One year post surgery and dancing the night away

So, I know it’s been a while but I will make this post worth your while. As of yesterday, July 5^th, 2011, Shae is one year post her hip surgery with Dr. Philippon and she is better then ever. In all honesty, she never complains about hip issues, and she is using her hip 24/7. This year she played water polo for her high school team and was one of the star players. For those that don’t know, water polo requires the players to tread water for an entire game while in the deep end. So basically Shae spent hours and hours in practice just treading water and using her hips.

Another thing some of you may not know about Shae is that she is a fully-fledged DJ. She eats, drinks, and sleeps not only music but dancing as well. I attached a video below of Shae dancing to one of her favorite songs just last week.

The hip surgery gave Shae a new opportunity at living her life to the fullest. She is a 16-year-old girl who can now dance, exercise, and hang out with friends and do so pain free. I know that every patient has a different story or scenario based on their injury, but if you have patience and you are determined to get better and focus on your physical therapy, then you can get back to living life. Dr. Philippon gave Shae not only a new hip but also the opportunity to have her life back and better then ever.

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.