Shae's list to get through school after surgery

So for today's post, Shae has decided to take matters into her own hands and has made kind of a "DO's and DO NOT DO THIS AFTER HIP SURGERY" list to help explain what her first week at school was like after having hip surgery.

She said overall that her first week wasn't too bad, but walking around from class to class and going from school from 7:20-2:20 and then getting in the car to go straight to therapy at 3:15 definitely took it's toll on her hip. She even had to cancel her 3rd session of rehab on Friday because she was in too much pain from the week.

Here is Shae's list of what to do and what not to do to get through school after surgery, and it is a list that she feels will help other hip patients who have to go to school too.

1) Don't wear Jeans-way too uncomfortable

2) Wear sneakers- helps you walk around school and gives you more support

3) Get an elevator key if you can so that you don't have to take the stairs to each class and so that you have access to the elevator to get to class 5 minutes before class ends and 5 minutes before it starts

4) Keep a crutch in the main office incase you need it if you are having a bad day

5) Keep Ice packs in the main office or wherever you can incase you are in pain and need to ice

6) Avoid large groups of people- without your hip brace people don't know that you have had surgery

7) Don't get in and out of your desk quickly

8) Don't sit for too long, try get up to walk around and move every 15 or 30 minutes

And the most important thing of all is to smile, laugh, be happy, and stay happy. You will have your good and bad days but if you try stay positive it'll help you get through the bad days.

How time flies

Today was the first day of the new school year and the start of Shae's sophomore year and Talya's senior year. It was amazing to see how time flies not only in regards to how fast my sisters are growing up but also in regards to Shae's recovery from hip surgery.

It was only 7 weeks ago that she had her 4 hour FAI hip surgery. She is now walking with no crutches, excelling incredibly well with physical therapy and getting better each and every day.

Then and Now:

First Day of School:

DJ fist pump???

Last night DJ 2 Shae went to DJ her first party since having hip surgery. She went with one of her crutches and did have a chair with her in case she needed to sit. Overall, she said it went really well and she had a great time. She couldn't dance and interact like she usually does when she DJs so she brought a good friend with her to help her get through the night. 

But she gave us a good giggle before she left last night when she told us that "they should just change my name to DJ fist pump, because with my hip surgery all I can do is fist pump!"

A Sweet Surprise

Yesterday my sisters and I went with my mom to go do some back to school shopping. We have to shop a little different this time because Shae has to wear comfortable clothes when she is at school. There is nothing worse then when you have to wear tight or uncomfortable clothes when you have had hip surgery only a few weeks ago. So, while walking in between the clothes we heard this little "hello" from someone behind us. As we turned around we saw 3 of our learn to swim students who we have known for years. They are great students, amazing kids, and phenomenal swimmers. We absolutely love and adore Andres, Marcos, Maria Rosa and of course Elvira.

Our very own Howard Head

One of the most difficult parts of leaving vail after surgery is trying to find a great physical therapist. It causes stress and worry when you first get home because Howard Head sports rehab center sets a very high standard that is sometimes very hard to live up to.

But, we have finally found an incredible physical therapist here in Miami and she is taking great care of Shae and doing an amazing job. Since starting with Linda, Linda has helped Shae get off crutches with absolutely NO limp, has got her muscles to constantly fire, and has made her get stronger each week.

Thank you so much Linda for taking such incredible care of Shae and for becoming an FAI pro.

Sunday Morning Scream?

On sunday morning I started to do Shae's range of motion, when I started to feel some stiffness in her hip. So, after doing the ROM, I decided to give her a massage. She generally gets a massage during the week but this past week was pretty hectic and so she never got her massage. 

It started off pretty well when I massaged the IT band, inner thigh and in between her scars. But when I got to her quad, she went through the roof. She was laughing, crying, and screaming all at the same time. It was pretty funny but she was definitely not comfortable even though she really needed the massage.  

Dinner with a Lifelong friend

On Thursday night we all went to dinner with a good friend of ours, Daniel, and his brother. We met Daniel when we were in Vail and have kept in touch ever since we left. He has also had both of his hips done with Dr. Philippon, and he was in town to see family and so we took a drive up to West Palm Beach to have dinner.

It was really a great and special evening and it was incredible to see how a negative thing such as hip surgery can turn into a positive, when you have made a life long friend.

Getting Ready for School

Since we got home from NC, Shae has been very busy with getting things ready for school. She is the school class president and has a ton of responsibilities to fulfill. Yesterday she went to school for a meeting and today she was at school early in the morning to help with freshman orientation. She is a very busy girl but I think it is good for her because it will keep her mind off of her hips.

Vacation outside of Vail!

Most people would think that having spent 2 months in Vail is without a doubt a vacation. However, when you have two family members coming out of surgery and permanently on crutches, it kind of takes the fun out of vacation. So, although we have had great times in Vail, we all still felt like we needed another vacation before going back to school. And so, we took a road trip up to North Carolina to visit family. It was absolutely amazing, NC is beautiful and the drive was most definitely entertaining. Shae and I sat in the middle seat and unfortunately had to stick Talya in the back seat by herself because Shae and I needed the leg room for our hips and my knees.

My grandparents live on a beautiful lake in NC and we spent the entire weekend going out on the boat, skiing, tubing, jetsking, knee boarding, and wake boarding. And boy Shae was INCREDIBLE! Just kidding, Shae and I skipped out on the intense water activities and worked on our tan instead. Shae didn't do much rehab but my mom and I did her range of motion and she did pool therapy majority of the weekend to keep her hip loose.

Talya learned how to ski and wake board. Our cousins Michael & Michelle are phenominal at wake boarding and skiing and they were great at teaching Talya.



Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Gifts from a special someone

The other day, we received a HUGE package from a very special friend of ours. We knew he was sending us something but we had no idea what it was let alone how big the box was going to be. Phil, is a very good friend of ours who we met in Vail this summer, he too has had hip and knee surgery. We all hit it off and it has been a perfect friendship from the start. He is a really great guy and an amazing friend, and he most definitely spoiled us with this amazing package of yummy cookies, healthy foods, and tons of videos. Thanks again Phil, you are the best and we love you!

We are Family, I got my cousins with me!

Two weekends ago, we had a really fun weekend. My Uncle Andre and my cousins Remy and Guy came into town from Canada. We spent the weekend by the pool and on the boat. It was a beautiful sunday on the boat but it was incredibly hot, so most of the day was spent in the water.






Another great part of this weekend was that our best friend Dameon came to visit. He was home after being in Iraq for several months, he is in the Navy and we have been friends since we were little. We alway have a great time with him and we have missed him so much.






Shae struggled a little with walking around the boat and going up and down the stairs, and she was in some pain afterwards because when you are on the boat you don't realize it but you are constantly trying to stabalize when the boat moves and that engages the hip and legs. She was a trooper but the most comfortable position for her was to be in the water with her aquajogger.

Update!

Woops, I have fallen a little behind with my blogging. But we got home from Vail and it seems as though time has just flown by and we are now faced with a week until school officially starts up again.


Since I last blogged, we have been doing consistent rehab with Shae, and she has officially graduated from using crutches. Aside from using them once or twice when going out with friends, she now walks around the house freely and has no limp! And as of yesterday she has progressed to some difficult exercises such as double leg bridging and 1/3 mini squats.

On Wednesday she did complain of a slight pinch when she was walking but we called Howard Head and spoke to Lindsay and she said that we should do more of the Thomas stretch to help stretch her hip flexor, and to work on getting her knee into her chest by doing a certain active release movement. We did it during therapy and it worked. Shae said she felt the difference and she also noticed that if she walks without engaging her glut then she will occasionally feel the pinch. She also said that when she would do cat and camel and the quad rocking, the pinch went away. Overall, Shae is doing great and making great strides.