March 29, 2024

It’s all in the hips

For as long as I can remember, my father always seemed to be on the go. Dad was constantly  playing with my siblings and I in the backyard at home. He loved teaching us to play wiffle ball, demonstrating the fundamentals needed to properly throw a baseball (for my brother) or a softball (for my sister or me). We would play catch and take batting practice for hours at a time in the summer.

Dad was the all-time pitcher. I’m not sure you could ever truly guess how many pitches he has thrown in his lifetime. Between those backyard games and decades of coaching both baseball and softball, his lifetime pitch count is quite high — perhaps even in the billions. That only takes into account his coaching years. He played baseball and softball for years, from grade school to adult leagues out of college. To say he has used his joints well in his 62 years is an understatement.

So when he started to have more and more pain in his joints, it seemed a natural result after years of use. While he tried to retire from coaching, he was coaxed back to skipper at the junior high level, first volleyball and then track. Two years ago, he was lured back to the gridiron as the junior high head football coach. He was back to demonstrating proper blocking and tackling techniques to his young players. He was in heaven.

After the season, the dull ache in his hips and back never seemed to go away, particularly in his right hip. As he was getting ready to coach track in the spring, he knew things didn’t feel quite right. Dad finally broke down and went to the doctor. The answer was clear from the scans, he had a high level of arthritis in his hip, and it would need replaced in the near future. The doctor advised him that keeping his actual joint for as long as he can was the best course of action. So he began physical therapy to try to strengthen the joint and slow down the progression of the arthritis.

For a while, he felt like it was working and got through the track season with manageable pain. This past summer, we had our latest trip to Walt Disney World. He could tell he wasn’t up to his normal movement capabilities. He normally leads the pack through the crowds, but he soon discovered he couldn’t keep up as well as he used to, needing to take longer and more frequent breaks. He wasn’t his normal self, and he didn’t like it one bit. When he returned, he went back to his physical therapy routine, hoping it would make him better. However, the pain seemed to only be getting more intense.

After his therapy sessions were completed this fall, he returned to the doctor. It was as he feared: the arthritis had gotten worse. Now he no longer had to decide if he was having hip replacement surgery, but rather when.

One of his biggest concerns is his desire to walk me down the aisle, with no limping or pain. The surgery was set just after the first of the year, which should give him plenty of time to get back up on his feet before “Here Comes the Bride” plays this spring. Personally, I just want my dad to no longer be in pain — walking me down the aisle is just a perk.

The surgery was Tuesday, and I am pleased to report it went well, and dad is feeling better already. The pain he has lived with for the better part of a year and half was instantly gone. There was pain from the surgery, sure, but the nagging pain had disappeared.

I was so happy for him. He still has plenty of things he has to accomplish before he is 100 percent better, but he is on the road to recovery. I can’t wait for him to get back on his feet and leading the pack at Disney once more.

Contact Pam Rodgers
at prodgers@newtondailynews.com