As difficult as it all is, being diagnosed with a debilitating condition and undergoing more than one major surgery and recovery, there are some positives that really need to be celebrated.
Self-discipline
Firstly, having major surgery requires A LOT of rehab post-op, to get you back to the functioning level you were before - or in the case of a hippie, back to a functioning level you may not have been at for many years. After my first PAO, I found that really I had no choice, the only way to get better was to do my physio, 2 or 3 times every day. Some days it was really hard. Life becomes very small when your recooperating, and often very boring. Sometimes I would do my rehab half-heartedly, sometimes more energetically. But I knew that the only way out of the boredom and lack of mobility was to do it. That meant doing rehab first thing in the mornings, in the middle of the day and for up to half an hour or an hour before bed - even if I had managed to get out and see people in the evening, whilst they were going to bed I would be doing clams and bridging and work on my glutes. This all taught me a lot of self-discipline.
Patience
The long hours and days spent sitting around growing a new ilium at the beginning of the recovery were tedious and lonely. People weren't always able to visit 24/7, so I learnt how to be content in my own company and I learned the valuable lesson that some things just take time and aren't going to happen immediately.
Problem solving
If you've ever been alone in the house, spilt a large amount of milk all over the kitchen floor and had to mop it up whilst being on crutches you will understand what I'm talking about!
Motivation
One thing this experience taught me was just how motivated I really am when the rubber hits the road. My goal was to run in the Manchester 10k exactly one year after my op. In the end I wasn't able to and walked the whole thing, which was still a massive achievement (this gives you some indication as to how long the rehab takes). The point I'm making is, I knew the only way to get better and regain my independence was to plug on with my rehab, therefore this is what I did.
Logistics
This experience gave me a flavour of the logistics behind getting from A to B when your mobility is hampered. At one point in my recovery I really wanted to get to my local pool to get on with some more hydrotherapy exercises. It took quite a bit of forward planning and I was a bit nervous at first as I couldn't find anyone to accompany me, but I called the pool in advance to find their quietest times, got myself to the bus and managed to hobble into the pool. It was things like this that make me ever more understanding of the barriers present when mobility is difficult, it's made me a bit more understanding of patients I encounter in similar circumstances when I've been on placement, and I belief this will make me a better physio.
Confidence
Lastly, I would add that after overcoming and persevering through it all, I felt like I could do anything (and I'm not just talking about that first day or two after surgery when you're full of drugs). Weirdly it seemed to give me a new confidence in myself . I don't think I would have dared attempt a physio degree before this surgery. I don't have a massive problem with public speaking anymore, I've taken myself off to other parts of the world as I want to experience as much of life as I can. I am very grateful that I am a stronger and better person for this.
