4x4

I've reached a couple of milestones in the past two weeks: it has been four months since my hip operation and four weeks since my sinus surgery. If you have been following my Facebook updates (as well as reading my previous blog posts), you already know that I have experienced some ups & downs over the past few weeks & months, but am trying to go about life as usual.

tasters of everything at The Commons Brewery

My hip (the torn labrum that was surgically repaired as well as the osteoplasty) is doing great. I have excellent range of motion and no pain or tenderness. What I continue to struggle with is tendonitis in my right hip flexor, which is caused by overuse of certain muscles. This initially flared up a few weeks after surgery when I started walking without crutches. It has continued to be a problem off & on ever since. The only thing that really helps is rest (ie not walking or biking), which doesn't really mesh with my lifestyle here in Portland.

Dishwasher by Duane Hanson at the Portland Art Museum

In addition to the tendonitis, I have also been dealing with pain in both knees. I was able to alleviate some of the irritation through iontophoresis (transdermal application of dexamethasone) but I continue to experience discomfort along with a nasty grinding noise in both knees whenever I bend or squat. Thus going up/down stairs, bicycling and trying to do any form of exercises that put additional weight on my knees is not pleasant. My doctor says that the cartilage behind my kneecaps is likely worn down. While arthroscopic surgery to "clean up" the damaged cartilage would be an option, we are going to try other non-invasive therapies first, starting with viscosupplementation.

I love spring!

The greatest impediment to resolving both of these issues (the hip flexor tendonitis and the knee pain) in conjunction is that the exercises that might help one tend to irritate the other. Thus I am basically stuck in this predicament for now until we can find a magic reset switch!

Rose-Tu and baby Lily at the Oregon Zoo

As for my sinuses, my ENT (who has seen me a total of three times since the surgery) says I am 95% healed. Thankfully the most recent two office visits have been much less painful or dramatic than the first post-op suctioning nightmare. It's never pleasant to have a 6"+ tube stuck up your nose, but the poking & prodding has lessened each time. Unfortunately, I had severe sinus headaches during my second week post-op followed by a constant pressure between my eyes that has still not abated. I've been adding budesonide to my daily nasal rinse for the past week and am going to start taking fexofenadine (Allegra) to try to alleviate these symptoms.

Greg finished the 5K in 26m32s

While all of this may not sound very positive, I refuse to let these "irritations" slow me down (although my doctors might prefer that I was a lot less active right now). The past few weeks have actually been quite busy: I've been to the zoo, multiple plays, a dance performance, the art museum, a restaurant preview, watched Greg run a 5K, and rode my bike several times when the weather was nice. I've also spent many hours helping my mom plan their trip to Portland & Seattle in late June as well as making the final preparations for our two week Alaska vacation (which starts in a few hours)!