Three Weeks Post-op!

So Thursday was 3 weeks post-op and I had my third PT appointment with Charlie.  He was happy with my progress and threw me onto the bike right away and had me cycling for about 10 minutes, which felt great...no issues getting the pedal around at all.  Charlie definitely increased the ROM on the movements he performed on me and also included some resistance bands this week.  There was some tenderness on the anterior portion of the hip socket at certain positions, but it just felt like a tough stretch on a pulled muscle, nothing more.  He did not add anymore exercises to my daily routines as he knew that I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor's PA, Kyle, on Friday morning.  Other than that, we chatted about the upcoming Hawkeye football season and a possibility of getting a group together to head back to good ol' Iowa to do RAGBRAI some year once I am fully recovered.  Just another thing to add to my "bucket list", although this one is not so intense and therefore pretty likely.

Friday brought my second follow up at the CORE Institute, this time though it was with the PA Kyle.  I would say that he seemed very encouraged by my progress so far.  Below are some points that were addressed:

Good:

• I can start going up and down the stairs to our third level and thus, finally sleep in my own bed!  He just cautioned on the importance of not putting too much pressure on that leg still.
• I have not lost any muscle mass/tone in that leg according to what he could tell, and was very happy with that.
• He agreed with my PT that swimming and stationary cycling with minimal resistance will be my best friend over the next few weeks and had no worries with my level of activity pertaining to those two exercises.
• He felt I should have no restrictions or concerns for our vacation back to the midwest coming up, and in fact should be fully able to cycle on the roads by that point, thus continuing my recovery full force while "back home".
• I'm driving again!  Well, for short distances anyways...basically long enough to get me to swim practice at a 25m pool.  Only concern is just being in the exaggerated sitting position for a period of time and the discomfort that would come with that.  But at least I won't have to rely on others to get me and the kids to swim practice now.  Plus, I won't mentally have to deal with the feeling of total confinement, which is a relief!

Not good, but not bad either:

• We weren't able to lock down a date or even a week for surgery on the other hip...was really hoping to narrow it down so we could start planning around it.
• Weightbearing has grinded to a screeching halt.  Due to the extensive amount of bone removed and the microfracture procedure performed on both the femur and acetabulum, there apparently is still a fair concern of a fracture...so I am highly limited to the amount of weight I can put on that leg until 6 weeks post-op.  Normally, according to what I have seen, once you begin to put weight on the affected leg, you can increase it by 20% each week, so long as there are no pains, complications, etc.  In my case, however, I have to stay at 15-20%, which is a bit of a bummer, but a fracture would be disastrous...so I will have to just deal with it.  But after 6 weeks it will go to 80% and then 100% by week 8, so things will progress quickly then.

All in all, a good couple of days...I can feel progress being made, which helps with staying focused and determined.