☽ Foodboheme ☾: June 2013

Bundled up & repaired labrum joint cushioning... LOLO
Im held together by rope & anchors :p

B4 & After Surgery inside the hip Joint, showing work done & severity of 2 of the major things fixed as well as they can be. Please note fixing is one thing, but restoring previous strength in balance & ranges of movement is another. The latter frustrates you & is so time consuming. One of the most frustrating things I've come across is limitations of multiple injuries. Ie I should use the cross trainer to assist the labrum cushioning to strengthen but I cant because my knee still feels like its going to blow out (it was still bruised through/tib fib from the impact of the vehicle side on according to MRI done 12 months later) I want to do bridges or tush pushes but its excruciating on the hit knee, so I'm limited to 1 movement to strengthen glutes. Albeit I still don't perform this movement well for I still don't have the range or strength to hold my hips square.
Please note if your injuries are fixed straight away, you wont have to deal with the amount of difficulties I have. I was hit in March, I didn't get MRIs until July for I was told it was all in my head (they said the pain I was feeling shouldn't be there & gave me drugs for complex regional pain syndrome - basically totally misdiagnosed) It wasn't until late November (9 months later) that the fragmented (fractured pelvic acetabulum rim) & other hip injuries was fixed. I spent a total of 11 to 12 months straight on crutches, instead of what should of been gradual assistance weaned of over 12 weeks post surgery. I was released from hospital the next night to a deemed unsafe apartment (deemed by independent physical therapist) with no qualified nurse or stay in carer. I continued to bleed out through op sights for 6 weeks & was left to change my own stitches & dressings. Also, the swellings through my skull & facial muscle pain was only diagnosed recently as whiplash at C1 & C2. Whiplash needs to be treated straight away or it becomes long term.

The reasons why I didn't get the surgery sooner? The TAC (Transport Authority which insures our roads & collects vehicle registration revenue) wouldn't let me have the surgery sooner. I had to fight daily, on my own in a foreign country to birth, stuck here away from family & sisters who are on the other side of the world. I had to email, call etc. Its the hardest thing to do when your dizzy & struggling with balance to then concentrate to articulate appropriate conversion with those in power above you trying to deny or get out of responsibility for what of using the facility they provide (roads) has cost you. I still fight now, for ongoing health care. I'm sooo hoping this changes for I've finally got a new case manager. 15 months post collusion I'm completely, utterly mentally & emotionally spent, I really don't know how much more my body & mind can take.

"Just because I look okay or better than normal it dosnt mean Im not suffering... physically & mentally. It may not look it but I'm fighting for my life." NRC

So, here's the pictorial on 2 things addressed in surgery (The labrum & ligamentum teres) At the end of this pictorial I will list my pre-collusion activities & daily work which I need to work hard to get back So without further a due lets Start off with the torn ligamentum teres....

The ligamentum teres holds your thigh bone centred in the hip joint capsule, mine was torn nearly completely off being, here all the surgeon can do, he cannot re-attached the torn of ligament. Just tidy & debrid it to stabilize what is left.

Close up action, the left side is completely torn off & frayed. This is where the taxi driver connected to my body when he rammed me side on, as well as connecting with the side of the knee/tib/fib.

I'm left with only 25% of this ligament. This ligament helps & is critical balance which is making rehab of the labrum work alone longer than usual & more complex. A dancer (as most of you know from Adelaide days "Dance was a great part of my life" working for Vicarp productions, multiple venues & styles, along with teaching contemporary at penbroke & seymores. As a former dancer who danced for fun & to train - going through this loss of ligament is heart renching. I believe I will get my pre collusion abilities back but the time it will take will be long. Great caution is always adhered for if I tear that remaining 25% I'm literally f'd :- As a yoga & pilates instructor everything I teach is limited by this ligaments health alone. But Im pushing on, Im aiming to be able to sit with my legs crossed by this October (like school kids do) & to be able to stand with my hips balanced square within the plumb line.
Now for the next big surgical fix...... The Labrum tear

The labrum cushions the thigh bone pivot joint is attached to the superior aspect (furthest away from midline) it should look like a horseshoe or C curve (AS you see mine look like tattered cotton wool)

The tattered labrum being anchored & roped

The labrum is roped into the shape it should of been in. Without this tissue every step or movement you make is bone on bone, hence why this totally killed. An arm you can put in a sling a weight bearing joint like this hurts bad, with the smallest of movement or none, even with crutches

Things I did before the road attack that I'm working on or yet to work on to get back, Working/sporting career, Health & happiness;

Run my business with personal training/coaching/class instruction & by example

Personal training demonstration of all movements (There's over 760 versions of a crunch but I can only do demonstrate 1 as an example, I need all function back to gain new clients & train up staff)

Fuerza classes (To attain new corporate business I need to be able to demonstrate all pilates yoga & sports core/stretching movements in the Fuerzapro classes. I have held onto 1 corporate client through this trying time for they'd been instructed for 1 year prior to the collusion the same classes & can get away from me being able to physically demonstrate)

Body build (Its been 15 months since I've been able to build heavy lifting my muscles & still have a fair way to go yet. How I look now is I guess my damaged/mis/disused state which looks normal to most but is a far cry from what I achieved post collusion. I refuse to be punished & accept this as my long term physical state. I worked hard before the collusion for my aesthetically pleasing body & I'm not fully recovered until I have that back.

Ballet contemp/classical, Hip hop/Funk, Flamenco/Latin (Even though I wasn't working as a dancer any-more I still danced & prepared to fully connect with my body & translate an ever evolving interpretation to movement - invaluable to benefits transitioned to my coaching of even a bicep curl at work)

Yoga Iyengar - Basic movements till to attain include Sitting legs crossed (happy pose) , on heels (hero pose)

Roller blading

Horse riding/equestrian

Tennis/pennant

Martial arts & pistol shooting for mental strength & coping

I cycled daily over 40 ks total in commute, instead of driving (don't hold a licence) but I don't feel safe on the road & it will take justice served for me to be able to feel safe on a Victorian road again. I also have had a horrible experience with the TAC over the past 15 months thus far & wish never to deal with them again, I just cant. I'm 37 & was hit at 36. By the time I get my life back save my business fully, Ill most likely be late in my 38th year & legally who knows. I don't feel safe trusting the Tac's action should something happen to me on the road again, so in all logic at this point I will never drive any vehicle or bike on a Victorian road again. 2 years & permanent loss is enough don't you think?

When I wasn't on 2 wheels I walked everywhere non stop but am struggling still beyond 15 minutes

Rock climbing just for fun but now I really want to climb with my Uncle Ron when I see him again (Its been 25 years since I've seen him - was torn from family at a young age then estranged/lost)

"There's nothing I can do as I did before I was attacked,
but I'm working on it daily"

My uncle Ronnie (In Gibraltar) in action hanging on a cliff face in Gibraltar

My amazing younger sister Rosy (In Gibraltar) who I only found early last year, we've spoken but I'm yet to meet her...

My other little sister Sandra (In Gibraltar) who I only found early last year also, we've spoken but I'm yet to meet her...

I'm an Aunty (Rosy's baby Daniella) cannot wait to meet her (In Gibraltar)

I have sooo many beautiful cousins who I long to meet.... I will post them up next time. I cannot wait to hang with them in Gib, it hurts to talk to family that you cant hold onto or lean for they're so far away....

Thank you all XxX for sharing with me & I hope insight to my journey/times has helped in understanding