8 weeks post RPAO and follow up appointment

I went back to D-town yesterday for my 2nd follow up with Z and this appt was much more promising than the last one! The xrays revealed that the joint space looked good/unchanged and my bones are healing really well. This means I can begin weight bearing full weight now and as soon as I feel able, I can wean completely off my crutches. He looked very pleased that the joint spaced had maintained itself. Me too! I feel much better after this follow up. The screws will need to be removed, although no rush, so we can monitor the hip via MRI to have a good look at the cartilage inside, hopefully stay on top of the degeneration before it's too late. Otherwise, we discussed how I'm feeling right now and I told Z I feel pretty good for having had 2 PAO's close together, the acute pain is gone but I do have a "settled ache" that doesn't go away. He felt it should go away, that it's part of the healing process. Strengthening the muscles is key. Which brings me to PT. I start outpatient PT tomorrow and it is going to be at the new PT place and I am going to do pool therapy. I'm pretty excited!
I asked about approximate timeline back to work and he felt another 4-6 weeks should be about right and probably about 6-8 weeks before I would be unrestricted. So we'll see! I go back to see him for my 3 month follow up September 12th and we'll see how the hip looks then and how I'm feeling.

At this point in recovery, and even last week at 7 weeks, I feel like the left and right hip caught up with each other in terms of how fast they each recovered. It was this same timeframe for the left hip that I was walking and pretty much didn't use my crutches much except outside. I feel pretty confident that the right hip will move along just as quickly. Pain is no longer acute, more just chronic aching now. Every once in awhile I will get a stab in the groin of both hips but I can tolerate it for the time being. My knees are still an issue but we are working on strengthening them. I now have a left knee brace for support.

So today I used only one crutch in the house and I felt pretty good. I have a lot of stamina to build back up but I think the strength is there. I vacuumed a small area of the house and that will probably be the extent of what I do today! Tomorrow is PT and I don't want to go in sore.

There was such relief with this appointment and I could definately get used to hearing my OS say not to worry! He is such a gem!