First snow/ cold weather

Since my surgery in May, there hasn't really been any bone chilling weather or snow worth mentioning until now. The cold is definitely making me feel stiff, but the more I move the better I feel. And as far as walking in snow and ice, I'm managing. I'm making sure to take baby steps and watching for any really slick areas. 

It was a huge fear of mine, the snow and ice, but so far it's not so bad. I've been working on balance in PT lately and I think that really helped. I've hit a milestone and I can stand on my right leg without leaning towards the right. I can keep my body centered! That's huge! It means the muscles are holding the joint in place and are strong enough to keep me stable. My waddle is going away little by little, day by day. I am definitely feeling stronger and feeling less and less like I have to use other muscles to compensate. I haven't felt that weird dislocation feeling for probably a few days now! So I'm excited about that! 

For anyone who is considering this procedure (Ganz or PAO), don't let my setbacks keep you from it! Everyone is different and even though I still have six more months of physical therapy until I can really get back to being fully capable of working out/ jogging and such, I'm so glad I was able to have the procedure done. 

6 months...

Hey everyone!! I am so happy to report good news finally! I just left Dr. White's office and physical therapy is doing its job! The doctor says six more months of physical therapy and I should be as good as new. He said there is still some stability issues but they should all be worked out through a well rounded physical therapy regimen. I will be able to work on all the muscles now and not just the one butt muscle. I will also be working on core strength, so the "sweating for wedding" work outs can start soon! 

It was nice to hear the good news. He did say my case in particular was a tough one but he is confident I will come out of it just fine. So until then I'll just work my butt off, pun intended, and in another six months I'll update you all again.

Oh, before I forget, he also said the ganz part is pretty much 100% healed! Yay bone growth!! 

Five months....

A couple weeks ago in physical therapy, John, my physical therapist, decided that we should do something called "dry needling." Turns out, one of my muscles in my butt wasn't fully awake. He tested this by feeling the muscle during exercises I had been doing at home. What he discovered was the muscle was firing, but it was more of a spark than the wild fire we needed to really get that muscle strengthened. Dry needling is helping that muscle activate and it is helping me isolate that muscle during physics therapy exercises. 

For those of you who don't want to google what dry needling is, it is basically acupuncture with a twist. John sticks four acupuncture needles into certain points in that particular muscle and those needles get hooked up to an electric stimulation machine. It's like jumping a car... But only the car is my butt. 

It has certainly helped me isolate the muscle and really work on strength, but I'm still struggling with walking with a normal gait. When I really concentrate on my walking, I more often than not feel my hip dislocate still. Part of me feels like it's not a matter of strength, but more of a matter things not sitting right on the inside. I have four weeks until I go back to see Doctor White, and I'm really hoping by then my gait will be closer to normal, and that I won't be told I will have to go through yet another surgery. 

I have to say this has been the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.... I'm five months out and I'm still having complications with my hip dislocating. It's frustrating and some days I just want to give up, but I know that won't solve anything. I struggle a lot with the way people look at me when they see me walk too. I can't describe what that's like, but I can say that what they are thinking isn't even in the ballpark of what the truth is. 

I'll be sure to update again on Novemeber 11th! 

Three months...

Well this is a milestone week! I'm three months out and everything is healing good.... But I was hit with some not so great news today at my post op. 

The ball part of my joint is sliding out of the socket... The point of the surgery was to stabilize the joint and make sure it didn't slip like that and tear the labrum. This isn't a fault of the surgeons or anything like that, but a fault of my anatomy. The X-ray was pretty gnarly! Over the next few months the goal is to really strengthen the muscles around the hip: glutes, abs, quads, hamstrings. If the "sliding, popping" feeling persists after the three months, there is a possibility that I will have to have another surgery. They might have to reposition the socket part again or possibly change the angle which the head of the femur sits in the socket. 

I'm bunmed for sure. I was so ready to get a clean bill of health. I've lived with hip problems my whole life and I'm ready to be done with it all. Naturally I cried when he told me what the problem was. It's been such a long process, and I think anyone in my position would have done the same. 

So the next few months I just have to strengthen everything up some more and hope that that's the only issue. I really hope I don't have to have another surgery, but my health is the most important thing and I will do what it takes to make it right. 

Here's a picture for you all! Sorry it's not the gnarly one. But you can kind of see that it's not right in the middle. 

Week 11...

Today is day 80.

Monday at physical therapy my walking and balance was tested. Walking without the crutch is getting easier, but I do have quite the limp. Again I am working on lower abs and also working on the glutes. The goal is to pull all the muscles together to hold my hip into place while I walk. The new exercise this week is to put a stretchy band around my knees, and while in a sitting position, push my knee forward, my heel into the ground and swing my leg out to the side. This will increase strength in my glutes. 

I am getting more flexible and I feel stronger every day. I walk around the house without the crutch most of the day, but I still use it when I go out. Stairs are getting easier. Going up them is definitely harder, but it will get there. The goal is to be without the crutch by Monday when I go to physical therapy and I hope I'll have a pretty normal gait by the time school starts on the 24th. 

Not much else to report, so here's a picture of my view during physical therapy at home. 

Week 10

Well I'm driving! But not yet walking on my own yet. The physical therapist gave me some lower ab exercises for this week, along with everything else I've been doing, to hopefully pull everything together so I'm more stable with my walking. He tested this by having me stand next to the table and try to lift my left knee to my chest. My right side immediately buckled from underneath me. 

I was pretty bummed that I wasn't able to ditch the crutch today, but I know I'll be walking soon. I feel better and stronger every day. I just gotta keep up with the physical therapy. I do "walk" around the house during the day, but it's more of a penguin wobble than anything. But like I said it get better every day. 

Not much else to report this week. 

Weeks 8 and 9...

It's been a little while since I posted last. Basically last week was a lot of new strength exercises to hopefully get me off the crutches. I graduated from two crutches to one. And I saw my friends get married and was able to enjoy my night despite still being on one crutch. It was a beautiful wedding and I'm so happy for Brett, who is like my fourth older brother, and Lindy, who is a good friend!! 

It's now the beginning of week 9. I am still on one crutch but I feel stronger and stronger every day. I'm working on doing steps/ stairs normally, but I still have to take it slow to make sure I don't hurt myself in the process. The goal going into week 10 is to walk on my own and drive! I can't wait to drive again! Seriously I didn't realize how much I enjoy driving! Late last week, around Friday or so, I kinda got really down on myself. I felt bad because I'm not walking in my own yet and I can tell I lost a lot of strength in my leg. But after a little pep talk from my aunt and from Ryne, I definitely started to feel better about myself. The goal is to be healthy. It doesn't happen overnight, it happens from continuous hard work. I just have to keep working hard and everything will get better. I hope to update soon with more good news! My next post op is in August. By then I should be walking and driving and hopefully ready to go back to school. 

Week 7...

Monday marked the beginning of week 7.  Last week I had a small setback because I strained a muscle a little bit and had to take it easy. This week at physical therapy I was able to get back on the bike and warm up. I am currently working on graduating from two crutches to one. I'm pretty stiff in the morning so I have to start out with two and once the day progresses I move to just one. I only go short distances on one crutch because my leg muscles are pretty week from not being used the past six weeks. You never really know how much you use your legs until you're off the leg for six weeks and then start putting weight on it and it feels like it's going to collapse. The physical therapist added some exercises for at home this week. I'm still working to wake some stuff up and rebuild some strength so I can get off crutches. I have noticed that since I've been using only one crutch and putting about 80% weight on my leg that my butt muscles get sore fast. 

I have also noticed that getting in and out of bed is getting better and I am able to shower standing up without a chair. I moved from my parents stand up shower to my bath shower today. I kinda have to pivot on my good leg to move around, but it's worth it. 

I'm excited that every day I get closer and closer to walking on my own! It's been a long 7 weeks and I know I still have months to go, but I'm ready for this part to be over. 

Second post op...

Went well! I can start progressing to put more weight on my leg and hopefully soon enough I'll be walking! 

Some of you may know that my incision hadn't closed all the way and had some yellow drainage coming from it. Good news is that it's not infected! It was just the sutures that they put in the inside dissolving. Sometimes they can dissolve and find their way out through the incision. The little hole that's left behind should close up soon :) 

Earlier this week I strained a muscle in my leg so I had to take it easy at physical therapy, but I should be good on Monday to do more strength exercises. 

That's all I have for now! Until then...

Good days and bad days....

Today was a good day! I had the privilege to have lunch with one of my favorite people (Luke White!) It was so nice to catch up and see him in person! 

Every day is different. Some are good. Some are not so good. Sometimes I just feel sad that I'm not out doing things. I'm pretty much stuck at home all day doing school work... Alone. I know it's going to get better and I just have to be patient, but I feel like life is just standing still for me. But some days are good. Some days I feel better about the whole situation and I know a year from now I'll be thankful I went through this. 

Five weeks...

Well it's been just over five weeks since surgery. Three more to go on crutches. There is not much to report. Physical therapy is my favorite part of the week. I like the stretching and being able to move around. Every week a new muscle wakes up and I feel closer to walking on my own. The scars are healing up pretty well. They look pretty prominent now, but I know with time they will disappear. The scars on my left side are almost not noticeable at all. 

I stopped by Sam's yesterday. It was nice to see some of my old coworkers and boss. I'm definitely missing the people. 

Tomorrow I plan on going to the gym. I can do the upright stationary bike and my at home exercises. I still can't do a whole lot. I'm still in the "take it easy" stage. We want the bone to heal up nicely before anything else. Muscles are still waking up and we are working to regain strength before I start walking. 

I'm able to get in and out of the shower alone. I'm still using a chair, so I don't have to bring the crutches in with me. I can put my own clothes on too! That's exciting! Every day I grow more and more independent! 

That's all I got for now...

It's been a good week!

I think this is the first week where I really feel good! 

I started on the stationary bike in PT on Wednesday. Everything is feeling good. More muscles are waking up and moving around is getting easier. I'm still using a seat for showers but I think I'll soon be graduating to standing on one leg. 

My PT instructor said I'm allowed to drink, but to obviously take it easy so I don't fall over while still on my crutches. He's a cool guy and makes PT go by fast. 

I think next week I'll be up to going places more. I'm not taking anything for pain at the moment but I am still icing when I feel like it needs it. 

Today after PT, my mom forgot that I needed help out of the car/ need my crutches. She got all the way to the front door before she remembered to help me. It was pretty funny. I also came home to a very nice surprise from my mom's friend Madeliene and her family. They sent me a bouquet of roses! They live out of state so it was such a nice thing to get! 

The only sad part of my week was when I decided for health reasons to quit my job. There was no way I would be able to get back to work in 12 weeks. And I didn't want them to have to be short a supervisor for the 12 weeks of FMLA. I definitely feel ready to move on and do something that's closer to my degree.

So if any of the Sam's family is reading, you won't see me back as an associate, but I will visit as a member. I'll miss you guys.  

Three weeks down...

That's 30 degrees of rotation right there! The bones will show more fusion at my next appointment 4 weeks from now. 

I got my stitches out. 9 from the scope and 17 from the osteotomy. 

I was also told what I already knew... Going back to Sam's isn't likely. The doc said it could be four to six months to get me back to COS ability. Months 3-6 is the light walking period. 6-12 the goal is to walk more than a mile. It's an 8-12 month full recovery. We will see what happens. 

Until I find out what the company says I have school to look forward to! I am taking two online classes, one of which starts next Monday. I think this will be good for me. That way Netflix can get a break from me. Lol. I also have PT to look forward to. 

I'm feeling better and better every day. And today I actually felt stronger. Moving around gets easier/ smoother every day too. 

I'll be sure to keep you all updated on my progress. Don't be shy. Call or text me if you'd like to hang out. :) 

Tomorrow....

I get my stitches out! 

I've gone back recently to read the blog that helped me mentally prepare before my surgery. I'm almost 21 days out and compared to the other blogger, I'm doing much better. I don't want to sound like I'm bragging or anything, but at 21 days she was still having an at home nurse and physical therapist. She was just learning to get in and out of a car. And she was graduating from a walker to crutches. I used the walker the first day. Then quickly graduated to crutches the next day. Maybe I had some sort of advantage because I've had surgery before and I've used crutches before, but I have to give myself props on the daily strides I take. I've been getting in and out of cars since I got home. I even went into my work and visited people. 

I am almost 100% off the narcotics. I still take them at night so I can get some sleep. The CPM and Ice machine are gone and I hit all my goals as far as degrees of motion. I do miss the CPM though. It's a little relaxing to have your leg moved but not have to put any work into moving. #lazy? I am also able to lay on my belly (this is good for stretching the muscles in the hip) and I can also sleep on my side. I have only been able to do that for a couple hours each night though because my right leg just feels like dead weight and I can't get totally comfortable. But I have been sleeping better and for longer periods through the night. I can get myself out of bed as well. Getting into bed is still a struggle but every day I get better and need less and less help. 

Today I went out and enjoyed the beautiful weather! I'm not too thrilled that we are going from 70s today to almost 90 tomorrow. My dad brushed and bathed my dogs while I sat out on the patio and watched. I also spent time watching the ABC Family Harry Potter marathon. The best part about that is my dear friend who lives in New York was watching too and sent me a video when Dobby was dying. She and I saw that movie in the theater together and cried. Even though she's across the country from me, it was like she was right next to me watching. I miss our Harry Potter marathons. 

Physical therapy is also going well. To give you an idea of what PT is like for hips this is what they do: stretch and flex. My main exercises to do at home involve me flexing. Main muscles: my butt and my thighs. This has began the process of waking up the muscles around the hip. Another thing I get to do at home is lay on my belly a couple times a day for 5-10 minutes. Then I am able to get up from that position on my hands and knees and do some yoga like poses. I get to do the "scared cat" and from that lean back toward my heels. So far this exercise has been awkward, but successful. I get closer and closer to my heels every day. This stretches the muscles near my hips and progresses my flexibility and range of motion. At PT they stretch my hip in different directions and move my leg around in circles. It's pretty relaxing, but you never know how sore muscles can get from just stretching. This week I will start on the bike. I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. Last time I didn't have a broken hip with screws and everything. This time I do, and sitting on the toilet is still a bit of a challenge. But I'm tough and if I don't feel 100% comfortable with it I'll let my physical therapist know. 

I'm excited for my post-op appointment tomorrow. And I will be sure to post all the news from the doc.  

Laughter is the best medicine....

Soooooo yeah I'm 22 and my mother has to help me shower. It's like I'm an infant again. Laughter is the best medicine sooooooo here goes. 

Not the most flattering picture of me, but we definitely have to find the humor in all of this. 

I know my body is healing every day, though I'm still working on pain management. I'm keeping my head up because I know every day I get closer to being off crutches, showering on my own, taking a walk with Ryne, going to my friends weddings (Brett and Lindy), finishing school, and walking down the aisle of my own wedding one day. 

Everything I do for the next 8-12 months will set me up for success in the future. It's a long road, but one totally worth taking. 

Thank you to all my friends and family who have been supportive and keeping up with my recovery. I really appreciate you all! 

(P.S. If anyone sees me slacking, please slap me and get my ass back into gear.)

Day 13

I'm so embarrassed to say I had to go to the ER today. If you know me, you know I'm the tough girl. I grew up with three older brothers and that created a fighter on the inside. I'm still a girl and can get emotional, but I've never let pain consume me so much. 

The past couple days, since the serious pain medications ran out, I had been struggling with managing the pain. I couldn't keep it at a comfortable level. I spent most of this morning crying because the pain was too much. Like ugly face crying! We called my surgeon's on-call doctor an he said to go to the ER. I was there for about four hours, but we got the pain level down. I actually feel like a million bucks right now. 

The mistake we made was trying to use ibuprofen to manage the pain. I have broken bones and that's a no-no. So pain will be managed now with Tylenol. And so far it's working out well. 

So that's today's update. Have a good Memorial Day everyone. 

The post we have all been waiting for

Yaaaaaasss! They look so good! Some people get tattoos. I get scars! 

The past couple days have been rough emotionally. I'm so ready to be able to shower alone, walk, jump with joy. I know that day will come, and I have to be patient. Physical therapy is going well. My muscles are waking up and I'm able to move around more and more. 

I still have quite a while left on crutches. And months left of physical therapy. 

My friend Kelly brought me a book and some Oreos today! That was wonderful. Seeing her was exactly what I needed after a long week. I hope to catch up on some sleep tonight and to sleep in tomorrow. 

I'm still up for visitors so text me and let me know if you want to come see me. 

So until then...

Days 7 and 8

I can't believe it's already been a week. 7 more weeks on crutches!! 

Day 7

I had physical therapy. This visit mostly consisted of the PT instructor moving my leg around and taking measurements of how much movement I have in my leg. It was relaxing actually because I've been so stiff since the surgery. After PT I had to ice my hip a ton. I got to see Kristina, my boyfriend's mom, and that brightened my day. She is wonderful and it was nice to finally see someone outside of my family. 

I got flowers delivered from Sam's club and my godparents. That made me happy too. Feeding my new fish has been a highlight of my days too! So far the Blue one is my favorite. He watches me like he's making sure I'm getting around okay. It's so cute. 

Day 8 

Today I was left to be independent. Ryne came over for a short amount of time to make sure I had enough ice to last me until my dad came over for lunch. I was able to get up and go to the restroom by myself. My grandparents are here too, but they mainly help me with getting fed. Since the weather has been so cold I've been bundling up and sleeping a lot. Every few hours or so I get up and do some laps around the house. That helps with being stiff and it helps me breathe. Opens up the lungs lol. 

I'm hoping to get in the shower soon and change the dressings again. I'll take a picture of the scope wounds and post them here later. 

I am open to visitors, just send me a text and I'll let you know when is best for me. 

I got my Amazon Fire TV stick today so I can stream Netflix without using my laptop. :) that makes for a happy Natalie. 

I hope the weather gets warmer soon because I would like to see and play with my dogs. 

Stay tuned... 

Days 5 and 6

Day 5

Was a lot of sleeping. Getting myself to the restroom. Practicing getting my clothes back on while on crutches. A lot of pain management. Icing most of the day. Doing laps around the house. Watching tv. 

Day 6

Today has been pretty good. I'm super sore and groggy in the mornings so getting up is not my favorite thing. This morning I got up. Went to the restroom and showered. My mom changed my dressings on the scope incisions. These are about an inch in length and they looked beautiful. No blood or anything coming out of them. Very clean! That's huge. They are starting to itch, so that means they are healing. 

Showering was the hardest part of the day. It's hard to get everything clean sitting down and when sitting down is so uncomfortable. 

After the shower I went downstairs. I've basically been in and out of sleep, getting up and doing laps around the house, eating... But the meds make me tired so mostly sleeping lol. Dad bought me a cookie today :) and Ryne bought me a blizzard yesterday! Healing foods! 

Every day I feel better and better. I can move around more and more. I'm more confident in myself getting to the bathroom and getting on and off the toilet. Physical therapy starts tomorrow! So that's exciting. I have promised myself and everyone around me to do exactly as my PT instructor says. That's key to making this successful and living my life pain free. 

More updates to come tomorrow. I'll try to get Ryne to set up the X-rays so I can take photos of them. I'm excited to show off my hardware. Here is my smiling face! 

Day 5

I'm home!! 

I was discharged around 1:30pm today. The ride home was bumpy, but we missed all the severe weather so that made things better. 

When I got home I got a little surprise!! Fishes! That glow!! The tank has a special LED light in it that makes them prettier! My dad said fish was easier than a kitty. I'll get a kitty one day. Lol

My main focus for the rest of today/ tonight is to catch up on ice and using the CPM machine. The CPM provided constant passive movement of my leg so things don't get too stiff and the soft tissues on the inside can heal. 

The ice machine is my best friend. It may make me shiver, but it makes things feel much better when things hurt. 

I pooped today! 💩 that's a huge accomplishment! 

Today I got home to a pile of cards from Ryne's family. That warmed my heart so much. So if they are reading, thank you so so much! 

Tomorrow my dressings will be changed again, and I'll make an attempt at another shower. It will be nice to be home and get used to moving around the house. I'll take more pictures so be prepared for some gross stuff. 

Until then! 

Day 4

Hello everyone! Today was a decent day. It was an emotional day too. I had a CT scan of my chest done to make sure my on going battle with a fever and high heart rate wasn't due to a blood clot in my lungs. That came back negative, so I'm all good there. My fever has gone down but my heart rate is still a little high. Pain has been a struggle today too. They are trying to keep me away from any pain medicine that has aspirin in it to make sure they aren't covering a larger fever which could be a sign of more problems. At this point my temp has stayed regular. 

Today I got to shower! They took my dressings off and changed them as well. Showering was challenging because I was sitting down and eventually my feet fell asleep. I still have to wear the compression socks :( they are so uncomfortable and get in the way of a lot. 

Going to the bathroom and waking around is getting easier. I have yet to poop, but that's pretty normal. 

Ryne has a picture of my battle wounds and I'll post that up later. I should be going home tomorrow. 

Thanks for reading everyone! 

Days 1-3

Hey all! Sorry it's taken a while for me to write. I've been doing a lot of sleeping and working on managing my pain. Day 1 was a lot of pain management. I hit a bump in the road in the evening when I got a fever. Day 2 I had a fever and high heart beat, so I spent a lot of time dealing with that. I didn't get much sleep between day 1 and day 2. Day 2 I also got up for the first time. This is always hard. Super nauseous the first time up, but felt better in the afternoon to get up again. 

Today is day three. I slept much better last night and have switched from the epidural to pills which has really helped me progress. I am currently sitting up out of bed and will be up and moving here shortly. 

The surgery itself went great. I'll post pictures eventually of the before and after X-Rays. The doctors were very pleased with the work they did. They said I had good bones, so it made it easy to rotate the cup. They had a lot of scar tissue to clean out from my surgery when I was 14 months old. So surgery was a little long but everything went great. 

I'm gonna try to get a little bit of rest before I move around some more and I'll post later. 

I should go home on Friday.

----------------------------------------------

I just got back in bed from taking a walk. I was also able to pee on my own! Yay!

The PT people said I'm approaching rock star status because I was able to do my walk and practice a step on the second day. My heartbeat and temp are still elevated so we are trying to work that stuff out. I'm thinking it's because of the pain I'm in. 

Only a Few Days...

OMG. It is almost time.

Right now I'm feeling super anxious. I'm mostly ready to get it over with. I only have 3 more shifts at work; Today, tomorrow, and Saturday. And I have one last "Final" for school tomorrow.

I can't help but want the next four days to go by fast. I'm ready to only have one thing on my plate. I'm ready to put my focus on my healing and physical therapy. I'm ready to not struggle with simple things like walking, getting out of bed, and putting shoes on. Though, for the next few months I'll struggle with those things, it will be all worth it in the end.

Before I end this post, I want to say thank you to all my friends and family who will be supporting me through this. If anyone has any questions I am certainly open to them. I also hope to post pictures of my battle wounds and any scope pictures I'm given, so be aware. My next post will probably be late in the evening on May 11th. If not then, I'll make sure to get one out on the 12th. I'll also try to keep everyone updated on Facebook as well.

Until then...

Less than 2 weeks now....

In the past couple weeks I have gotten the same question over and over again: "Can I go see you in the hospital?" And I think people are shocked when I tell them "no." 

I want to spend my few days in the hospital with my family, and I don't want to feel like I have to stay awake because I have visitors. I'll do my best to keep in touch through Facebook and text messaging with those of you who want to know how I am doing. And I'll be sure to blog any important milestones throughout the process. 

When I get home visitors are welcome! In fact, I might need some of you to come entertain me!

Another question I get asked a lot is how I'm feeling. Am I nervous? Yeah, a little. I told my friend Adrian today that every day is a different emotion. Angry, nervous, sad, happy, scared, anxious. And that can be within the hour. Today I'm neutral. I know the big day is getting closer, and I am excited for that, but I still have a lot to accomplish in the next 12 days. Tomorrow I should be officially moved out of my apartment. It is also Dad's birthday... (gotta figure out what to do for him.) Then it is Mom's birthday the next day... (still don't know what to get her.) Then, BAM, just like that it is finals week at school...

A part of me wonders why I didn't just get the surgery done during the semester. Then I remember I would like to graduate sometime before 2020. But even then I'm so caught up in having the surgery and being done with it that I find it hard to concentrate at school. I am feeling less motivated about school, and more motivated to get through this obstacle in life so I CAN move on.

With all that being said, I still have 12 days. And I'm going to make the most out of those 12 days.

Preparing for my Ganz Osteotomy

Many of you are thinking, "What is a Ganz Osteotomy?" Well to put it simply, it is a surgical procedure to help patients with hip dysplasia preserve their hip.

Now you may be thinking, "What is hip dysplasia?" To put this simply, it is when the ball and socket of the hip joint don't fit together. In my case, the sockets of my hips are shallow and don't form a nice cup over the ball part of the joint. In addition to that, the ball part of the joint is also not formed perfectly.

How does this happen? Well I was born this way. When I was 14 months old I had surgery that was supposed to correct these problems and help my hips develop normally. When I was 15 and Cheerleading in high school, I started to notice pain in my left hip. I went to a few doctors that told me nothing was wrong and that I could possibly have juvenile arthritis. 3 years later, in my first semester in college at CU Boulder, the pain became worse. I was done believing that there was noting wrong and decided to go see Dr. White. Long story short my dysplasia was not corrected and the pain I was feeling was caused by torn tissue in my hip that Dr. White had to go fix. He also reshaped the head of the femur or the "ball" part of the socket to further ensure that the problem wouldn't happen again and I could live pain-free. But that was just my left hip.

If you look at my x-ray above, you can see that the sockets of my hips don't cover the ball. And on my right side it is much worse. This is where my journey begins. (note: the right hip is on the left side of the picture.)

For the past year I have been in pain on my right side. It is similar pain to what I experienced on my left side. This past November I scheduled an appointment with Dr. White for this issue. We knew three years ago when I had my left hip done that I would be back eventually because of my right hip. Although I didn't know that what they had to do to fix my problem on this side would be more intrusive than the surgery I had on my left side. This is where the Ganz Osteotomy part comes in. My right side is so dysplastic that they are going to cut, or break if you will, my hip in three places, rotate the socket of my hip about 25-30 degrees, and then screw everything back together. They are also going to repair the tissue on the inside and reshape the head of the femur as well. This will all take place May 11, 2015.

There isn't a whole lot I can do to prepare for this physically. I could lose weight, but lately that seems impossible when my activity level is at an all time minimum due to the constant pain I'm in. You could also add the fact that with my hips being so bad, I could potentially make things worse. The hardest part of preparing for me is the mental part. I know I have friends and family that will be there for me during all this, but its hard to mentally prepare yourself to be broken. To know I will be on crutches for the majority of summer is really hard for me to imagine.

I am now less than a month from the surgery day, and every day surgery gets closer, but every day I hurt more. I have good days, but I also have really bad days. I decided to blog about my experience, because I want to be able to give someone in my situation the peace of mind I got from a similar blog. I want my friends and family to experience this with me and to see things from my perspective as a patient. Most importantly, this blog will give me the opportunity to see my own progress. I can look back at this years from now and know that I am healthy and stronger.

Stay tuned....