Me vs. the Beer Man

It’s been four weeks since I had arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn left hip labrum and – dare I say? – I seem to be healing pretty fast.

According to my physical therapist, the range of motion in  my left hip area is already close to 100 percent. And the empirical evidence seems to bear this out as well: I can travel down the stairs fairly normally, though I still look a little like a toddler ascending them; getting in and out of cars is much easier; and, most important of all, I can actually get into bed without screaming bloody murder. I never really did that, but I did grimace a lot.

I’m also past 15 minutes on the stationary bike (at low resistance) in each sitting.

While I’m thrilled by my newfound ability to do accomplish the tasks I used to take for granted, others have greeted this increased mobility with caution. “You don’t want a setback,” my husband seems to always be saying.

And observing my progress last week, one of the physical therapists had this to say: “I tell most people to do certain exercises at home three times a day, and if they do it once I’d be happy. For people like you, I tell them to do it only once, because otherwise they’ll do it three, four, or five times …”  He’s right! I sometimes add on reps to an exercise thinking that might somehow catapult me to the head of the recovery class!

Others who’ve gone through the journey of recovering from hip arthroscopy have also warned of the possibility of setbacks down the road.

Which is why I’ve decided to temper my progress. I continue to take a single crutch with me when commuting into work – it reduces the likelihood of getting jostled by the manic crowds, and greatly improves my chances of getting a seat on the bus. Doors open for you, too. (Literally!)

But not always. While approaching the doors to leave the Port Authority Bus Terminal the other day, I noticed  a man watching me with my crutch and on the other side of the doors a shipment of beer being delivered. Guess who he held the door open for.