"The real voyage of discovery consists not of seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes." Marcel Proust
Last week's travels gave me lots of thinking time. Can I remind you all that I drove almost 1300 miles in 7 days? Please send me your condolences. Endless traffic, honking cars, sirens and, even, a few accidents (not mine). There were also rainbows, ocean views, spectacular sunrises and sunsets, and kind strangers.
But I got to thinking that the roads that I traveled throughout Northern California also symbolize the voyages of most hip patients. There are stop signs, red, yellow and green lights, speed bumps, hills, valleys, curves and mileage restrictions. As a licensed driver, you follow the directions for safety. Sometimes you get frustrated with the experience of driving miles upon miles, but you do it!
Through these hip travels, you should heed the warnings and mileage restrictions of the one person who know the rules of the road the best - your surgeon. Restrictions may include how much weight you can put on your leg and for how many "miles". Your surgeon was handpicked by you just as you would handpick your vacation destination. Obviously, this is not a vacation, but it is a trip to a destination of health. A great gift! The red traffic signal may scream, "Stop!" when you are doing too much. The "yellow" says, "Slow down and smell the roses." The green light shouts, "Let's party!" When you get to that "green" light, you have successfully navigated the course and you can move on with your life!
During your travels,though, you may also come across other road signs. The curve that you were not expecting that says, "20 MPH" and you're going 50! Ooops! That means you have to slam on the breaks and hold on! But that does not mean that your travels have stopped. You have to go a little slower. The u-turn sign - that one definitely is not well tolerated. How terrible is it when you have driven hundreds of miles or even just ten and you have to turn around? That is definitely annoying and frustrating. But if you are looking at things with a positive attitude, the U-turn can be viewed as part of your trip towards the destination. It's a detour. Simple as that. It's not failure and you can't let it be the end of your hip hope!
Keep faith that you will come to the end of your hip travels and realize that your hip problems, surgery and recovery were just a speed bump in life! It was something that you drove over and you continued on the road to your final destination!