Hello, Friends!
So much good news to share today, with some twists and turns on the journey. Two weeks out, and I feel such a sense of progress! Yesterday (Tuesday) I went for a walk in the afternoon -- to Paris (aka the mailbox) and back -- and really wasn't eager to go. It was late afternoon, boiling hot, and I was at my low point for the day, but I had promised my PT that I'd do it, because walking is supposed to be the single most important thing we can do for recovery. I can't say I enjoyed it. It felt very strenuous, even though I stopped several times to catch my breath, but I did complete the journey. Once I cooled off at home, I felt much better, and the endorphins kicked in.
At that point, I began to face up to reality in terms of being able to go back to school on time. Even though I believe I've been making great progress, I admitted to myself that I'm unlikely to have a sudden burst of healing and be able to leap tall buildings at a single bound when I am now working at maximum output to take a walk that is less than 1/4 mile. At work, we hit the ground running and don't stop until the end of the day. Few people realize how strenuous teaching can be. I need to be on my feet, circulating, managing about 130 6th graders (11-12 years old) throughout the day. The only time I can go to the bathroom is at lunchtime. I need to focus on all their needs and issues, the things they do to each others, the emotional ups and downs, not to mention the actual teaching that goes on.
Right now, I can't get through an entire day sitting up, let alone doing all that. And even with rapid progress, I won't be able to do it 2-3 weeks from now. Moreover, a teacher can't go back part-time. You are either back, or you are not. I wouldn't be much use to my students, not to mention myself.
With all this in mind, I made the phone call to get papers for something called the "Sick Leave Bank." I joined it when I started teaching nine years ago. Basically, if you join, you donate one day of your sick leave to the bank, and then -- if you have a catastrophic illness, or major surgery, or an accident -- anything that puts you out of commission for an extended time -- you can draw on the Sick Leave Bank in increments of 20 days. You need two physicians to certify that you need it, and if you need more than 20 days you have to recertify. But it's not a bad process, and you can draw up to 75 days in a three-year period. Twice during my years of teaching the Bank has come back and drawn an additional day of my sick leave so that they can keep the Sick Leave Bank up where it needs to be to meet current needs.
Once you are granted the block of up to 20 days, you first have to draw down your own sick leave, and then you can access the days that have been granted. If you return to work before you've used them all, they revert to the Bank. It's a WONDERFUL system, because if you need to use it, you are still on full pay, with benefits, and don't have to access other insurance you may have (like short-term or long-term disability) which only pay a portion of your salary.
In any case, I realized that I needed to get this into place so that it is there if I need it, even if I only need to use a few of those days. But this was a face-up with reality that needed to happen, and my principal has been very encouraging and supportive re: my need to put my own recovery first.
Well, immediately after this happened, I suddenly found that I could walk around the house without the walker, and without even a cane. It didn't feel perfect, but it did feel close to normal. It's as if the afternoon walk, and the confrontation with reality, released me from something, and I moved forward to a new phase of recovery. That's how it happens. Sometimes we are slogging inch by inch through the muck, and sometimes there's a big leap forward.
I can now stand up from a seated position without using my hands, and it is so much easier to make transitions and to get around. My PT came this morning and we went for the same walk to Paris and back -- a significant part of it without the walker -- and it was so much easier than yesterday. My exercises are easier, too.
BTW, my PT works with a lot of patients who have been through the SuperPath surgery, as well as many (from other surgeons) who have not. She told me that my rate of recovery has been faster even than most of the SuperPath patients, and she thinks my OS will be very pleased when he sees me tomorrow. We agreed that much of the difference can be attributed to attitude, and to the availability of support. There is no way to quantify what it means to have someone like Spencer at your back -- always so encouraging and enthusiastic, and looking for ways to help. Many of you have someone like that, and some of you who are on your own have support networks of your own.
I told my PT about BoneSmart and the difference the community has made to me. I told her I shared her insight about swelling acting as a cushion after surgery, and that people sometimes feel they are regressing later, when they really are not, and how that clicked for some of the people on the forum when I shared it.
She said she is working with another patient who had SuperPath surgery from the same surgeon I did, who simply won't try to move forward even a little bit. She'll go with the PT to the front door, and a few steps, but then won't try to go further. There is a balance that needs to be struck between trying to do too much too soon, and being unwilling to do anything at all, but freezing into position and adopting a position of helplessness and hopelessness. I've seen this time and time again on the cancer ward where my husband spent so much time for most of a year, and in other settings as well.
I told Sydney (the PT) about my face-up with reality, and she said that even though I probably won't be ready to go back on time, she doesn't think I'll be out very long after school starts, because of the rate of progress I'm making. She said that, in general, she finds that SuperPath patients after two weeks are where other patients are after 4-6 weeks, even if those patients are making great recoveries. So it slices 2-4 weeks off the recovery process, at the front end, though not for every single patient.
My next step is to start wearing my leg brace again, for my right knee (operated side). Now that my new hip is where it should be, I can't let the bad knee pull my whole leg out of alignment. Sydney wants me to begin wearing the brace again, and practicing walking and doing the things I'd be doing in class around the house -- standing while shifting weight from one leg to the other, walking around, bending, etc. -- to see how my energy and stamina hold up, and how much time elapses before I need a rest.
Even though the brace is ugly and clunky, it really does change my whole posture and leg alignment, and I need to embrace it. I can't risk ruining the miracle of my new hip because of the knee. I certainly can't have the knee done until next summer, and I'm not at a point where I'm ready to say I'd do it even then, because knee surgery is supposed to be so much worse than hip surgery.
Sydney said I can also start using the recumbent elliptical trainer at our clubhouse gym to build strength and stamina. Right now, when it's so hot and humid, I can't do much outdoor walking, and this is a good substitute in an air-conditioned environment. I'm certainly not going to use the treadmill at this point!
I'll write again soon, but wanted to share my news of progress and new insights now. I feel so exhilarated, energized, and relieved by being able to walk again even a little bit without supports.
Keep on keeping on!
United States
