Update - 3 months and 3 weeks post-op

At my last post, I had just gone back to see my surgeon's nurse practitioner, who diagnosed tendonitis in my hip, and I started a month-long regimen of prescription strength ibuprofen and additional physical therapy. About two and a half weeks into that, I started to see some real improvement, and during this past week, I feel like I'm walking normally for the first time since surgery.

In fact, I'm not back at the point I was right before surgery - occasional pain in my groin and on the side of my hip after exercise. Strangely, I feel a little peace of mind at this after what seems like a whirlwind of recovery, physical therapy, follow-up visits, filling prescriptions, crutching around for the first few weeks, and of course, getting some teaching done! For the first time since summer, I took a walk across the field and up the hill to the pond on the farm and just took some time to sit quietly on the dam. I always feel more like myself when I do things like this. Last weekend I took my canoe to a forest service managed lake and enjoyed the fresh air, the way the light hit the water, and the feel of stretching my arms to paddle the canoe.

If I need to go forward with the surgery that was originally recommended, the lesson I want to take into it is to try to find those moments and those places that make me feel peaceful and relaxed. I want to try to not let my life become just about recovery during that time. This may seem contradictory - after all, shouldn't I focus on the recovery? I think the opposite now - recovery probably comes best when we continue to express ourselves as always and not just become our medical condition. Of course, this applies to any condition, ranging from something correctable like a broken arm to a chronic condition like rheumatoid arthritis.