Catch 22

Have you ever felt like you ruled the world? Well, on Saturday after finishing my first ever 5K, I felt like I was ruling the world. I used to say that only two things would make me run: the cops and an all you can eat buffet. Well, now I have conquered that first step and completed the longest 3.1 miles of my life so far. But, the joy of finishing in almost 42 minutes flat was followed by an ample amount of pain.

In April 2010, I injured my hip skiing or playing hockey. It wasn’t until that October that I started looking into the constant pain in my leg and found out that I had torn the labrum in my hip. There was no question about what had to be done, and surgery was scheduled for September 2011 in Vail, CO. Because it was so far away, I asked to be on the waiting list if something opened up earlier. The Tuesday before finals in May, I received the unexpected call asking me to come for surgery. I was ecstatic, nervous, and running around like a chicken with my head cut off rearranging my life to fit. I would be taking two exams and finishing my five classes by Friday. Everything was going well, and I thought it was the perfect plan until that Thursday morning at 7:45AM. The nurse called to chat about their biggest concern with me having surgery the next week. It had little to do with my actual hip and all to do with my weight. In order for the doctor to operate, I needed to lose at least 50 pounds. That was the first time I can really remember where my weight has held me back. So, Tuesday I was sky high ready for a new hip, and by Thursday, I was feeling hopeless.

Surgery is inevitable with my injury, and truth be told, the pain has been unbearable these past few months. After recently seeking the wisdom of a Billings doctor, I have now been limited to what type of exercise I will be able to do: little to no impact, bending, squatting, or twisting. They have limited me because of the possibility of hurting myself to the point of hip replacement.Although it is nice to have some answers to the reason for the pain I feel constantly, it is also very frustrating to have to completely change my work out routine. I just am trying to remind myself that there is more to weight loss than running and lunges. It is also frustrating having to deal with the pain every day. It’s a total Catch 22. In order to have a pain free hip, I must lose a substantial amount of weight, yet some days my hip holds me back from losing the weight.

One Less Day