13 Weeks Post-op

And look what i can do!!!


I wouldn't say I have returned to climbing, b/c this was one of the first and easiest climbs i ever did in the Wasatch. However, it was technically rock climbing. it was mostly very easy, but that right leg/quad doesn't want to cooperate all the time. We climbed 3 routes yesterday, and my hip was pretty sore last night. i recovered well today though and we tried one of our favorite hikes in Big cottonwood Canyon- I didn't quite make it to the lake at the end of the trail,however. The 'ole hip started to get pretty sore about 2 miles into a pretty steady uphill hike. Still, what a tremendous weekend! climbing and hiking... maybe i really will actually get better after all! i also biked to work this week as well. major mile stone.

i am seeing the PA/surgeon this week because of my hip flexor tendonitis issue. it has refused to get much better and i am interested in what they think. i have been a very good patient and have only done exercises that do not affect the hip flexor so i feel that i have adequately 'rested' the hip in all the right places. i'm anxious to get the hip flexor taken care of. it is popping quite loudly at night when i roll over in bed and has started to become mildly painful with the popping. this concerns me a bit more.

i'm having a few more 'down' days this past week. it's starting to get harder to remain positive all the time during this plateau. i've come so far, and yet i feel i have so much farther to go yet. most days i do a great job of looking at the positives and feeling great about how i can move. but some days i am tired of being satisfied with a little bike ride or a swim. i want to climb! and not just top rope some 5.6. when i think about my recovery only taking the prognosed 6 months i feel kinda hopeless. but if i think about my recovery taking 9-12 months i am encouraged with where i am at. i think my surgeon was a little optomistic about my recovery rate. or may be he just didn't understand what 'recovery' means to a rock climber. probably some of both. recovery isn't just riding a bike around or doing a moderate hike. recovery is tucking my hips into the overhanging wall and lunging for a hold just out of my reach... recovery is hiking 10 miles in with a 40 pound backpack and climbing a steep rock face at an altitude of greater than 10,000 feet....recovery is ski touring a 11,000 ft peak and tele skiing the powder all the way down...recovery is squatting in the back yard garden to clean out the dead vegetation from the summer...

sigh.

recovery is also taking small steps forward and at times, steps backward. recovery is also being grateful for the movement i do have. recovery is swimming. is biking. is moderate hiking. recovery is standing in the kitchen and making dinner. recovery is being able to clean the house. recovery is walking without assistance. recovery is HARD.

i blog this for myself as much as anyone else. i need to remember what i could do at certain times for myself and for a possible future surgery. i need to remember how hard it was and what i learned. i need to remember the patience required to heal. both inside and out. i need to remember.