Sore Ass Muscles......literally

I went to see a new physical therapist on tuesday (7 weeks post op) for some new pains that I have been having in my hip. After a couple minutes of some basic questions for me she started poking around in my belly. The end result is that my Psoas muscles are extremely tight due to weak and sore glute muscles. She had to do some deep tissue massage to try and get my psoas to release so that we could work it with some light stretching and leg lifts and holy crap did it hurt!!! It felt like she took a dull knife and slowly stabbed me in the abdomin with it. Because the muscle is so deep (underneath some important organ) she has to apply constant pressure over the span of about a minute.

After that I thought the pain was over, but alas she informed me that my scars had way to much scar tissue around them and I need to start massaging them twice a day to keep the new tissue growth down. And I thought the last massage hurt, HAHA. Yet again we moved on to another massage, this time the problem child, my glutes. To my surprise and relief no pain with this one why she was massaging it. At the end of the day both my physical therapist here and in Indianapolis think that I'm pushing it to much. Which is funny because all I'm doing is some light household chores and floating in the pool. I'm not sure how this constitutes as "to much activity" yet they seem to be willing to let me return to work in 11 days where I'll be walking all day, lifting boxes, and be expected to all around be "Superman" again?? I'm nervous and not sure where to turn at the moment, do I rest in hope that I'll feel better when I return to work, or do I have to realize that some pain is normal regardless what the therapist says?? I don't know, but what I do know is that I was expecting a lot less than this when I first heard I was having surgery. Note to self for the future, Hip surgery is no small deal. At least I can start jogging in 4 months (yes they pushed back that date as well).

Keep on the sunny side always on the sunny side.

It's been awhile since I've posted on here but things are really started to look up, finally. This past weekend I tried for the first time walking without crutches. It was only around a small cottage, but it was my first free steps!!!!!

Rachel and I cleaned house today and I managed to cook dinner without crutches and did most of the house work with one. I loved all of the cards that I got over the past month and a half but today I needed to take them down. I don't feel like I'm injured any more, I'm now a success story of being injured. It seems like when things want to go wrong, do they go wrong. But when things want to go right, it something that you need to cherish.

The scars are healing very well, they are all different sizes. The first one on the front side of my hip is about 1 inch, the second on the side of my hip is about 1/2 inch and the third on the back side of my hip is just about a bit larger than a piece of corn.

The pain is still there and most days I just push through it, but they are starting to be way more good days than bad days and that's something to be proud of.

The Mountain's only so big

I feel like I'm reaching the summit of the mountain, like soon everything will be an easy downhill slide from here. I've been going out more often, maybe to take Rachel to work or go to the bookstore but every day I try to make one trip outside. It's kind of bittersweet because I can manage to build up enough strength to get out but usually it's only one thing per day before I'm beat. Things are looking up though and starting to take a turn for the better, I can finally take a shower by myself, dress myself, and do simple things around the house. I'm looking forward to next week when I'll be down to one crutch and hopefully there will be fewer restrictions from the doctor.
I've also noticed in the past week and a half that the world really isn't handicap accessible. It really makes it difficult when you're in a store and the aisles are to narrow for crutches, or you're trying to get in a door and it's to heavy to open while you're supporting yourself on your crutches. I guess it takes a mile in their shoes to realize how difficult their life really is.

3 weeks down

It's funny how 3 weeks can feel like 3 months, how one surgery can take an extremely active person and force them to sit on the couch. But I'm getting closer and closer to being off crutches and I have a list as long as my arm on what I want to do when I can walk again. This past weekend (July 4th) was the first time I was out of the house for more than an hour and it felt wonderful. The wife, my sister, and brother in law took me to the Picnic with the Pops, which for living in Bloomington 2 years I've never heard of. It was a lot of fun to get out of the house, listen to some wonderful music, watch the fireworks, spend time with my family, and eat some great BBQ. I wasn't sure how the whole night would go because this was the first long trip out of the house, but it seemed to go ok. At first things were going alright but as the night went on the pain started to get worse and for the next 2 days I paid for it but it was worth it.

I'm starting to put more weight on my hip when I walk, and I took of the strips over my incisions yesterday. Everything seems to be healing well, and of course one day I push it to much and then pay for it the next day. But I've come to terms with the fact that it's a slow process and just want to be able to do some more activities. I have another doctors appointment next friday and another meeting with my physical therapist to see how things are progressing and when I'm allowed to return to work. Until then I'll continue to count my blessings and take it one day at a time.

16 Days Post Op

Well I'm now past the two week mark and only have three more weeks left on crutches. It has been one hell of a journey, and one that I hope doesn't have to happen again. Yesterday was not a good day for the Szostek household. I woke up feeling some slight pains in my the front of my hip, and of course I forgot to mention my new friend the bed sore that I now have. The day only got worse, by the time Rachel got home I had a terrible migraine and was throwing up the rest of the night. I don't know why I was chosen to have such a terrible recovery but it's nothing like I expected. First the edema and swelling in my leg leading me to the ER, then the horrible stomach cramps and pains for three days, then the bed sore, and now the migraine. I just want to be done I know that the point of this blog is for my to track my progress and try to stay positive but it's just so hard right now when everything seems to be against me and so difficult. But I know I will survive and I know it can only get better from here.

Anyway back from the dark side I thought I would post a picture of my incisions. They are healing nicely since the stitches came out and seem to be doing well.

Other than that my range of motion seems to be coming back more and more every day and I now feel comfortable laying on my side more. I am learning a lot from this whole experience and in the days that I've been here I now have a better grasp on what's important and what doesn't need to be rushed. And I'll leave with the words of The Temptations, "Ain't to proud to beg and you know it."

My home for the past two weeks

I thought I would make a post to show everyone where I have been "living" for the past two weeks. 

It's basically a the same idea as a hospital bed, there are four pieces of wood behind my back that help support me and some back pillows, then we have some body pillows that I lay on. It looks wonderful and comfortable but after two weeks it's like laying on cement. 

Other than that today is the first day alone since the surgery, Rachel has taken the past two weeks off of both (yes two) jobs, and her family has been here on and off as well. You don't realize how much you miss the help until it's gone. It's freeing but also somewhat scary, I keep thinking what if I fall (insert joke here) or what if the dogs get to wild and jump on me. But it's been a successful morning and I managed to make it through without any issues. I'm excited that tomorrow means I'm officially two weeks post op. I'm getting better and better each day but have to remind myself not to push it, that I did have a major surgery and I need to take it easy. Last night I tried cooking steak for dinner and I managed to get it done but I learned that I wont be cooking again until I'm off crutches. Until that time you know where I'll be here at home on my bed.

10 Day Post Op Check Up

Today was my first check up back at the doctors since the surgery 10 days ago. First of all we had to drive two hours up to the north side of Indianapolis to get to the doctors office which makes it a long day. Once I got there they sent me for some x-rays (which I will post soon) and then I went to see the doctor who took out my stitches. He said that everything looks good as of right now which is a good thing, I'm still not allowed to go swimming or take a bath but at least now I can take a shower and stop being a stinky couch bum. After we went to the doctor we went down the hall to go see the physical therapist. We got nothing but good news from him, he reassured me that the number one thing for me to do is to take care of the pain and the swelling, then after that I can work on my range of mobility. I am still going to be on crutches for the next three weeks until I go back to see the doctor again, and after that we will reassess how my hip is doing and ween me of the crutches. It was a very long day, just from walking around the doctors office, doing PT (3 stretches in each direction) and coming back home I feel like I ran a marathon. My muscles hate me right now and the only thing I can do is sit down and ice myself.

After reading back through my posts from last week I realized that they seem very happy and almost portray the fact that I haven't really had a tough time. I do want to keep a positive outlook on things but I just thought I'd clarify. These past ten days have been hell for me, from staring at my leg trying to make it move and not being able to, to the worst stomach pains I've ever had for days straight. I have a long road ahead of me and didn't expect how much work this would be. I couldn't have made it this far without my friends, family, and even people that I don't know. I love all of you and thank you for the continued support during my recovery. It's not over yet and there will be more bad days, good days, crying and laughing, but at least there will be more days.

My beautiful wife

Yesterday was probably the worst day that we have had so far. First things first, I'm getting really tired of laying in the same position on the couch. I always used to love this when I was a kid, I got to lay on the couch, watch t.v., eat junk food, and never change out of my pajamas but it's starting to get old. Although on the other hand we rented the first two seasons of "Psych" and are in love with it. Second thing is that I've been battling a terrible stomach ache for the past 48 hours, it's without a doubt the worst stomach pain that I've ever felt. I think it's my stomach's way of telling me that my diet of only prescription meds isn't going to suffice. And third the hip pain-- I've been getting up and doing my doctor-approved exercises and stretches three times a day, and the pain is starting to shift from surgical pain to muscle and joint pain. That's a good thing in my mind, it means that the road to recovery is going well but man does it hurt. I think I pushed it yesterday, but I couldn't really help it when your stomach hurts that much you gotta go to the bathroom, there's no way around it. So today I've decided that I'm not moving from the couch before I mess up something in my hip again.

But the most important thing that I'm realizing from this time on the couch is how wonderful my wife is. No one guesses that within your first year of marriage that you'll have to take care of your husband after TWO surgeries. I wouldn't be able to do this without her and she is what's keeping me going. Lets hope that today is going to be better and remember that the best medicine is laughter.

"why does my knee look like a basketball?"

So today like any other day has had its ups and its downs. The morning was fine, I woke up and was able to do some light physical therapy, and then by mid morning we had a full house. Rachels dad, and brother were at the apartment along with one of Rachels friend from high school Lauren. For awhile there it was nice to sit back and listen to their conversations, laugh and smile while I watched them play with the dogs. Then at around 2:00 I got up to use the restroom and when I got back Rachel noticed that my right foot (same side as the surgery) was turning purple. So we snapped a photo of it and took off the the Emergency Room per my surgeons orders.

After being getting some crazy tests done, a ultrasound and some other test, they determined that my leg wasn't getting proper circulation. Something along the lines of the blood was flowing down to my foot but not flowing back up. All I know is that something keeps trying to knock me down and every time that it tries I turn around and say I don't think so. I'm going to make it through this.

Who thought a shower would be so difficult

Well I just tried to take a shower with some assistance from the wife and things did not go anything like I thought they would. I got into the shower (on my nice shower seat thanks to my dad) and was able to wash my hair and legs before I had to get out. After showering Rachel had to change my bandages and that's when things started to go down hill. While she was changing my bandages I started to get light headed, dizzy, and nauseous. I barley made it to the bed and was so close to blacking out. Not a good expierence. It seems that every time I have one positive progression there's always something at the end of the day to knock me down. I just need to keep remembering that I have an amazing family and friends that are here to help me with anything that I need.

Day 3

Well today is now my third day post op and things are slowly starting to progress. Last night on the other hand was terrible, I got up at around 8:30 to do my stretching and physical therapy and was barley able to get any done before I had to lay back down. While I was trying to stretch I kept having intense shooting pain all throughout my quad and buttocks and couldn't help but think, mabye I fell into the category of the 10% that surgery dosen't help. But after a good night sleep I was able to get up this morning and do my exercises and stretches with minimal pain.

It's been a learning expierence these past couple of days, and I know that it won't be over anytime soon. This morning I sat up right on the couch with my legs hanging over the side, and I sat and stared at my right leg trying to lift it. I kept telling myself "just lift your leg, you can do it just a half inch" but the scary part is that I can't. I know that this will get better over time it's just creepy to stare at a part of you body and not be able to control it at all.

Oh I have a new obsession now, I'm addicted to my ice machine. It's basically a cooler with a pump in it.  You fill it up with ice water and the pad gets strapped around you hip. Once you turn it on the cold water circulates through the pad constantly, keeping my hip at the perfect temperature.

Anyways that's all for now, I know that I'm doped up on Percocet and so most of this is just incoherent rambelings.

Post op day 2

Well we got home from the hospital yesterday afternoon, which was a task in itself, and managed to get me settled (which took 5 hours and about three runs to the store). I've been laying on the couch, in fact I slept here last night, and have already done 2 rounds of light stretching. It's very strange to not be able to move my leg without help from someone else but once I stand I seem to do ok. I've been trying to train myself again how to use my leg which has proven to be most challenging, but I'm glad that I have some help. I've noticed that not alot of people knew the extent of what the surgery was going to accomplish, and after I explain it to them they're always shocked that I have to retrain myself how to walk. I'm praying everyday and I know that its going to be a long road to a full recovery, but I'm here and ready for the battle and with my family behind me helping me, I know that I can accomplish anything.

Day 1 post op

Well I had my surgery yesterday and everything went very well. Dr. Maiers found a large amount of abnormal bone growth but was able to remove it all from the neck, head, and socket of the hip. All in all surgery was just over two hours and ever since then I've been in my recovery room doped up and iceing my hip with a cryo cuff. I can feel a difference already and the only pain I'm having is from the surgery wounds. I have my first meeting with the physical therapist today to teach me how to walk and use the crutches. Overall this has been a great expierence with an excellent hospital staff to help.

Tomorrow is the day

Well tomorrow is finally surgery day, I'm actually very excited to get this done with. I know that I am in very capable hands and have the love and support of my wonderful family and friends to help me through. I'll check back in in a couple of days to post on how the surgery went and mabye I'll know more about my recovery plan then.

Surgery is in 2 days.

Well seeing as how this is my first post, I guess I will start in the begining. 9 months ago (after my last surgery) I started having pain in my right hip. Of course at the time I thought it was just muscle cramps from laying on the couch for so long and recovering, but as time went on and the pain only got worse I started to worry. Then in April of 2011 the pain got so bad that I couldn't even bend over to put on my shoes, or extened my leg out in front of me while sitting without extreme pain. I forgot to mention that at this tme I was "training" for a half marathon in Indianapolis, and of course I also happen to be a stubborn polish man so I chose to wait to see a doctor until after I ran the half marathon in fear that they would tell me......not to run.

Fast foward to the week after the race (by the way, I managed to get a personal best 2 hours 27 minutes) the pain was so bad I was coming home from work crying so I decided to go see a local sports medicine doctor. After some xrays, and an MR Arthrogram the doctor told me that I had what is called Hip Impingement.

Basically there is an extra bone growth on my femoral head/neck and everytime I flex my leg a certain way, that boney growth trys to force itself into the socket (ouch!). So the doctor sent me to see an Orthapedic specialist in Indianapolis and after some more xrays, he decided the best thing for me was to get arthroscopic surgery on my hip. The xrays showed some extra problems; it looks like I also have some cartilige damage on the inside of the socket, some pincer growth and some labrum damage. All very painful things. I would put up pictures but this post is to long as is.

Anyways so now I have surgery scheduled on tuesday. It's been a long road just getting to here and a hard one as well. I know that the road ahead is just as long and bumpy, but I can't wait to start (at least this time I'll have two good tires).