To A Happy & Healthy New Year!

2012 has been filled with many challenges and I know 2013 will be sure to bring many more!  

I started 2012 with a femoral revision surgery that had to be post-poned till the spring. I had the right femoral revision in April at Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Millis did my revision and it was a very successful surgery. The revision involved a trochanteric transfer and has been a huge difference in strength and mobility. I have spent many months doing PT and my strength and function has been the best it has been  in years. Although I still I have anterior pincer impingement and lack posterior coverage, my right is stable and has been consistently improving. I have even been jogging a little in PT (very little, but JOGGING)!

My left shoulder really deteriorated over this past year due to many years of intense physical activity, chronic dislocations and an underlying connective tissue disorder. I have multi-directional instability with primary posterior/inferior instability. I primarily dislocate posteriorly/inferiorly and the dislocations have become more frequent despite shoulder stabilization exercises. Because of this I will be having a reconstruction of my left shoulder which would include a capsular shift, closing the rotator interval and repairing any labral, etc., tears. At this point in time it looks like my left hip surgeries will be pushed back to prioritize the shoulder first. I will be wearing a compression "shirt" to help with scapular stabilization both pre and post-op. It will help in the neuromuscular retraining of my scapulas and shoulders. 

AlignMed s3 Posture Brace

2012 wrapped up my right hip surgeries and will allow the focus to shift to the left in 2013. A left hip scope will performed first to repair the labrum, remove the cam lesion, repair the capsule and evaluate the joint.  I will wear a post-op hip brace to help protect the repairs and control ROM. 2-3 months post-op I will have a Femoral Rotational Osteotomy to correct the retroversion and properly stabilize my hip. The hardware will be removed once the fracture site has healed. 

This has been the first year I have not had classes in 6 years! It was a nice mental break, but I will be pursuing grad courses starting this fall. I have been "soul" searching this past year about what I am "called" to do and I have a love for learning, but I have a passion for patient advocacy. Although I have tossed around the ideas of med and law school, I believe a Master's of Public Health is a way of meshing both law, medicine and ethics. I may even pursue it in combination with a Master's of Arts-Bioethics or Biology. I would love to be able to work for a hospital like Boston Children's in their Government Relations department. 

Every year I set new goals for the year. This past year I have been able to increase my physical strength and overall fitness. I am continuing on my goal to lose weight, but am pleased with increased muscle tone and look forward to slimming down in 2013! This year will bring many surgeries, but I have a great team and will be able to go in as strong as I can and hopefully that will help with the recovery process. This year I also plan on taking my work with Advocare, a nutrition & performance supplement company, and gaining some momentum and income. I want to be successful and have the ability with self-employment to maintain an income while undergoing surgeries and recoveries. Please check out my site: /www.advocare.com/121020640

I know 2013 will bring many challenges and its fair share of ups and downs, but hopefully more ups than downs! I will have a neice come June and my older brother will complete his first overseas deployment this year with the 10th Mtn. My current apartment lease ends in April and I have been looking at new places downtown and in the Carmel/Fishers area of Indy. I plan on continuing my involvement with patient advocacy. I look forward to starting a graduate degree, but I know with surgeries and recoveries that there will be many challenges. I have to come to realize that surgery will be part of my life because I have EDS, but I also need to be able to live my life. 

Wishing everyone a Happy & Healthy New Year!

Personal Mission Statement

I will live each day striving to be closer to God.

I will live each day with courage and a belief in myself and others.

I will build healthy, loving relationships within my family, friends and those around me.

I will live by the values of integrity, freedom of choice and a love for all people. 

I will strive to keep commitments not only to others but also to myself.

I will remember that to truly live, I must climb the mountain today, for tomorrow may be too late.

I will act in a manner that brings out the best in me and those important to me. 

I will be renewed by my own personal victories and triumphs.

I will continue to make choices and live with them.

I will not make excuses and blame others. 

I will, for as long as possible, keep my mind and body healthy and strong.

I will help others the best I can, and will thank those who help me along the way

Merry Christmas to All!!!

I am pleased to announce that I will be an aunt to a baby girl, Eloise LaVonne, June 2013!!!

My older brother, Michael, and his wife, Danelle, are expecting their first child June 3rd, 2013. This will be the first great-grandchild, grandchild, etc., for both her sides and our sides of the family, so needless to say this will be a very spoiled baby! My older brother is an active-duty Army Chaplain at Ft. Drum (Upstate NY) with the 10th Mountain Division (1-87th). Danelle is a photgrapher. They will be amazing, loving parents! I am so excited for them and for the family to welcome a baby girl! Congratulations Michael & Danelle! Merry Christmas! 

Our family had Christmas early. We did the exchanging of gifts, dinner, treats, etc., this past weekend. Michael and Danelle drove out so they would be able to see her family and ours. They spent the weekend with us and headed back up to Chicago to spend Christmas with her family prior to heading back to NY early on the 26th. Michael will be deploying soon so his schedule is tightly packed, but they wanted to see everyone prior to him leaving. I ate way too much food, too many cookies, but had a good time with my family. I have always enjoyed being able to spend time with family, laugh, share pictures and watch a movie (typically with commentary from my brothers). 

Although this week we celebrate Christmas, I have an MRI-arthrogram for my left shoulder, PT sessions and a follow-up with my ortho surgeon. My left shoulder has been increasingly more unstable and painful despite months of PT. My shoulder is stronger than what it was, but has not improved in regards to pain/stability and has added nerve issues to the mix. I have not had an MRI on my shoulder yet and my doc thinks I have more damage than originally thought. Although I have instability, he believes that I have labral tears and possibly other issues that will need to be surgically addressed. My shoulder is at a point where it just can not compensate anymore. I will also be getting an injection of cortisone/analgesics to help with pain/inflammation in my shoulder, since we will already be doing an arthrogram. I will find out my results on Friday when I see my ortho and we will discuss more details at that time. 

I will be having my left hip scoped locally by Maiers to address numerous issues. Although neither Millis or Maiers are confident that the scope will offer enough relief, I have numerous issues that need to be addressed that not just one surgery will be able to address. I have dysplasia, femoral retroversion, anterior & posterior labral tears, residual cam lesion, bursitis and capsular damage. We are planning on the scope first, then the femoral osteotomy. Typically, the scope is outpatient, but I will be staying overnight due to known issues and additional repairs. I will also be wearing a post-op brace to help with stability because I am overly flexible. 

We are hoping the added precautions will help with the recovery and maintain the repairs till the additional underlying issues can be addressed by Millis during an open surgery later this spring. It looks like 2013 will start out with a couple surgeries! 

I hope that everyone is able to spend this Christmas with the ones they love and care about and a Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night! 

The Journey Continues...

 Another year is coming to a close, while at the same time I am gearing up for what I know will be a challenging 2013. Here is an update of my last few months and some future plans in the works...

 I am 8 months post-op from my right trochanteric transfer/revision and hardware removal. I saw Millis at the end of October for a 6 month post-op as well as diagnostics of my left hip. My right hip has been better than it has been years and Millis was so greatly impressed. He told me that he did not think the right coming back to this level was even possible. I do have residual pincer impingement, excess bone growth on the iliac crest and hardware remains in the femur. That will be dealt with during the left femoral osteotomy at this point or on its own at a later date.

 As for the left, it had been put off until the right was stable enough. Three years later, we are now investigating the left. I have had a scope on the left, but nearly three years ago. The left hip has a labral tear, cam impingement, bursitis, mild dysplasia and femoral retroversion. As of right now, the scope to address the labral tear, cam lesion and bursitis is scheduled for Jan. 22nd, 2013. The idea is that because the left femoral torsion and dysplasia are not as bad as the right that the scope may be enough. However, both Millis and Maiers were not convinced that the scope would be enough and the likelihood that it will require a FO is highly probable. Although I do not like the idea of another 2-3 hip surgeries, I know that Millis would not steer me wrong. I can also see that even though the chance is small that a scope will be enough, that Millis would not want to put me through the pain of an FO if not at all necessary, especially because of all the prior surgeries. Whatever Yoda wants, I will do :)

 During the most recent trip to Boston, my best friend, Jessica Nelson, was able to be my travel buddy. We had such a blast! She was able to experience a little of what I deal with and even met the doc himself. We toured the city, shopped, spent Halloween in Salem, visited a hip sister of mine and even experienced Hurricane Sandy! We had such blast!!!

 I began working for a company, Advocare, that is a direct-sales, health company. Advocare is a world-class nutrition company specializing in health and wellness, weight management, vibrant energy and sports performance. I was approached by an Army doc from my former unit because he thought I would benefit from a particular product already knowing my medical history. I started using the energy drink, Spark, and couldn't believe how much better I felt. I continued to use the products and saw improvement in my PT. My dad started using products and has lost 26lbs in a little over a month! I felt so much better using the products, so I took the step to be a part of the company. I have a great team of people teaching me the business aspect of the company and encouraging me every step of the way!

 http://www.advocare.com/121020640

 Advocare will allow me to be able to work despite surgeries and constant appointments, etc. It will also allow for financial growth and stability that a traditional job would not be able to offer.


 Other Updates:

*Shoulder-Although my shoulder strength has increased, I have not gotten a lot of relief in regards to inflammation and pain. I am also developing nerve symptoms in a couple of my fingers.

*Hips-Left scope is scheduled and plans for further surgeries are in the works.

*Jaw- I have had TMJ issues for many years, but has been incredibly painful since having a root canal this past July. I actually have a displaced disc on my left side that helps cushion the joint. When opening my mouth, my jaw shifts down and out to the side prior to opening fully. My jaw will move in and out of place and has locked while closed. Traditional, non-surgical options are no longer working and surgical options are being considered for the upcoming year.

*RSD/CRPS- My right leg has been worsening. I had a spinal injection for low back issues, but resulted in a spinal headache. A sympathetic block typically brings relief, but was not successful this last go around. We will now be looking into other treatment options, probably in conjunction with a hip surgery.

*EDS- I am scheduled for the EDS Clinic at Cincinnati Children's Hospital end of January, but am reconsidering to just combine an EDS appointment with hip surgery at Boston Children's. I would like to have a place a little closer to home in regards to continued, specialized care for the EDS. It was also depend on hip surgery, recovery and what complications may arise.

I am looking at graduate programs focused around health law, patient advocacy, etc., for the fall of next year. I am also hoping to find a new apartment when my current lease is finished. Another crazy year is about to begin!