Years Later

Hello there!  It's been nearly two years since I updated my running blog.  This is due to being lazy as well as a change in my physical capabilities.  Since the last posting, I've managed to run at least one more half marathon and some shorter distances.  I did take a hiatus and focused solely on yoga.  I became quite the yogi and the instructor even suggested that I become certified.  All of this was as a result of the continued ITband and hip pain that I was experiencing.

I continued working out and stopped running July 2013.  When the pain continued even after stopping running, I returned to physical therapy and my sports medicine doctor.  After a few sessions of physical therapy, I was not improving.  I stopped all impact activity and began swimming only in October.  The sports medicine doctor, Dr. Zimmermann, finally agreed that there was probably a bigger issue than the ITband pain and the hip bursitits he had diagnosed me with and scripted me for an MRI.

In November of 2013, to Zimmermann's surprise, he suspected there was a small tear and noticed abnormal shape to the femoral head of my leg.  He discussed my options and referred me to get an MRI angiogram that would better show the tear and see if his suspicions were correct.  By December, I learned that I had FAI impingement and a partial tear.  Nobody in the area performs hip arthroscopy, so I would have to go to Chicago.  Dr. Zimmermann also prescribed a lidocaine injection because he said surgeons like to see that step taken before considering surgery.  I got the injection at the end of December and it was HEAVENLY.  I had no pain whatsoever.  Unfortunately, it wore off, like I knew it would and the constant pain in my groin and hip returned.

The very condensed version of the story is that due to some health insurance delays, I wasn't able to see Dr. Shane Nho until January and only learned that my insurance wouldn't cover him anyway.  He was my preferred surgeon, as it seems everyone I've talked to has gone to him.  He practically does this in his sleep.  After some emotional strife, I moved on and got my second opinion from Dr. Sherwin Ho out of University of Chicago.  I was very impressed and he spent a significant amount of time with me.  He confirmed what Dr. Nho had said about surgery and agreed that my case was less severe than others he had seen.  I scheduled my surgery for March 18th and discussed recovery with Dr. Ho.  Given the length of this injury, I have read A LOT about this.  I was completely caught off guard when I learned that Dr. Ho's recovery regime is very conservative in comparison to other top surgeons.  This caused yet another freak out, but I was able to talk with him over the phone and this helped ease my concerns.  He scripted pre-op physical therapy and Andy Eheart and I worked together again after our stint in July.  


These bands became my best friends and I continued my swimming and core strength exercises pre-surgery.

Along with organizing pick-ups, drop-offs, time-off, lesson plans, etc., I prepped the house for my surgery.  This included getting crutches, an elevated toilet seat, a shower seat, and a gripper.

Before I knew it, the long awaited day of the surgery arrived.