Ten weeks Post-Op

It's been exactly ten weeks since my surgery and I am feeling MUCH better! The first few days were rough because I do not deal well with anesthetic or pain medication. The surgery lasted a little longer - almost five hours, but went really well. Dr. White was able to reconstruct my labrum using an IT band allograft, meaning he used IT band tissue from a cadaver to construct my new labrum. He removed a 5x20mm patch of damaged cartilage from the cup of my joint and performed the microfracture procedure.

I was very grateful that they let me go home after one night in the hospital. My sweet husband spent the night at the hospital with me folded up in a tiny chair so I didn't have to be alone:)

I just scanned the pictures that Dr. White gave Justin after surgery so these are a little hard to see, but they give you an idea:)

Femoral X-ray before surgery - the neck should have a curvature similar to the dotted line

X-ray after surgery - hard to see, but they shaved the neck of the femur so that it no longer has the extra "bump" 

Top right - torn/shredded labrum

Third and fourth rows show the full-thickness cartilage tear on the cup side of my hip 

Top row shows my "severe" CAM or bump on the neck of my femur

Second row - the 5x20mm piece of cartilage that they removed from my cup

Bottom left - the 8 anchors Dr. White used to hold my new reconstructed labrum in place

Bottom right - microfracture on the cup side of the joint  

Top row - microfracture 

Second, third, and fourth rows - my new labrum

Bottom Left - new shape of my femoral neck

I've been in physical therapy since three days after surgery. I'm working with a great team at Next Level Sports Performance in Golden. The guy who started it was the head trainer for the Denver Broncos for ten years so their facility and programs are geared for athletes. The two owners and their families are patients at Justin's office so it's been nice to get to know them.

Justin was absolutely amazing. He took off two weeks and cooked, cleaned, and took care of me and the kids even when he returned to work. He, along with our friends and family were just incredible throughout my recovery. We had a family member taking care of / helping with the kids the entire time I was on crutches. All four grandparents, TT, and Auntie Carissa all took off time from work to help. G!G! drove me to physical therapy twice a week for the first 6 weeks because I couldn't drive. Bry and Reesie, the Choi family, and the Gentry family brought us meals......we are SERIOUSLY blessed! SO thankful for all of the helped that we received, we couldn't have done it without everyone's help.

I was on crutches for about 7.5 weeks so I am still learning to walk without a limp. I don't have any of the sharp pain that I did before surgery, jut some soreness when I overdo it. I experienced some atrophy in the muscles of my right lower half, so I am working to strengthen those at physical therapy and home exercises. It's definitely not perfect, but it's already so much better than before so I'm really happy that I had the surgery when I did:)