The Last Two Miles of Recovery

Can you believe that as of a couple weeks ago, this injury began two years ago? It’s weird just thinking about it. Just a few weeks ago, I wondered if I was weeks, months, or maybe even years away from the end of this thing. The breakthrough came when I was walking around the streets of Manhattan, of all places. A few weeks later and the end of this journey is almost within sight.

I’ve learned not to blog about every single little healing point, because sometimes they can be fleeting or temporary. Before getting carried away and telling the world, I want to hear from someone smarter than myself. I heard that news today.

Just to backtrack, we discovered not too long ago that the majority of the setbacks were scar tissue related. Prednisone wiped them away temporarily, and then they came right back. Walking around New York helped too. The smoking gun was found when I had an injection into my pelvis. I was fortunate to work with my favorite radiologist, who I have seen an unbelievable three times. As he was performing the injection, he took an x-ray and used an ultrasound tool to see inside my hip joint. There it was, clear as day, a bright, think white line that enveloped my hip joint from end to end.

It was scar tissue alright, but it wasn’t the end of the world. The problems I had been dealing with were a result of tendons passing over the scar tissue and getting caught. That would result in inflammation and felt oddly similar to how things felt before surgery. It was a different form of hip popping syndrome, only this time it was not due to a torn labrum. I found myself recalling the philosophy from True Detective — “Time is a flat circle.” The line barely made sense when I watched the show, but it made perfect sense when I was getting that last injection.

For the first few days, the hip hurt. That was nothing to worry about. It was supposed to hurt. Then it would get a little better day by day. Sure, there were a couple bad days, and there will probably be a couple more, but the momentum was in the right direction.

Today I saw my doctor again. The good news is this scar tissue is manageable. It will never truly go away. My body will just adapt to it, and will re-build itself to accommodate it. It will probably give me a little bit of trouble in the future, but nothing like what I’ve dealt with over the last two years.

What is important is that I continue with regular, light activity. Walking works, as I’ve already found, and I can burn a few calories while I’m at it. For the next couple months, I’ll be doing a lot of walking, and maybe a little bit in the gym. That’ll break up the scar tissue and get my body to start getting used to it.

I decided to stay off the bike for a little while longer. I know I could ride right now. In fact, I would absolutely love to ride. There’s a chance that it would be no problem. The issue with me and riding is that I have only one speed. When I get on the bike, I want a workout. Rather than risk going too hard and setting myself back again, I’m going to slow it down. Now that we’re almost to September, the year is pretty much done anyway. I’ll give myself a little more healing time, and hopefully during the offseason I can gradually transition back. What’s important is that I remain patient and don’t push myself.

My doctor said he absolutely, positively expects me to get back to endurance sports again. The question is when. That depends on my body. Probably the earliest would be by the end of the year, and the latest next spring. All that matters is that I’ll be back.

Don’t go anywhere, mountains. We’ll meet again soon.