Celebrations and Frustrations

 I'll start with the celebrations - tomorrow marks 1 year since my last chemo!  Woot woot yeah!  It kinda snuck up on me this week, but how could I ever forget.  I used to have all the dates of each specialist I saw in my head, but they are slowly disappearing from my memories.  I remember my 

• biopsy date
• diagnosis date
• surgery date
• 1st chemo and radiation treatment dates
• port surgery date
• last chemo and radiation treatment dates

It's amazing what our mind can remember and forget.  I am so thankful for the fuzzy memory on some of those appointments, especially the colorectal surgeon appointments and procedures! I'm still in shock sometimes about the whole diagnosis and process of being a cancer patient, I just couldn't fathom that I would end up with cancer.

Now for the frustrations.  I have been dealing with pain in my left hip joint since around the time I was diagnosed with cancer (Sept 2023). Before I started chemo on 12/27/23, I saw ortho to get it checked.  I had multiple x-rays taken at the ortho office and was told that I had a small amount of arthritis in the joint and had a good bit of space left where it's supposed to be.  They ordered an injection under fluoroscope, and that ended up happening around my 3 or 4th chemo treatment. By this point, my hip wasn't even hurting any more, but I went ahead with the injection just in case the pain came back.  I later realized that I'd been getting steroids each week with my chemo infusion, and that likely helped with the pain prior to the injection.

I visited ortho about every 2 months, got a joint shot in the office, got another 1 or 2 under the fluoroscope, and by late October, I could hardly walk. Back to the ortho on Oct.21.  New x-rays.  Same as the original ones, some arthritis, and adequate space in the joint.  The surgeon even said that it honestly didn't look like I needed a hip replacement, but if I was in that much pain, he could do it if that's what I wanted.  I did NOT want surgery and was hoping maybe it was the hip flexors or even my back.  

Also in October, I had just joined the gym and was starting to exercise.  I had one session with each of 2 personal trainers and informed them both of my hip issue.  They were both very thoughtful regarding my hip, and worked with me to find exercises that I could do.  I found that there wasn't a lot I could tolerate with the left hip, and I couldn't even lay flat on the floor and lift my foot off the floor with the left leg.  

Fast forward to November 15 - that night I was in the most pain I had experienced so far, to the point of tears (I kept this to myself so no one else knew).  My mother had come to visit and we had plans to go shopping the next day.  Those trips usually entailed Belk, Ollie's, Sweet Peas, Kroger, and any other place we had in mind.  We had breakfast, went to Sweet Peas, Kroger where I rode an electric wheelchair, and home.  The shortest shopping trip we've ever had!  LOL  

The pain had been tolerable that shopping day, but I knew I wouldn't have been able to stay out any longer. I kept the pain under control with Aleve and ibuprofen, and the heating pad.  The next day, the pain was screaming at me again, and while I so wanted to wait to go to the emergency room until my mom left for her home, I just couldn't do it.  She was getting ready to leave, and I had to have Brian take me to the hospital.

Because I was aware that I was a hip replacement candidate, the hospital didn't take any new x-rays since I had not fallen or had any type of injury recently.  They did give me a shot of Dilaudid, and that took the pain from a 10 down to about a 4.  Shortest ED trip I've ever had!

I started seeing a chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic.  The first provider said the pain was most likely caused from really tight hip flexors, so she worked on my hips and gave me some suggestions for things to do at home to help.  Another one said it was a SI joint in the pelvis.  Some visits I would get relief and have little to no pain after, and even though I was doing the home things, I was getting worse, not better.  Right after Thanksgiving, I started to use a cane to walk.

I saw ortho again 12/30/24 and requested the hip injections.  They didn't do any new x-rays, since the ones in October were recent.  I did have a CT that morning for my routine cancer scans, and per the radiology report, it appeared that I had fluid in the joint, a new "lesion" of 3.5cm, with both of those pointing to bursitis.  Based on that, the physician assistant and I agreed to do an injection in the hip and another in the bursa, have one done under fluoroscope in mid-March (due to pre-planned and paid for cruise with my mother at the end of March), and we'd schedule the hip replacement in May or June, to allow for the steroids in the joint to dissipate.  

After a week, the injections in the hip did not appear to be providing any relief whatsoever (the last one I had in the office took about a week to provide relief).  I decided to get a 2nd opinion at another ortho practice, and the results were devastating.  My left hip had degenerated significantly between October 21 and this appointment (January 13) - in my untrained eyes, it appears that maybe up to 1/4th of the femoral head (ball in the joint) is just gone, the cup that it fits in is no longer smooth and rounded, it's jagged, and there is ZERO space in the joint.  If I shift my hip and leg around, my hip clicks and pops from the bones rubbing against each other (surprisingly that doesn't hurt).  I'm scheduled for the hip replacement on 4/09 (having to wait because of the injections, and also due to the cruise with my mom - I'll be renting an electric scooter for that trip).    

About a week after the 2nd opinion, I started using a walker.  The cane was causing me to put too much pressure on my arm, causing pain and stiffness in my wrist and elbow, and I feel a lot more stable with the walker.  It feels sort of weird, using a walker to get around, but I honestly would not be able to walk without it.  I'm having frequent pity parties - I can only sleep on my right side with a pillow between my knees, with my knees bent, and the last 2 weeks or so I've been waking up between 2am and 5am, with my hip and thigh aching. I end up going to the couch with the heating pad or ice packs and try to sleep until my normal wakeup time, unless it's 5am or later, then I just get my morning coffee and turn on the tv.  

Any positive energy you could send my way would be greatly appreciated, whether it's prayers, mojo, juju, spirit, whatever you got that's positive.  Thanks!