Pre-Op, and then some

Ever since my last appointment, I had decided to take it upon myself to eat much cleaner. I think I had been in denial for 4 months that I wasn't a runner anymore, that I should stop eating like I was. I should clarify that I don't nor will I ever eat 100% clean. I love all the food, and I need my treats! I'd say I'm somewhere along the lines of 85-90% clean, though. In addition to that, I decided that I would do fasted cardio until my surgery (I was already 2 weeks in, but it would be a total of 5 weeks). Since I could run with the least amount of pain on my treadmill, I stuck to doing that for 20-30 minutes per session, OR riding my exercise bike for about 30 minutes. I also kept up with my strength training at the gym ... but I had an epiphany one day ...

When my hip first started hurting and I couldn't run like I had been used to, I was mad. I would see another runner and huff. I would get my runner's magazine in the mail and toss it aside without even reading it. When I saw people writing about a race they did, I'd be so jealous and mad. 

I didn't like that person I was becomming. I'd make the comment of "If there is any time to not run, it's during winter!" especially when we were having the worst one in years- but thinking that would make me feel a little bit better. 

Then something happened. I can't pinpoint what it was, but it was when I came to the realization that I was not a bodybuilder like I was trying to turn into: I was a runner. And whether I had an injury or not and I just couldn't physically run like I used to, I was still a runner. And I'd get back to that point again someday. And if I was going through this surgery I was committing to a marathon one day, dang it. 

But I decided I'd still lift. For strength, for definition, for overall health, for aide in running. Plus after surgery I can't do much cardio anyways, so I'd still strength train in the meantime (& hopefully once I'm back to normal, in conjunction with running). 

Now that my epiphany is out of the way, and that I declare myself a runner (that still lifts), I have to go over my pre-op appointment.

My husband and I drove back to OSU on Friday, April 18. It was actually a nice day out for us. We dropped the kids off at my sisters, and drove 2 hours away. First stop was my ct scan that took all of 5 minutes! After that we went to Moe's- it's our favorite restaurant that we do not have near us! We stilled time to kill before my appt with Dr. Ryan, so we went to Polaris and did some shopping. But eventually we were lead to my appointment. 

I first met with a nurse who took my weight, etc, and I was excited to learn I had lost about 5 lbs in just 2 weeks of eating clean, plus fasted cardio (probably a lot of water weight, too).  Then I met with the Nurse Practitioner who went over the surgery itself, and had me sign some papers. She told me about Game Ready- but my insurance doesn't cover it- which is $300 out of pocket from my surgery date to my first post op appointment - which is about 2.5 weeks of renting. We are doing it, bc I am willing to do anything to help my recovery, and it sounds amazing as it ices and compresses. After we got general questions out of the way, we met with my surgeon, Dr. Ryan. He went over much of the same stuff as well. We talked about my PT plan which he gave me a guide to give to my therapist. I'm going to one in my area since it'd be a bit much to drive 4 hours a day several times per week to go to OSU. :) we also talked about my left hip which had been bothering me, and he stated that if it were also to need surgery, they like to do them about 6 months (give or take) apart, so to have a more stable leg as well. When he pulled up my CT scan, he confirmed that I also have FAI in my left hip as well. So pending on how everything goes ... we are looking at having a 2nd surgery later this year- but we will start the left hip process at my follow up appointments later on. 

I then met with his assistant, and set a surgery date for May 12. That's a Monday, and being that it's 2 hours away and could potentially be first thing in the morning, my mother-in-law is coming on Sunday to stay until Tuesday- she will be with the kids on Monday until we get home- which I am assuming is later that day, and leaving Tuesday morning. My husband will be taking that whole week off of work to help too. Actually, he works from home so even when he does go back to work, he will be able to help out a ton, especially driving me to my PT appointments since I won't be able to drive for up to a month. And speaking of, I met with my PT again yesterday, and she said she will likely have me going to PT 3x per week, and the program is for 16 weeks. I also read about ART and how that aides in recovery, so I'd like to do that about once a week too- maybe after about a month post-op. We will see what my PT and surgeon say. 

Anyways, I'll end this post for now. There are a couple of "deep thoughts" I want to touch on, so I'll be sure to write about them soon, before my surgery!