Starting 2010 - Slowly, but surely

My plan as an athlete for 2010 was to start the year with a special event, “The Goofy Challenge”, which is a two day event in January with a Half Marathon on Saturday, and a Full Marathon on Sunday. You receive three really cool medals and several of my friends were going to do the event too.
During an October 2009 Training session after running about 8 miles I started to have substantial pain in my right hip. I made a trip to my friend Dr. J.D. Hasenbank and after an exam he recommended an MRI. The MRI proved that there were tears, and loose bodies in my hip socket which could only be corrected with surgery. On October 29th I had arthroscopic Hip surgery performed by Dr. Kaare Kolstad, Jr.
In addition to my hip surgery, I needed another surgery. I had been procrastinating having surgery for an abdominal hernia and diastasis recti for several years and it was getting worse. I tried to have the surgeries done at the same time, but wasn’t able to get the doc’s schedules to match and now I am glad that didn’t work-out. The hip surgery had me spending a lot of time laying down, using a crutch for several days, and using ice for a good part of each day. The abdominal surgery was substantially more difficult and painful. I was in the hospital for four days, and then spent the next week literally in bed at home. It has been very painful and there was a complication from surgery which affected my lateral femoral cutaneous nerve which runs along the upper and outer thigh. I had (have) pain from my hip, my abs (like a bad sunburn or abrasion), from the Lapascopic incisions, and from the nerve on my thigh (a burning tingling sensation). I hope to be 80-90% healed by the end of January. One of the most amazing things about this whole experience is that because the doctors were in the network of my health insurance I was able to have nearly $70,000 worth of medical care for a $620.00 out of pocket payment.
I am currently in an aggressive Physical Therapy program and have some great Therapists, Matt Holland and Natalie Naifeh. My hip doctor said that I should not ever run again, and that I will need a hip replacement in 2-4 years L. A hip replacement isn’t the end of the world because you can run again after the procedure, so we’ll see how things progress. I am currently registered for the Lonestar Triathlon in Galveston on April 25th. I haven’t been able to swim, bike, or really walk too much yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to start a routine the beginning of February.