poor guy has had to do so much for me and I’m stubborn as hell so I’m sure it’s that much more frustrating.

Anyway, my wounds are pretty much healed and the scars aren’t too bad. Tomorrow will be my first day in the pool (one thing I’m allowed to do over the next several weeks of recovery)

Other than that, it’s going to be a slow road to recovery but it’s all downhill from here. I’m looking forward to walking without that pain I've had for an entire year now.

One of my doctors is quick to remind me to be patient though. Sharing the email he wrote me:

“REMEMBER – we nailed that procedure but the scope of work was far greater than anticipated = remembering this in recovery. Your hip WILL be in top-notch shape upon a strict rehabilitation process. This is up to YOU AND ONLY YOU. To reiterate (as I do with all my athletes) – follow the plan discussed!!! You can think of this as a race--a long one and it’s with yourself. It may be the hardest one you ever do.”

So the plan he refers to... well it pretty much means I’m out of any impact activity (running, jumping, even walking on uneven surfaces) until around March. Lots of rehab, lots of baby steps.

That said, I’m ready for the road ahead. I know each day is another day toward progress. I’m slowly teaching myself how to use my hip again, regaining my range of motion and even did a sitting leg raise extension today and it felt good. Tomorrow, I think will be even better.




Cheers to progress and going into 2010 CRUTCH free J

Giving Thanks....

I had the privilege of looking up random Thanksgiving facts for a work project. I had to share a few of my favorites:

·The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day.
·Turkeys can drown if they look up when it's raining!
·Californians are the largest consumers of turkey in the United States.

Pat and I are headed to New Mexico for Thanksgiving with the families… and plural is correct. Yes, my family and his family started the tradition a few years ago and do Thanksgiving together each year (yes, our families get along...a little too well at times :) Anyway, it's always a blast.

Last night, Pat and I were discussing how 2009 has been sort of a crappy (for lack of a better word) year. Between family illnesses, death, injuries and other struggles, let’s just say that we’re both ready for 2010. However, despite the rough times, we are still very blessed.

And, since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I’m going to do something that my dad told me long ago “If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude.” So here are a few things that I’m especially thankful for right now.


· For amazing friends. Good friends are hard to find but I’ve been blessed with some people in my life--both old and new friends--that I know will be present in my life forever.
· For the opportunity to experience life in a place (Ohio) that I likely would never have even visited. It’s opened my eyes, strengthened my relationships with those near and far and provided me a chance to slow down a bit. It’s also brought new adventures and friendships that I’m grateful for
· For Top Chef, Mad Men, The Office and One Tree Hill (don’t laugh) and wine. They have made many otherwise boring Ohio nights a little more entertaining for Pat and I.
· That I have a job I love, an amazing boss (fro real) and the opportunity to work from home in Ohio. And…that my job has let me get back to California just when I needed to the most.
· That after nearly five years of marriage Pat and I still have fun together and he still makes me laugh every day.

These aren't as fun, but...

· That they caught the true cause of my hip injury before it led to permanent damage and that I’m fortunate enough to have one of the best hip surgeons in the US operating on me next month.
· That my family is fortunate enough to receive top-notch care and treatment for health issues they’re dealing with.
· That even though sometimes people’s life here is too short...I'm thankful for the times I did have with them.

I’m thankful and I’m blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Life Out East

I'm slacking in the blog world. Life has been really tough--working reduced hours from home, staying in my pajamas all day, spending my mornings exploring different areas of Ohio, going on bike rides and trail walks. No, but really, I have been traveling quite a bit and just settling in here in the Arctic...I mean Ohio.

Here's a few photos and a little look into my life:


I spent a weekend in Boston for my friend Jenn's wedding and celebrated my 30th birthday with high school friends (old-school style wine coolers and all. Classy, right?).






Pat and I hit up a Michigan game (and last weekend an Ohio State game). Wow, quite a difference from the USD football games (yes, USD has a football team)



We flew to Washington DC/Annapolis one weekend to visit some friends and eat tons of seafood (including the best crab cakes EVER). If you're ever in the area hit up Cantler's!





I've also been back to SD a few times for work, and of course, quality time with friends :)




Oh, and in Ohio....

Fall has been beautiful. The colors are amazing!




I've made some great friends...



okay, no really I haven't...

But, I've found two great riding groups (although riding season is just about over due to the cold temps)The Akron Bike Club and the Hudson Velo Club. The Akron Group is pretty hardcore. They have a Thursday night hammer-fest ride. I usually get dropped (one time I got dropped with a Brazilian...I know, hot right? Not really though, he wasn't what you picture--hopefully he's not reading this--anyway, he didn't know the area any better than I did and by the time we got back it was about 40 degrees, raining and dark = not fun). Hudson Velo has become my Sunday ride group. The people are great. I actually showed up for my first ride and it was club photo day (see below). I'm not hard to find since there are only two girls in the photo. Also, check out the kid in the front...he rode for the first 10 miles or so and was pretty freakin fast!




Oh, and in other news...I FINALLY got my surgery date confirmed. December 10th in LA and I can't wait (I know, not normal to be that excited). To hopefully be pain free and eventually back on the race circuit is exciting to me. However, I did realize that including post-surgery, I'll have spent about 4 of the 12 months of 2009 on crutches. Yikes!

How's The HIP?

Warning 1: this post is long and boring and all about what’s going on with my hip.

Warning 2: I’m beyond frustrated about my hip—the constant pain, the hoops I have to jump through to get this fixed and the time it’s taking. Therefore, my attitude is a bit negative.

So, for anyone that decided to keep reading, let me go back a bit in time...

In college, as a breaststroker (okay that sounds really bad), I had right leg adductor and hip flexor issues. I ignored them like any smart athlete would do... I got as many cortisone shots as they would allow and raced right through my four years of college. Looking back, not the smartest thing I could have done. Hindsight’s 20/20 though, right?

Anyway, after I stopped racing competitively the pain subsided. However, my right hip was always my problem area. I would feel the typical ache and pain after I put in too many running miles or did a long ride. I would typically rest it for a day or so, ice it and pop the advil. If it bothered me for a week or so, I’d go buy new shoes or try arch supports, get a massage, anything to mask the pain. In all honesty, I just kept thinking it’s one of those stupid injuries that I’ll always have to deal with—you know, the bad knees type thing.

The hip survived Ironman training (although it didn’t allow me to run as much as I would have liked) and racing. It was post-Ironman that the real issues began. In April, I started developing intense pain randomly when I ran, then it started occurring on the bike and even walking hurt. It finally got so bad that I knew I needed to see a doctor. It wasn’t just an “issue” it was a problem.

So, x-rays and an MRI later, I was told I had a stress fracture in the neck of my femur. You know the rest of this story…crutches from April to June.
As they were doing x-rays and follow-up tests to see the healing, through an MRI with dye, they discovered the real problem behind all this hip pain. I have a labral tear in my hip and a Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI).

Say what?

FAI is a condition of too much friction in the hip joint. Basically, the ball (femoral head) and socket (acetabulum) rub abnormally creating damage to the hip joint. In my case, damage (what they’re saying is a severe tear) has occurred in the to the labral cartilage (soft tissue bumper of the socket).

Since the final MRI results and x-rays, I’ve seen four hip specialists/surgeons and they’ve all told me surgery is my only option. Without the surgery to fix the FAI and labral tear, it’s very likely that I would have to have a total hip replacement in just a few short years.

So, I’m having surgery to get this fixed. However, given that this type of injury isn’t all that common,it’s taking WAY longer and is WAY more complicated than I ever expected. Here are the options I’ve been given.

Option 1: Get into surgery right away. This would be open hip surgery. The doctor would open up and dislocate my hip (so they can see the bones) and repair the tear and reshapes the hip joint, then puts it back into place. The recovery time for this is LONG. Many more weeks on crutches and it could be more than six months before I’m able to return to a “somewhat” normal level of activity. The reason I can get this right away is there are more doctors available that can do this type of surgery (it used to be the only method).

I’ve decided against option one and going with option two.

Option 2: Arthroscopic surgery using a camera and instruments inserted through small tubes. The surgeon applies traction to pull the joint open so they can work through tiny incisions. Recovery is usually quick – they say patients are back on an exercise bike in 24 hours, just a couple weeks on the crutches and back at it again in a few months. The hard part about this procedure is there are major nerves and vessels adjacent that can get damaged. There is a ball and socket configuration which is inherently round, but they're putting in straight instruments that have to travel deep through the body into that compartment. This is why there are only a handful of surgeons that can do this procedure. In fact, in the US there are about 5. Needless to say, even with not that many individuals needing this somewhat rare surgery, the waiting list for the arthoscopic procedure is LONG.

That said, I found a doctor in LA that is one of that handful. He’s AMAZING and has successfully performed numerous hip arthoscopic procedures. We’re working with the medical board to get me in quickly but as of now, it might be January/February before I can get this done. They were hoping for October/November but I’m not keeping my hopes up too much.

So, yes, I’m frustrated because I’m still unable to run. I can’t bike more than 40 miles without feeling the hip act up, walking is even a chore sometime and I’m still in pain 90% of the time. However, I feel confident about my decision to wait and do the less invasive procedure with a doctor I know has performed this on athletes in the past (his list includes NFL football players). The way I see it, even by waiting I’ll likely recover before I would have in the open hip procedure.

So, there is the hip update. It’s now a waiting game. I’ve learned several lessons in this process. Including the most important one—you’ve only got one body. Treat it right. Take care of it because even in your 20’s you can create damage that if not caught early enough might be irreversible. Pain is a signal that you need to slow down, or yes, even stop. So maybe it took me a long time to learn this…but I’ve learned.

A Pool Snob...

So before I talk about my realization that I am a total pool snob, let me start on a positive note...

The new gym we joined in Cuyahoga Falls is awesome! In addition to the normal gym stuff, it has a fitness circuit, a 1/8 mile indoor track with rubber sports floor cushioning (when I can get back to running). I had to steal a picture or two from the website...



Also,the spin classes are my new favorite activity. The bikes are CycleOps with the cool computers that tell you watts, cadence, hr, calories, etc. I'm addicted!

Okay, back to where I started. The one thing I'm not into is the pool...

Now its totally got the look.



This is not a joke, it really has a slide, current channel, spraystation, therapy pool and lap pool (which looks great, right)?




Well, here is the problem: I've been SPOILED for the past 10 years. Swimming outside at USD (maybe one of the best pools in the U.S...though I'm bias), then swimming outdoors at my gym in San Diego when necessary, but with the ocean in my backyard, I didn't even really need the pool the last few years. So, I'm going to admit it here. I've only swam once in the three weeks I've been in Ohio and it was awful. The lap pool was 84 degrees (way too hot for me) and I thought I was going to suffocate from chemical inhalation. All I could smell was chlorine and I swear I could not sprint without feeling like I'm going to have an asthma attack. Plus, I was itchy for hours after getting out...and yes, I showered.

Anyway, I had to get that out and admit my lack of swimming as I think it may force me to do it more now. I just wish I had a better option than indoors but Lake Erie is too far and cold right now and all the little lakes nearby my house that people swim at are closed.

I was LOVING swimming before I left. Now, I'm being a snob. It's not like I never swam inside before...my club team in New Mexico practiced at UNM (indoors) so I can overcome this (I hope), but first I need to stop reading articles on the effects of indoor pools on your health (there are a lot and they aren't good).

A new chapter...

I'm here in Ohio and guess what? It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, life is pretty good. It did rain for the first few days I was here (we're talking pouring rain) and I was questioning if Ohio had a sun...but it does and It's been shining for a few days now. So, now that I can finally see everything with a clear eye, I have to admit that I'm pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it is here.

Our new home:



The view from our place:




As far as training:

I'm still in exploring mode but I've found some amazing trails for my "wogs." See, the doc doesn't want any really fast-paced running until the hip is fixed (looks like October in Los Angeles) so I walk and then do a sort of jog/run(two minutes at a time or until the hip starts acting up even in the slightest bit). I've coined this "wogging" and I'm actually getting pretty good at it. Anyway, check out the view from the trails that are just minutes from our place:





I've also found a few road cycling teams/groups. So, I've been out with them exploring and learning what "deer dodging" is...more about this later.

In addition to the outdoor beauty (which I realize I have just a few more weeks to enjoy until the cold sets in), we found a great gym. It has a huge indoor pool (crazy adjustment since I've been swimming outside now for 11 years), great spin and other classes.

As for life:

Pat and I have been having a blast exploring all the new little towns, finding the farmer's markets, trying out the local wine and beers, seeing the corn mazes, visiting Amish country, hitting up Cleveland, etc. I'm fortunate enough to work from home and on West Coast hours, so I get the mornings to explore even more. So, minus the fact that I still haven't found a frozen yogurt shop within 20 miles of my home and that Ohio is not somewhere I'd recommend for sushi and fish (my favorite foods)
I'll be the first to admit that this new chapter in life is off to a good start.

The real question...will I still say this in December?

Leaving America's Finest City for O-Why-O

So, I haven't blogged much about my big move. I think it's because I've been in denial a bit. Really, who would want to leave this:



and head 2,500 miles northeast to Akron, Ohio for this:



Okay, yes, I'm totally being dramatic here but had to do it.

Anyway, so we get that I don't want to move. That I don't want to leave San Diego--my home for the past 11 years to move to a place where I don't know ANYONE! A place that I've never even BEEN. However, love makes you do funny things and when you take that vow...for better or worse...well, that's where this all fits in. So, yes, I am moving for Patrick. He got an amazing opportunity clerking for a Federal District Court Judge and then on the Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit (so good for his career and I'm so happy for him), so we're leaving San Diego for a bit but have every intention of returning following these brief stints.

I get on the airplane later today. One-way to Cleveland. Patrick is already there (drove out last week). I know that today will be the toughest day. After today, my adventure will begin. As hard as it is to leave a place where I've made my life, I also know that life is what you make of it. So, I'll make Ohio my own. I'll find my bike shop, my triathlon friends, my coffee shop, my frozen yogurt place, etc. The good news is that I'm not doing this alone. I've got Patrick and I know we'll have fun! Also, I am lucky enough to work remotely for the company I'm with now, so I still have that tie back to SD (and reason to come back frequently and visit all my friends :)

We did have some good times with friends before we left. We had about 50 friends come out to True North (a bar near our house) and from what I remember of the night (let's just say shots + Mary = disaster) it was a BLAST. I have pictures to prove this, but unfortunately, that camera's cord is in Ohio, so they will have to wait.

The next day, my good friend and long-time riding buddy, Beth organized an O-Bye-O ride for me. Despite the hangover, it was a blast and we wrapped up the ride with my favorite treat...frozen yogurt.






So, good-bye San Diego...for now but not forever...and hello to new adventures, laughs and friends.