Hope

(Cont. from "Loss")

Former 2-time Olympian and 12-year veteran of the U.S. Ski Team, Eva Twardokens is now a Crossfit trainer in Santa Cruz, California and one of my very best friends. She is anti-surgery, pro-biomechanics, and pro-weight training. She has an excellent knowledge of how to build a faster, stronger human body and she is one of the most motivating people you will ever meet. I was expecting the hammerhead talk about how I had to work harder and suffer more, but she didn't say that at all. She had a very realistic take on our past, present and future and basically said, "you need to make some changes." She pointed me in the direction of her friend Kelly Starrett, a physical therapist in San Francisco who promotes strong bodies via proper biomechanics. Kelly saw me, took a look at my films and said the same thing: "Your joint is still in pretty good shape." He educated me on proper lifting techniques, showed me how to walk, bend over, and perform what is called "hip distraction" which puts the hip in an optimal position for strengthening. My visit with Kelly was inspiring and I went straight home to put his practices to work. I also hooked up with a local Physical Therapist, Tom, who worked with me to strengthen and make sure I wasn't compromising (or cheating) my hip. This brings us to September of 2010. I spent the next 3 months devoted to strengthening my arthritic hip. I was resolved to no longer performing high impact activities and settling in to the idea that it was okay to "slow down".

Progress was slow. In between the bouts of pain, 12-hour shifts at the hospital and sitting on the sidelines of the soccer field, I felt like the hip distraction, strengthening program and stretching routine were not showing any results. Eva's advice was classic.

"You are performing the equivalent of trying to do a U-turn with an 18-wheeler."

Coming from a badass like Eva, I felt this statement summed up the whole of my experience. Normally, Eva would tell me to suck it up and quit whining, but the 18-wheeler statement was a telling sign that either Eva had evolved into an athletic training professional or she was aware of the seriousness of my situation. I decided both of these elements were present and I clung to her advice with more hope than an orphan in a room full of potential parents.

I stuck with my program. However, my physical therapist kept pointing out one very inescapable truth. No matter how many times we did the hip distraction, the femur still moved. The joint was anatomically unstable and no matter how strong I would get, the joint will still be compromised.

PT: "Have you considered hip resurfacing?"

This was an entirely new thing that no one had mentioned prior to now.

Me: "What's that?

PT: "Well, it's hip surgery but they cap the femur and replace the socket."

Me: "Who does it?"

PT: "Joint Replacement Institute in LA. Dr. Smalls-something, smash..., schmooze...Anyway, a guy down in LA. My partner's wife had it done. She used to run marathons and she's about your age. She had it done and 6 months later, she's running again."

Me: "Can you find out how to get a hold of him."

PT: "Sure."

My PT introduced me to Tanya, a 5'11"-ish woman in her forties with legs up to her ears. Needless to say, our body types were very different but she sang the praises of one Dr. Schmalzried of the Joint Replacement Institute located in Los Angeles, California. She looked great, felt great and had nothing but great things to say about her experience. I asked her what her limitations would be post-operatively and she matter-of-factly stated, in no uncertain terms...."None."

"Joint Replacement Institute, Dr. Schmalzried's office, this is LaVonda, how can I help you?"