Open the door and let me out

Today marks five weeks on my post surgery calendar. As I look back I am thinking I really need to encourage others who are living in unnecessary pain to bite the bullet and get help. In my case it was a matter of not having insurance, but when the time was right it all worked out. It was as if the universe said, "it's time for you to focus on yourself". I listened, followed my intuition in making decisions and I am grateful for all the help that came my way.

The first thing I did even before I had insurance was to have an x-ray taken of the hip. When it showed that it was pretty much bone rubbing on bone I knew I had no choice. My next move was to check online to find the top rated surgeons in New Mexico. Five of those names were associated with New Mexico Orthopedics. I dialed the number and in the blink of an eye I had an appointment with Dr. Joshua Carothers. As it turned out he really is one of the top orthopedic surgeons in New Mexico.

By the time of my initial visit all of my insurance problems had been taken care of. Because of the decisions I had made absolutely everything would be paid. I don't even have co-payments. Well I did have to pay the $147 yearly premium for Medicare B, but that was all. Actually, that's not even true. Because it was added to a hospital bill for other charges and I called to offer to pay it right now, I ended up getting a 40% discount. There's the universe, helping out again!

My surgery was so brief it could have taken place in the doctor's office. My hospital stay was less than two days and then I went home. For the next four-five weeks I did everything I could to get my life back to normal. My doctor's instructions were to stay active. That is a little tricky when one has to deal with a walker and several "you can't do that" rules. I tried to follow, but sometimes I cheated just a little. During the day I was alone so stuff happens. My son was home in the morning and at night and did his best to help out, which I am grateful for.

My first checkup was this week and I was holding my breath, worried that one of those times I cheated might have caused a problem. Everything was just as it was supposed to be. The x-rays were perfect and the incision looked great. I pretty much got a free pass to either continue on with therapy on my own or choose to go to out patient therapy. For the last month I have had a physical therapist come to the house because I didn't have transportation and wasn't allowed to drive. Tuesday is my discharge day. Yay!

I have chosen to go to Cibola Sports and Physical Therapy for the next month. I am very excited about this as my therapist and I both have positive energy and are a good fit. I know that when we are finished I will be better than when I started.

In the last week I have walked through the open door, done grocery shopping and run errands. It feels great to be free once again. Due to my experience I really want to encourage others who have been living in unnecessary pain to stop it; do what you can to fix the problem. So for a few weeks your life is not going to be the same, it doesn't matter because the results are more than worth it.