My pain began when I was pregnant with Owen, now 4. I thought the pain was related to carrying around all that extra weight and figured it would go away after his birth. Almost 4 years, and another baby later the pain was still there. I chalked it up to a pulled muscle and assumed I wasn't letting it heal properly. At that point, I was doing an online personal training program and running 3-4 miles 4 times a week, taking a zumba class one night a week and weights 4 nights a week. Whew! The pain became unbearable, and when I realized that it was moving, I figured it was time to get it checked out. or me, my pain began as a pulled groin feel, but then I noticed there were days when it was in my quad, and other times in my butt. I couldn't pin point the pain if you had asked. So in I went...
3 months, 3 doctors, 4 sets of xrays, and one MRI later, I had my diagnosis. Here's the rundown:
-Torn labrum
-Hip dysplasia
-Hip arthritis
-Pelvic cysts (caused by leaky joint fluid)
-Bone spurs
-Uneven hip bones, causing my right leg to be longer than my left
Dr. Steven Olson is chief physician of orthopedics at Duke hospital, and specializes in hip preservation. In December I sat with him and was told the grim news. I would need a periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) and I would need it soon. I had heard of the surgery though the previous two doctors I had seen, but neither one of them wanted to go near it. There were too many layers of injuries and neither of them were confident that a PAO was exactly what I needed. They also had warned me of the difficult recovery and how it would affect my life as a stay at home mom. When I brought up the question of asking for another opinion Dr. Olson assured me that a PAO was my only option. My hip is failing and I need to get it fixed now. No more running, no more zumba. I sat and cried for a minute, instantly seeing how my whole family would be impacted by this news. Where would my boys go? How would my husband take care of all us on his own? Would I be able to play with my boys for the 4 months it takes to recover? How would I stay fit if I couldn't even walk for 4 months? The questions were all there, but I had no answers.
I am slowly finding those answers through blogs like this, from people like me who have been through it. My hope is to share my experience with family and friends who may not fully understand the affects of this surgery and to help future PAO patients.
This is my PAO story...
For a link to Dr. Olson's bio: http://www.dukehealth.org/physicians/steven_a_olson
3 months, 3 doctors, 4 sets of xrays, and one MRI later, I had my diagnosis. Here's the rundown:
-Torn labrum
-Hip dysplasia
-Hip arthritis
-Pelvic cysts (caused by leaky joint fluid)
-Bone spurs
-Uneven hip bones, causing my right leg to be longer than my left
Dr. Steven Olson is chief physician of orthopedics at Duke hospital, and specializes in hip preservation. In December I sat with him and was told the grim news. I would need a periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) and I would need it soon. I had heard of the surgery though the previous two doctors I had seen, but neither one of them wanted to go near it. There were too many layers of injuries and neither of them were confident that a PAO was exactly what I needed. They also had warned me of the difficult recovery and how it would affect my life as a stay at home mom. When I brought up the question of asking for another opinion Dr. Olson assured me that a PAO was my only option. My hip is failing and I need to get it fixed now. No more running, no more zumba. I sat and cried for a minute, instantly seeing how my whole family would be impacted by this news. Where would my boys go? How would my husband take care of all us on his own? Would I be able to play with my boys for the 4 months it takes to recover? How would I stay fit if I couldn't even walk for 4 months? The questions were all there, but I had no answers.
I am slowly finding those answers through blogs like this, from people like me who have been through it. My hope is to share my experience with family and friends who may not fully understand the affects of this surgery and to help future PAO patients.
This is my PAO story...
For a link to Dr. Olson's bio: http://www.dukehealth.org/physicians/steven_a_olson