Let’s play “What If?” today. Just to explore. David and I have conversations about this every now and then so it seems fun to share with you.
The question is…
What if we had done my surgeries in a different order?
Meaning, what if we had done the pubic joint surgeries first and then all of the hip work? Could we have avoided all of the adhesive capsulitis issues and need for extra surgeries? Could we have truncated this entire experience?
As a refresher, this is how it has gone/will finish:
- L scope
- LPAO
- L hardware removal
- L & R scopes (same day)
- RPAO
- R hardware removal
- L & R scopes (same day)
- Pubic debridement
- Pubic fusion
- Pubic hardware removal
I am certain that the mysterious adhesive capsulitis issues in both hips was a protective measure for the pubic joint. I know this because after we did the pubic debridement, I had an immediate easing of the hip capsules, starting the very next morning. Then after the pubic fusion they seem to have eased completely. The only impingement I feel is from the metal plate, screws, and allergic reaction pain in those bones. So, this leads us to our “What If?” question today.
If we had reversed the order, working from the center out, the process would have looked like this:
- Pubic fusion
- L scope
- LPAO
- L hardware removal
- R scope
- RPAO
- R hardware removal
While not profoundly shorter, this second list is missing 3 extra scopes that were performed to address the adhesive capsulitis I mentioned above, and the pubic debridement.
We did the debridement based on my doctor’s knowledge of my body by then, otherwise he would not have tried that before the fusion like we did. He felt that based on how my body responded to the hip surgeries, how my body heals, and my strength as an athlete, it had a strong possibility of working for me, eliminating the need for the more complex fusion. It obviously didn’t end up working, but we had history together enough to try that first. If we had started my list of surgeries with addressing the pubic joint, he would have gone straight to the fusion.
The significant difference between these two lists is the time involved. List One, my reality, will ultimately take 3+ years to complete. List Two would take 1.5+ years. The first list is 12 surgeries, the second is 7.
3 > 1.5
12 > 7
So here’s the thing:
While nobody wants more surgeries and recovery time than necessary, I wouldn’t change a thing about how this has gone for me. I am grateful for every part of it.
Yes, the physical part has been long, but I’ve used the time to grow as a person, to heal old wounds, to learn new things. This has been an incredible time of whole self healing that I might not have dug into. In fact, I am sure I wouldn’t have.
Looking at the timeline of how I actually approached my healing, I didn’t dig into the deeper, internal work until late 2020-early 2021. List Two would have had me done and healed by early 2020. At that point I was mostly using my physical tools and personal mental tools, not looking at what you now know as Big Tab One and Big Tab Two. So, yes, I’d be healed and on to other parts of my life, but I’d still have those open tabs and layers of uncertainty clouding my world.
I would not trade where I am now for that.
I am grateful for the intensity this extra time has provided. This is exactly what I needed and the universe knew it. Extra time-outs for me to really get it. Finally get it.
If you have landed on this page from an external link, please go HERE to read from the beginning. Otherwise, click on the next title below to continue.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.