About Me
Hey y'all! My name is Kathryn, and I live with my husband in the Upstate of South Carolina. I am just a few weeks shy of turning 33 years old, and I am fresh out of labral tear repair surgery. Before my surgery, I searched profusely online seeking information about what to expect through surgery and recovery. I was surprised to find there wasn't a whole lot out there, and it seemed what was out there was rather scary. I decided to start this blog to hopefully help someone else out there who is about to have the same surgery. Of course, this was my own personal experience, and everyone's body recovers in different ways and at different rates. Also, I thought I should throw it out there that I am definitely not a doctor of any sort, and everything I will share with you is from my own experience. I currently work as a Title One Instructional Facilitator in an elementary school, and I have spent the past ten years of my career as a teacher and literacy coach. In our free time, my husband and I enjoy being outdoors, hiking, running, chasing sunsets, and going on random adventures. I hope what you find here is encouraging, as I will share my honest experiences with you. Thanks for coming along and reading this blog. Take care.
 |
| Josh & me at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC enjoying a concert on the terrace |
 |
| Checking out the Frontier Days rodeo in WY on one of our trips out West |
A Little Background
I'd like to give you a little bit of my background, which ultimately led to my arthroscopic hip surgery on my right hip. On June 30, 2020, I had surgery to repair my torn labrum and shave my hip bone to restructure my ball & socket to prevent future pinching. This surgery has been a long time coming, as I first discovered my torn labrum and Femoroacetabular Impingement (FAI) in 2014 while training for my first half marathon. I began having sharp pains in my hip, to the point where I could barely walk, so I saw my doctor. Like others who have been down this journey, my doctor originally thought it may simply be bursitis of the hip and treated it accordingly. When there was no relief, she referred me to an orthopedic doctor, who immediately ordered a MRI. The results were clear- I had a torn labrum in my right hip. My orthopedic doctor explained to me that the retroversion of my hips made it very easy for my labrum to become torn over time. After dancing my whole life and my recent developed passion for running, my labrum had become worn down due to pinching until it was torn. There was no traumatic injury that caused this tear. We decided to treat the tear conservatively, and I received a steroid injection in the hip. Surprisingly, I received a lot of relief from this one injection, and I was able to run ten half marathons, climb a 14er summit in Colorado, and go on countless hikes in the mountains of SC and NC without any issue until about nine months ago, when Josh and I ventured into the Great Smokey Mountains for a road race put on by Vacation Races (Side note- if you are a runner and have not done any of the races put on by Vacation Races at the various national parks, you should really check it out. They put on a great production).
Josh & I registered for the Black Bear Double, which was a 5K the evening before the half marathon, totaling 16.2 miles. Much to our dismay, most of the 5K course was in a grassy field, and I was terrified the whole time that one of us would end up with a severely sprained ankle. The half marathon the next day was a blast, but by the last three miles, it had quickly warmed up, and it was some kind of humid. I had read that the course was rather hilly, and I definitely found that to be true. I enjoyed the hills, as I viewed them as a challenge that I wasn't used to. It was by far the most difficult course I had run before. In addition to that, many of the roads were pitched, so that took a toll on my joints as well not running on even ground. Following the race, we were both sore, but we went to Clingman's Dome (not knowing it was an uphill hike), and completed that as well to gain the awesome views of the mountains. Later that evening, we went to a concert at Harrah's Casino in Cherokee. Josh took a video of me walking, and I was visibly dragging my right leg instead of picking it up...I hadn't even noticed. I just knew I was sore from 16.2 miles + a hike. That seemed pretty normal to me. The week following the race, I was in a lot of pain and discomfort, with my most obnoxious symptom being a deep burning feeling in the hip joint. I tried it all- ibuprofen, foam rolling, Tiger Balm, Epsom salt baths, & most importantly, rest. I decided rest was the thing I needed most, and I should take a break from running to allow my hip to heal.
Except it didn't heal. We had about two months until our next road race. It was one of the Hot Chocolate series races in Kansas City, MO. My brother had given me registration to the 15K (9.3 miles) as a birthday gift, and he and my husband were going to run the 5K. It was a family event, as my parents are temporarily living in Kansas City. I was anxious to see how the run was going to do, considering I hadn't run more than a mile at a time since the half marathon in Tennessee. The race started out alright- I was running a good pace, and I was thinking I could make it happen. Around a mile and a half in, I started noticing some dull pain in my right hip, and before I could make it to mile three, I was in excruciating pain. I had six miles ahead of me, so I decided to take a run-walk interval approach- run 30 seconds, walk a minute. Very quickly it became apparent to me that I couldn't even make it 30 seconds without stopping because of the extreme pain. I considered dropping out and taking a DNF countless times, but I really wanted that chocolate bar medal. Luckily, my family met me at several places on the course to encourage me and cheer me on. The bottom line is- I dragged my right leg in agony for 6 miles, but I finished. That is when is really sank in that I had a serious problem that needed addressing.
 |
| Enjoying the Half |
 |
| Happy @ the Finish Line |
Josh & I registered for the Black Bear Double, which was a 5K the evening before the half marathon, totaling 16.2 miles. Much to our dismay, most of the 5K course was in a grassy field, and I was terrified the whole time that one of us would end up with a severely sprained ankle. The half marathon the next day was a blast, but by the last three miles, it had quickly warmed up, and it was some kind of humid. I had read that the course was rather hilly, and I definitely found that to be true. I enjoyed the hills, as I viewed them as a challenge that I wasn't used to. It was by far the most difficult course I had run before. In addition to that, many of the roads were pitched, so that took a toll on my joints as well not running on even ground. Following the race, we were both sore, but we went to Clingman's Dome (not knowing it was an uphill hike), and completed that as well to gain the awesome views of the mountains. Later that evening, we went to a concert at Harrah's Casino in Cherokee. Josh took a video of me walking, and I was visibly dragging my right leg instead of picking it up...I hadn't even noticed. I just knew I was sore from 16.2 miles + a hike. That seemed pretty normal to me. The week following the race, I was in a lot of pain and discomfort, with my most obnoxious symptom being a deep burning feeling in the hip joint. I tried it all- ibuprofen, foam rolling, Tiger Balm, Epsom salt baths, & most importantly, rest. I decided rest was the thing I needed most, and I should take a break from running to allow my hip to heal.
Except it didn't heal. We had about two months until our next road race. It was one of the Hot Chocolate series races in Kansas City, MO. My brother had given me registration to the 15K (9.3 miles) as a birthday gift, and he and my husband were going to run the 5K. It was a family event, as my parents are temporarily living in Kansas City. I was anxious to see how the run was going to do, considering I hadn't run more than a mile at a time since the half marathon in Tennessee. The race started out alright- I was running a good pace, and I was thinking I could make it happen. Around a mile and a half in, I started noticing some dull pain in my right hip, and before I could make it to mile three, I was in excruciating pain. I had six miles ahead of me, so I decided to take a run-walk interval approach- run 30 seconds, walk a minute. Very quickly it became apparent to me that I couldn't even make it 30 seconds without stopping because of the extreme pain. I considered dropping out and taking a DNF countless times, but I really wanted that chocolate bar medal. Luckily, my family met me at several places on the course to encourage me and cheer me on. The bottom line is- I dragged my right leg in agony for 6 miles, but I finished. That is when is really sank in that I had a serious problem that needed addressing.
 |
| Notice the right leg stuck out...that's due to extreme pain |
No comments:
Post a Comment