Thank God!

For those of you who have been following my long, drawn out hip saga, I am happy to report that the end is in sight!
For the last 2 years I have been plagued with chronic pain in my right hip. Some days it is excruciating and I cannot walk, other days it is mild. I have been unable to exercise for two years. The pain has severely limited the quality of time and play I have with the kids. I have missed tons of work. I have seen doctors from UCLA to Stanford, from orthopaedists and neurologists to rheumatologists. I have had multiple MRIs, X Rays, blood work and two rounds of physical therapy. I have had 4 extremely painful cortisone injections and been on 5 different anti inflammatory drugs. And all of this was to no avail. Until now!
Our friend and neighbor, Katelyn, mentioned that her brother is an ortho working in Santa Monica. She told him my story and he agreed to see me (no charge because his office does not accept my insurance). I checked out his bio on the practice's website and saw that he specializes in disorders of the hip and groin. Hooray!!! I immediately had hope that he would be able to diagnose treat my hip.
And he did just that. According to him, I have a hip impingement, which basically means the ball and socket of my hip joint are malformed and are causing the pain. He said this is something I was born with. The surgery to correct it is called a hip athroscopy and can be done on an outpatient basis. I should only miss a week of work and will be back to my old self in about 6 months!!
I cannot begin to convey how thankful I am for this diagnosis and treatment option. I am so excited to get my body back that I am even anxious to get a gym membership and work out!! Something I normally despise.

I am hoping to get the surgery done in the next month or two, I will keep you updated on the progress of that!!

In other news, Bella was not able to be in the photo shoot after all. We were told they were postponing in for a week due to the weather and I responded to the photographer that we could still do the next weekend. Apparently I responded to the wrong person (even though we were told to confirm everything through the photographer) and so they thought we would not be able to make the rescheduled shoot and they filled Bella's spot. I was really disappointed and angry about it but I know everything happens for a reason. And, there will always be a next time!