Hips from Hell: an expose on injuries you shouldn't have at 26

H is for Hana! Right?

Happy 4th of July! As we celebrate our nation's Independence, I am trying to enjoy the days until I lose mine for a bit - I finally found out what was wrong with my hip (9 months later), and unfortunately being a gimp is again in my future.

I have a sizable cartilage tear just like they suspected, but I also have an FAI impingement, which means the ball portion of my hip joint is not round like it's supposed to be. It's misshapen on one end which is causing the cartilage tear. I also found out I have scoliosis (wtf) and that one of my legs is a centimeter longer than the other (double wtf). I also have hip dysplasia, which I thought was only a condition dogs got when they were older. Basically, I have the hips (and bones) from hell.

So on Labor Day weekend, I'll go under the knife and the surgeons will cut off the torn cartilage and shave down the misshapen bone. Oh and they have to dislocate my hip joint to do it. Eek! I'll be on crutches for another two weeks and require another round of physical therapy afterwards. It will take 6-9 months for a full recovery and the worst part is, I will not be able to return to running. Eventually they do want me to be able to run on a treadmill for a short amount of time as part of the recovery process, but I am not encouraged to do any of the distance running I was doing before. I run the risk of repeating this injury.

As shitty as that news is, I look forward to being able to everything else I used to enjoy, like yoga, hiking and biking. I won't be able to do it until a year from now (worst case scenario) but I'll be healed just in time for our Spain trip which we postponed for next summer.

In super awesome news, my parents are home! I picked them up from the airport yesterday. My mom was so happy to be back. My sisters made dinner/cake, and I went to their house the day before to help clean and get it ready for their return. My mom was already planning how to help me recover after my surgery, even though she's still very much in her own recovery process. Oh moms. Gotta love 'em :)

Sticks and stones may break your bones, but it looks like patience will be my lesson for the rest of the year.