Take Two!

It's now 7 weeks since my right hip surgery and 17 weeks since my left. The last couple of months have felt like Groundhog Day, but I can profess to being a pro on the rehab steps following a hip labral repair! It's actually been much easier the second time around, partly because my second surgery was two hours shorter, but also because I knew that there was an end in sight, and light at the end of the rehab tunnel.

So, what have I been doing the last 7 weeks, and the ten weeks before that? Unbelievably, I've been spending more time "training" at the pool, on the bike, and in the gym than I do when I'm training full time for ironman. Since I woke up from my second surgery August 14th, I haven't missed a day on the bike, a day in the gym or seldom missed a day in the pool. Most days I'm at the gym on the spin bike, doing strengthening exercises, pool running, doing exercises in the shallow pool, and swimming with masters, along with three 90min PT sessions a week.

Last week, I started riding on the road again, and decided to break my Trek Madone out from hiding. I love this bike, and for the last two years, it's been hard for me to ride a road frame comfortably because of the closed hip angle and impingement issues I was having. I guess the yard sticks for improvement post surgery are different for everyone, but I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to ride a road bike again. As I start to build up for next season, I'll go back to my first love, my Trek Speed Concepts tri bike,  but in the meantime, it's fun to be a "roadie" for a while.

Next up on my countdown is my return to running next week, and flip turns in the pool (finally!) the next week. Onwards and upwards!

Triathlon Magazine Canada

So honored to be the feature story in the current issue of Triathlon Magazine Canada.

The Second Time Around

So much has happened since my last blog post two weeks ago that it's difficult to know where to begin. It was 9 weeks after my left hip surgery, and I had just come back to Vail for my recheck. Everything was going great - I had just started running, I was back biking, and I was waiting for my recheck with my doc the following week to see when I could start racing again.

However, there had been something nagging in the back of my mind for the few weeks leading up to my recheck. My right hip had also started to bother me on/off just prior to my left hip surgery and as I squatted and lunged my way through rehab, it started to complain a bit louder. It wasn't as bad as my left hip had been, but it was enough to make me realize that I had one of two options:

1) wait and see how it would respond as the next few months of training and racing progressed. Worst case scenario, I would get an MRI at the end of the season and if it showed another labral tear, I would be back on the wait list for another spring surgery, potentially missing most of next season as I had this year.

2) get an MRI prior to my recheck while I was here in Vail, and then make an informed decision on what to do. If surgery was needed, I'd be months ahead in the rehab process and ready to start racing again by the spring.

So, after a few restless nights of tossing and turning, I decided to have an MRI while here in Vail. On my recheck with my doctor the Monday before last, my MRI was reviewed and I found out that I had the same genetic bony impingement in my right hip as I had had in my left, ie extra bone on the neck of my femur and socket of my hip joint which had in turn created a tear in my labrum. I was due to fly back to San Diego the next morning, but there happened to be a cancellation on the surgery list for the next day, and my surgeon asked me if I wanted to stay? Oh boy, what to do. Stay and have another surgery or mull it over and have my name put back on an 8-month wait list??

Well, long story short, I had surgery on my right hip 9 days ago, and I couldn't be happier. Both hips are now done, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world to have been in the right place at the right time sitting in the doctor's office last Monday and being offered a chance to have surgery the next day. Prior to that appointment, I thought I'd be looking at another spring surgery, but it's August, and although I'll miss the remainder of this race season, I'll be more than ready for some early spring races next season. This surgery was also two hours shorter than my last surgery, and already I feel like I'm ahead of where I was with my left hip. Yup, I couldn't be happier.

I've also had the support of so many great friends here in Vail the second time around, and I've had the great fortune of being able to do my rehab and pool therapy with some really great athletes - baseball players from the While Sox and Orioles, marathoner Uta Pippig, and many others who have become great friends. A big Thank You also to Jay for his endless support and for looking after me the last ten days, to my great PT's at Howard Head Sports Medicine, Dr Philippon and the staff at the Steadman Clinic, Mark Ryan for overseeing my rehab, and of course to my family, friends, and sponsors for their continued support.

Off to the pool for rehab and then I'm headed back to San Diego. It's been a busy summer, but it's been two big steps forward in the right direction.

9 Weeks and Counting!

Today is 9 weeks since my hip surgery, and I'm back in Vail for the next week, having my recheck with Dr. Philippon on Monday. Everything is going great (knock on wood!), and the last few weeks I've started to get back into my "normal" routine. I said a fond farewell to my crutches at 5 weeks, and a week ago, after 8 weeks of daily spin bike sessions, I took my Trek back out on the road.

 

Now that I'm in Vail, I've been borrowing a friend's road bike and doing some riding around town and in Leadville at 10,000 feet elevation. If it's true what they say about pigs and mud, then yes, I am happier than a pig in mud!

I was also given the ok today to start running and using the elliptical again. Every week, there's something new to look forward to, and that's the great part about rehab. Next on the check list are flipturns in the pool at 10 weeks. After 9 weeks of swivel turns, I am actually counting down the days on this one too.

 

A big, big THANK YOU to my family, friends and sponsors for being so supportive throughout my rehab. And the biggest of thank you's to my PT in San Diego, Brett Bloom, for helping me through the last 9 weeks, and to Mark Ryan at Howard Head Sports Medicine in Vail for overseeing my rehab program....and loaning me his bike. Thank you!

Home in San Diego, 4 Weeks Post-op

I came back from Vail last Tuesday after an amazing 3 weeks of rehab at Howard Head Sports Medicine (located in the same building as the Steadman Clinic where I had surgery on June 5th). For 3 weeks, I had 2 Physical Therapy sessions a day, 7 days a week plus pool therapy twice a week. It was a good thing I was in shape heading into surgery because 30+ hours a week of rehab is not exactly a walk in the park!:)

I had some great PT's in Vail and met so many great friends while I was there. Derrick, Heidi and Kevin joined me for my swim workouts in the pool, and Julz - tired of hearing me complain about being stranded at Starbucks whenever I went for coffee - created my very cool "coffee/Mountain Dew crutch holder" (see pics below).

Since I've been home, I either pool run/swim or use the stationary bike every day, in addition to my 4-5 PT sessions a week. Tomorrow will be 4 weeks post-op and in a few days I'll be off crutches - it's been an experience but I am ready to move on! The great thing about having surgery is that every day and every week, things improve and get easier. Already my hip feels better than it did pre-op. I'm being patient, but at the same time, I'm excited about what lies ahead.

Post-op Day 6 + Pics from Vail

It's crazy to think that it's been 6 days since my hip surgery. The time since then has flown by.....yes, partly due to my drug induced state the first few days, but also because, believe it or not, it's been non-stop since I came out of surgery. I've been going to PT 2hrs every morning, 2hrs every afternoon (weekends included) + 40min a day on the spin bike + at home exercises, and this week I'll add two sessions a week of aqua therapy/pool running/swimming. The Rehab in Vail has been amazing and so I decided to stay another 2 weeks to take advantage of getting a good start on the road back to recovery.

Below are some pics from the past week.....my incisions 1 day post-op, the 45min drive to check out Leadville on Saturday (altitude recovery at 10, 000ft), and my new friend the spin bike....c'mon, let me add some more resistance! Just joking! ;)

Day 1 Post-Op

Just a short note to say that surgery yesterday went really well and I left the hospital this morning. The last thing I remember after being wheeled into OR yesterday evening was looking at the clock on the wall, seeing that it was 3:30pm and feeling like I had never been so hungry in my life (I had been fasting since midnight the night before). The next thing I remember was being wheeled into recovery, doing a double take at the time on the clock, 9:40pm, and wondering what was for dinner. I'll spare you the details, but it must be true what they say about drugs increasing your appetite!

As for my surgery, I couldn't have asked for a better outcome. I think most surgeons pre-op are cautious in predicting recovery times and until surgery is over, there's a certain amount of apprehension and wishing for the best. I'm happy to say that my surgery went as well as I could have expected. Dr Philippon repaired my labrum, and shaved the excess bone from my acetabulum (socket part of the hip  joint), and also from the head of my femur (the ball part of the joint), thereby eliminating the impingement that had caused the labral tear to develop. He then did a PRP (platelet rich plasma) injection to speed up the healing process.

Immediately after surgery, I was put on a CPM (continuous passive motion) machine that moved my hip and knee for 6hrs last night, and then I was off to Physical Therapy at 7am for a two hour session of exercises, crutch walking and 15min on a spin bike. At 3pm this afternoon, I'll head back for another 2hr PT session, followed this evening by another 4hrs on the CPM machine. I'll repeat this for the next 7 days until I head back to San Diego next Wednesday. I'll also start pool therapy at the beginning of next week and swimming a few days later.

Thank you to all my friends and family, coach and sponsors for your amazing support over the last couple of weeks. I have a busy month of rehab ahead, but I'm looking forward to getting back training on a now stable hip, and finishing the season with a kick.:)