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I am feeling my age...


 I am feeling my age.   Interestingly, through my 40's and even a bit into my 50's, I felt as if I were aging mentally and spiritually, but not so much physically.    But then I hit 60.   BAM!   The Zumba and similar cardio-dance classes that I enjoyed at the local gym caused pain in the ankles, knees, and hips.  Reluctantly, I gave up the "great-fun-but-more-impact-than-my-body-tolerated" classes.   I continued my yoga practice, and turned my attention to walking.   I thought of walking as my meditation-in-motion time.   I could walk for 2, 3, and sometimes even 5 miles with no problems other than, occasionally, needing a place to pee when there wasn't one to be found.  

But then walking became a problem.   My left hip became more painful with each passing month.   I felt betrayed by my body.   I had thought that if I just stayed active and took care of myself my body would last until I no longer needed it.  

I had another think coming.

The hip pain became more severe:  I couldn't walk; I couldn't sleep well; I couldn't stand long enough to enjoy preparing a nice dinner.   I was having problems enjoying playing with my grandsons.   Although this sounds dramatic, I started feeling as though I couldn't look forward to the future with so much chronic pain.

Of course, I made my rounds to doctors, specialists, getting X-rayed and scanned.   I tried massage, chiropractic care, cortisone, and platelet rich plasma treatments.  I tried resting more.   I tried doing more yoga to help with stretching and strength.  Nothing helped.  

Head hanging, I knew that I had reached the end of my non-surgical options.   In February 2021, I had total hip replacement surgery.   I confess that because I was a reasonably fit yoga teacher prior to the surgery, I thought that I would bounce back with little problem.   

I had another think coming. (Sound familiar?)

I was unprepared for not only the pain, but also the fatigue and sense of being unwell.   The recovery was harder than I expected. My body felt traumatized.  My very soul ached.

My journey inspired me to create a YouTube Channel for others who may also be facing recovery from surgery or simply just a general sense of unwellness or unfitness.   Debbie Kell - YouTube   The video format was fun to produce, and we'll just have to wait and see if it meets any needs "out there."   But I wanted to be able to think out loud about things - something that short video clips don't allow.   

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