But, I signed on for the Jane Fonda tapes, low impact aerobic classes at the gym, strength training, a little tae bo. Eventually, I found my thing….Jazzercise. I loved it….aerobics with some dance moves. Perfect. I jazzercised three or four times weekly. The other days I speed walked around the lakes in Columbia or jumped into a pool for water aerobics.
Until I experienced a chronic pain in my right groin. I must’ve pulled a muscle during one of my workouts so I laid low for awhile. Not only did it not go away but I started limping and measuring every step I took. I was in ridiculous pain. Eventually, I went to my orthopedic who showed my bone on bone x-ray results….osteoarthritis was my diagnosis. Hip replacement was the answer, he said.
Oh, no….not me. I am not having surgery. I will do anything to avoid that. For two years, I tried weekly acupuncture. For someone who has always abhorred needles, this was a huge step. Surprisingly, I found it quite therapeutic, if not exactly healing. Mentally and emotionally, it worked. Physically, the relief from my hip pain lasted about ten minutes.
Water aerobics had the same effect or lack thereof. I went to a deep tissue massage therapist for months. Now that was amazing. I felt like a rag doll after every session, but I still limped out of there.
It was so obvious something was truly awry as my rib cage was starting to protrude and I could barely sleep from the pain. How could I possibly manage a school when I could barely walk down the hallway? Just not cool. After two years, i signed on for that major surgery.
Afterwards, the doctor declared my hip was “mangled.” No idea why or how….no injury other than the knee. Pure weirdness. But the surgery was over, the new hip was in place, the morphine pump was hooked up to me and I was beyond thrilled. A new beginning. I was up walking the same day. Give me that physical therapy. I will do whatever it takes to get back in shape. And, so I did and within a month I was walking without a cane and was totally pain free.
Most of us have been in some serious, chronic pain at some time in our lives, unless you’re my 89 year old mother who claims she has never had an ache in her life. Really, Mom?
Those pain management specialists must make a killing. Who wants to be in pain??? I look at pictures of myself prior to surgery and there is definitely a strained look on my face that disappeared with the pain.
I was on top of the world for about five years then pain in my feet took over. I’d never been to a podiatrist in my life. Eventually, I succumbed to foot surgery….again, to great results.
Then, not too long ago my left hip started. No surprise to my orthopedic. He predicted it fourteen years ago. Ahhhh, the joys of osteoarthritis. Of course, I tried to walk it off, popped ibuprofen regularly, slept on my right side instead of the left. To no avail. Went under the knife again.
Not the same result, unfortunately. Yes, I did the exercises, a physical therapist worked with me at home in Maryland. I went to another one in Florida. Still in pain. Eliminating the cane was not so easy. Three months after the surgery, I was barely walking five minutes outdoors without a cane. At my bridge game, this guy tells me his wife was walking without a cane two weeks later. Bridge players are not known for their social skills. I wanted to slug him.
But I kept trudging along….always hearing that familiar refrain from my therapists….MOVE. Just keep moving. So, I did and one day, I woke up and I didn’t feel any pain when my feet hit the floor. Woohoo!!! It worked.
No more ibuprofen, no more pain pills. I am pain free and working out again like a maniac. I am drug free….well, unless you count the garcinia cambogia that Dr. Oz calls the Holy Grail of Weight Loss. But, that’s another story.
No comments:
Post a Comment