4 Months Post Regenexx Procedure – it's just a bad day, not a bad life!

Writing this post, I definitely tear up. I can’t believe I’m actually saying what I’m about to tell you….

Let’s back up,

June 2012 I flew back from Chattanooga, TN thinking that I’d be spending 3-4 weeks not traveling. I was taking a week off to have surgery and then I was going to work from home til I was able to travel again. (Read more about the beginning of my disability leave here!) Well, surgery complications wrecks those plans, but it was then that the crutches came out. I hadn’t been able to walk correctly for months. My hip pain started in Feb 2012, by April it had moved to my knee and ankle and by May I couldn’t bend or straighten my leg completely. I could hardly walk, let alone truck it through the Atlanta airport every week like I was doing. Ugh, I cringe when I think about that

So the lovely ‘few days on crutches’ that I anticipated turned into a few weeks. I did get to get off of them for a little bit, but by end August my knee was acting up again. Had to bring the crutches back out for a second surgery in September 2012 and then everything just started to go down hill. (Read up here!)

I used them off and on, but since December 1st, 2012 I’ve used them everyday. Like in this blog post I wrote, “Little did I know that when I had pulled out my crutches that morning I wouldn’t be putting them away for a long, long time.” From December 2012 until the summer of 2013, I couldn’t put any wait on my leg. Talk about exhausting, not to mention all the extra weight I gained since I couldn’t do much but lay in bed and eat ice cream. (Because, clearly, the ice cream was medicinal. Haha 😂)

Summer 2013 I was allowed to start to put a little weight on my leg, but I still used the crutches religiously for another year and a half. It wasn’t until May 2015 that I was able to start weening off and started to use only one crutch. And that brings me to Regenexx.

I won’t know for another few months what the inside of my knee looks like, but my 4th post procedure month has been full of ‘first in a long time’ events that at this point I don’t even care if they say my bone hasn’t changed at all. (Which, there’s no way that could be the case. But just saying)

I want to relive a few of those moments now because they were really impactful for me.

1. I walked into the ocean unassisted.

In July my family and I went on a vacation to Florida. We spent half the week in Miami, Fl and the other half in Captiva Island, Florida. I used my crutch to walk around, to get down to the beach, and for everything else, but when I would walk from our chairs into the ocean I wouldn’t use it! This was SO huge for me. It’s already difficult to walk on sand, so it definitely was a challenge. By the end of the week, I was walking in and out of the ocean like a pro! The first two days it was a little sore, but by the end of the week it didn’t feel any different from normal.

2. Walking up stairs isn’t a second thought anymore

So, for a long time I didn’t leave my basement because going up the stairs was extremely difficult. Then, they became easier and I’d do them daily, but I’d have to take my time. By 3 months post Regenexx, I could walk up the steps without holding on the railing and my crutch. And now, it’s not uncommon for me to walk up the steps from the basement to the first floor and immediately walk up the second staircase to the top floor. The other day I walked up the steps, went into my brother’s room and sat on his bed. No crutch. He looked at me and yelled ‘Holy Shit!’ It’s something I haven’t done in years!

3. I went a whole day without using my crutch!!!!!!!!!!!

And it wasn’t a day where I just sat around doing nothing. July 31st, 2015 I went to water therapy and I went to the grocery store!! This may not seem like a lot, but it was a lot for me to do crutchless! Since then, I haven’t been using my crutch as much. Over August 1 and 2nd, I had yoga teacher training all day and then I went to a concert. I did use my crutch when I went to the concert because I walked a ton, but I even stood for half of the show and danced
a little bit! I anticipated the next day being in a lot of pain and not being able to move, but guess what! My body and muscles were sore from yoga, but my knee felt perfectly fine!

July 2015 was such a HUGE HUGE HUGE month for me. Seriously, the changes that have occurred have been profound. I try not to get super emotional about it, but I’m so freaking grateful I can’t even express it. I’m truly getting my life back and I couldn’t be happier!

I told you last update that I haven’t been taking pain killers, but I have them on hand for if I’m having a really bad day. I took a pain-killer the first day at the beach that I was walking…. And maybe one other time during the whole month! It’s just so amazing to me.

Honestly, if you could see me right now I have a big freaking grin on my face!!!!!!

Ohhhh and one other thing….

I’d like to add how amazing Dr. Pitts has been through this whole process. He’s very accessible through email – you get a response within a day, usually within a few hours. The following example shows you exactly what kind of doctor he is…

My physical therapist sent my progress back to the Centeno Schultz clinic and had written that I was off crutches. Within a day of getting the progress report, Dr. Pitts emailed me to congratulate me on the great news and to offer some advice!

I’ve seen MANY MANY MANY doctors before and NONE of them have been like that. NONE. So far, this experience has been amazing 🙂

Continue reading – check out my 5 month update.

Wishing You A Pain Free Day!