Summer's Gone, But I'm Back

The long tail of the Internet forces me to keep adding to this blog in response to the people who are asking me online if I am "back yet." Indeed I am. In the photo on the left, I am with my two goldens (I am the photographess) on a hill far, far above my home. I walked up two large hills to get here, and then hiked on the POST trail. A year ago I couldn't have done this AT ALL. Two years ago, I could have done it with ease.

This year I did it, a little out of shape in the wind department, but with no pain in the hip, back, et. So yes, I am back.

On Balance

This is a bad pun.  I have, on balance, recovered from my hip replacement.  That means I can hike, walk the dogs, do yoga, take Pilates, and sleep without pain. I have not dislocated. I dance.

However, my balance has been seriously impacted by the surgery and the lack of a piriformis muscle, the weakening of glutes, the reliance on my right side, etc.  As a result, I am even worse at balancing on the left than I used to be, and I was never very good at it (probably because of the scoliosis).

So I think that's the next step in my recovery. I've gotten very "into" functional strength, with the help of Chip Weber, who was the final step in my physical therapy and the only one who gave me any real insight into strengthening and conditioning.  The roller exercises he made me do are still the ones that I depend on, although I now do them through a Fletcher-based Pilates studio.

This is probably TMI for most of you, but I want full functionality, and I will keep working to attain it :-)