FAI and a mini-trip

Soooo, I followed up with my orthopedic today to get the results of my MRI last week and it looks like I might actually have a diagnosis!  Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) - say that 3X fast!  Basically the doctor explained another way to describe it would be a bone spur.  Here is a link to a site that gives more info:  http://www.hipfai.com/    The other thing going on is that I have a torn labrum.  See here for more on that:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hip-labral-tear/DS00920    The doc showed me these two things clearly on the MRI and explained to me that we can fix it with orthroscopic surgery that would be outpatient.  He said it could be done in 2-3 hours.  He was very optimistic and said that he thinks there is no reason why in 3 months I shouldn't be back to normal and would be able to put this whole thing behind me.  There is a lot of recovery and rehab though, but of course I will do what it takes.  I'm obviously willing to do anything that will allow me to get on with life without this pain.

I told all this to a friend today, and she's like, "Yay!  You can do this race with me next year like we hoped!"  I tried to explain to her, it's so beyond that right now.  This is no longer about me trying to get back to running or any of that.  This is now about trying to fix things so I can walk around a mall for 2 hours without my hip screaming in pain for days later.  It is the everyday things where this has become the biggest problem - oh to be able to volunteer at school or do certain songs for Kidstuf without pain!  I dare to dream.  It's funny, I'm more scared of getting my hopes up only for this not to work than I am of the actual procedure itself!  Please pray for this whole situation, if you feel so led.

Oh, and did I tell you Jacob is getting top braces next week??  This kid will look like a whole new boy!  We did records this week (more xrays and molds of his current teeth) and so now we are ready to get them put on.  He's had a pretty good attitude about it.  I'll put pics up once they are on.

Lastly, I can look forward to heading off tomorrow with 5 of my buddies to a Beth Moore conference downstate!  Yay!  We bought the tickets in June so it seems like it has been a long wait!  We've been really looking forward to it and I'm excited for the girls weekend.  This has been a crazy busy week and I'm looking forward to some encouragement from Mrs. Moore and some time with friends. 

Another MRI and more...

Just a quick update on my hip.  After  I got the cortizone shot a few weeks ago and it didn't do much to help me, the doctor decided he wanted to do another MRI.  (I had one last nov that came back normal).  This time he wanted to inject a dye into my hip to help him better see the area directly in the hip joint, rather than the outside of the hip (the bursa) that we've previously suspected as the problem.  The radiologist told me that the dye will help them see if there are any tears in that area that could be problem.  So, I went tonight to get that test done.  I haven't thought a ton about it the past week, but today I did get very nervous about it.  Nothing like the prospect of someone jabbing a needle in your hip and then sticking you in a small tube for 40 minutes to get a person a little worked up!  Thankfully, everyone in the office took really good care of me, and despite my nervousness it wasn't as bad as I feared.  I was even blessed that my head didn't have to go in the MRI machine, so my claustrophobia was kept in check.  I don't care to do the whole thing again anytime soon, but I'm so grateful that it wasn't as bad as I feared.  I will see the doctor next week to discuss the results.

I was thinking today on the way to the MRI that I was thankful that my doctor could order an MRI last week and one week and one day later I was able to get in for my test.  Hmmm...

This week is a short week for the boys.  It's parent teacher conference week. I'm looking forward to talking with both boys teachers on thursdays and seeing how they are doing.  Jacob overall seems to be doing well.  He still has a good attitude with homework and hasn't had any disciplinary issues.  I have been bothered by a number of math sheets that come home with grades way too low.  This kid can do math in his sleep.  When you look over the sheet, usually there are silly mistakes:  he adds instead of subtracts or he just leaves a question blank??  Seriously, I've seen papers with 2 or more problems completely blank, like he just skipped over them.  When I show it to him, he is surprised.  It's not that it is too hard.  I'm trying to get him to make sure he checks his work.  In order to 'motivate' him, I'm now requiring him to do any problems over that he just left blank or that he just didn't follow directions properly.  Not understanding how to do something and getting it wrong is one thing.  Not reading directions carefully or leaving questions blank is not acceptable.  So we are working on that. 

Owen is still going along.  He loves school...computer and library are his favorites.  It's still weird to me that he isn't ready to read at all.  I mean not even close.  Although, he will tell you he can spell "zoo."  LOL  I'm not worried about it or anything, it's just so different from Jacob.  We didn't do anything different with Owen - we have read to them almost daily since birth and I have schooled them a lot at home when they aren't in school, yet he just is taking his sweet time.  I'll be curious to see if Mrs. K says he is the norm for his class or what.  By the way, Mrs. K just gushes over him.  She just thinks he's adorable.  She's always telling me funny things he says or cute things he does.  Meanwhile, Jacob has Mrs. K for Spanish, and I'm told that whenever he sees her he will pull her aside and say, "So tell me, how is Owen REALLY doing?"  She thinks it's hysterical. 

Owen's new saying is that something 'rocks the house.'  Like, I made a new muffin recipe today, pumpkin chocolate chip, and Owen said they were so good they "rocked the house!"  I thought that was funny.  He also told me today that he and his guy Kurt Jr prayed for me and my MRI test all last night while they were in bed, and he also asked me today to please "pray about my canker score because it isn't going away."  He is too sweet, I'll tell you!

Oh, in other news, Jacob is getting braces.  Well, specifically the ortho called them 'limited braces.'  He has a crossbite on the left side and he doesn't have enough room around his top front teeth for his adult teeth to come in.  So, the ortho is going to put braces along the front top six teeth to help make room for the teeth coming in, as well as brackets in the way back on the left side where they will attach a rubber band that will help with the crossbite.  This will take about a year and will put him in a very good position that when he is 12 or so he could get a regular full set of braces, but will already have much of the issues dealt with.  He wants to deal with the crossbite particularly now because it's a growth issue.   Best to address it now.  Jacob is dealing with it ok...he seems happy enough to do it now and get it out of the way. I'm thankful for the good attitude.

SIGH

As tired as you all are probably of hearing about my ongoing hip saga, trust me, I'm just as tired of talking about it. 

Today I went and saw a different Orthopedic doctor.  He's a little more of a specialist than the general Sports Doc I saw before.   It has been a horrible past month with my hip. It's back to not being able to sleep on it, and it hurts like crazy anytime I'm on my feet for long periods of time.  (Like when we walked around the mall for an hour and a half yesterday - does that qualify as a long period of time??)   I haven't run in 3 weeks (and I was barely running before then) and even biking has become painful.  So it's been a really bad flare up.

While he was examining me he realized that my hip was sore to the touch (as in he would press on certain spots and I would say OUCH!).  This is a sign of bursitis.  Now my pain is not only in this one spot.  It gets really bad on my lower back on the left side, and then also down my left hip flexor on the front of the thigh.  He said if my body is overcompensating for the pain of the bursitis, this could cause pain in other places.  Anyway, to try to make a long story short, he decided to give me a cortizone shot 1) to hopefully help with the pain and 2) to help as a diagnostic. 

One of three things could happen:  1) I could get this shot, take it easy for a few weeks to give it a chance to work, and maybe it in and of itself will do the trick.  This would mean the problem was bursitis and the solution was a cortizone shot.  2)  I could get this shot, it could get better for a short period of time but then come back, in which case we would know it is bursitis, but obviously I would have a stubborn case of bursitis that is not wanting to go away.  There are chronic cases of bursitis.  If senerio two happens he said we do have options, but he wouldn't discuss them with me at this point.  3) I could get the shot and there would be no change in my pain level.  This would indicate to him that bursitis is not the issue, and therefore we need to investigate other options.  He said we may need to investigate more the pain ocurring in my lower back, which is significant.

So, I will see him in two weeks and let him know how I am feeling and we will go from there.

Meanwhile, I am working on other ways to help with pain management.  I need to find a way to manage my pain when it is bad.  I found a massage therapist that does deep tissue work that is located right by the kids school and who has very reasonable prices.  On another front, I've found a chiropractor who is 10 minutes away (rather than the 45 min away of my previous chiro), and this chiro also has an accupuncture person right in the office.  I've gotten accupuncture before and have found it helpful.  I definitely want to do whatever I need to do to feel better.

So that is where we stand with that.  (Hopefully I anticipated all your questions, Mom! )

In other news, on the advice of Mom H, I called 5 local dentists and asked who they recommended their patients to in regards to Orthodontists.  I have a list of doctors now and will compare those names to my insurance.  Hopefully we'll come up with  something and get Jacob in.  Thanks for the tip - it was a great idea!

This is a short week of school - only 3 days plus they get columbus day off, so we have a 5 day weekend coming up which is SOO nice!  We have been busy lately and need the break and the time to try to relax.

Back to school

various things...

I picked up Owen from school today and his teacher said he wasn't himself at all this morning.  She said he was complaining of a 'headache' most of the morning.  He sure looked down to me - in fact tears rolled down his face on the whole ride home as he complained that his 'forehead' hurt.  I got him home and in pjs, got him some water and gave him tylenol for the headache.  Then I noticed his forehead was hot so I took his temp.  102!  No wonder the kid was feeling bad!  So, I put him right to bed and he crashed for an hour and a half.  He's been a little more chipper this evening, and has spent most of the day in his bed watching cartoons on the portable TV/DVD that we pull out of  the closet for just such occasions.  He did actually eat this evening...a huge bowl of oatmeal.  So hopefully that's a good sign.

I continue to be engrossed in the world of history, the founding, and current politics.  I moved on from Benjamin Franklin (love him!) to reading a book Grandma and Grandpa T sent me on the Bill of Rights.  I devoured that book.  (G+G, I'll have to email you some more specific thoughts.)  In general, it took the first 10 Amendments to the constitution and then introduced us to the first cases that established how the Supreme Court came to view each amendment.  So it would introduce the case that was challenging, say, the clause on what is "cruel and unusual punishment."  The authors would present both sides of  the case, explain how it made it's way through the judicial system and got to the Supreme Court, and then would tell how the Supreme Court ruled.  I especially liked that they would explain the majority and the dissents viewpoint on the case.  I found myself sometimes disagreeing with the courts decision, but yet understanding how it got there, as well as sometimes disagreeing and thinking, 'this makes no sense!'  Or sometimes you totally were on board with them, and were glad there was some clarification.  The most controversial thing I think was seeing how the Courts have used the commerce clause to give the government a lot of power that I think has only grown and gotten worse.  You definitely see the slow erosion of State's rights.  When you read the Dissents in those cases, which were decades ago, you see where the Justice's fears have come true in a lot of ways.  Anyway, I just loved having both sides presented, and getting the behind the scenes on the cases that have basically solidified the laws we live under today.

Now I'm on to a book on the Great Depression.  The book is based on a quote from a Yale philosopher 50 years before the Depression who was warning that "well-intentioned social progressives often coerced unwitting average citizens into funding dubious social projects."  So here's his theory:  "As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X.  Their law always proposes to determine...what A, B, and C shall do for X."  The author then continues, "But what about C?  There was nothing wrong with A and B helping X.  What was wrong was the law, and the indenturing of C to the cause.  C was the forgotten man, the man who paid."

So far it has delved into the world of Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt, as well as the movers and shakers (businessmen and bankers) of the time.  Here we see what we see today, the battle between the government and the private sector.  The author says she will cover the good and bad of the new deal, and whatever happened to X and C?  Looking forward to it.....