Crazy Adventures of PT

So, I started going to physical therapy 3 times a week this week for this hip of mine.

The other day when I went, I had this sweet and patient female PT assistant helping me stretch my hip out.

Today, I had this tall, too-cool, super macho guy PT assistant helping me out.

I knew it was going to be interesting when I started out on the bike (same as I had done with the female assistant), but I had to adjust the seat myself and tell the guy to put some resistance on the bike.

After 10 minutes on the bike, he asks me a question. Except, the question makes absolutely no sense. Components of the question make sense, but the question as a whole doesn't. I proceed to tell him I know what he's talking about but I have absolutely no idea what the question is. He laughs and decides it's probably best to just not ask and stretch instead.

He tells me to do this exercise where I have to lock my leg, lift it, hold it, slowly lower it, and repeat 10 times. Well, after about 2 times, my leg is shaking violently (which tends to happen when I work out). He quickly returns and says, "Ok...change of plans. You don't have to hold it anymore, just lift it." I question him if he changed the rules because my leg is shaking so badly. He laughs and says yes. I tell him that just happens whenever I work out and show him my hand, which is violently shaking as well. He chuckles and says, "Well, don't worry about holding it, but if I see you fake shaking, I will make you hold it! And I can tell the difference between real and fake shaking!!"

After all of that is said and done, he decides to introduce a new stretch. Before describing the stretch to me, he tells me that it's difficult to do, so he's only going to show me once. He goes to show me and suddenly says, "Hold on..." My first thought is that he's trying to make sure everything is in line and right. Then I realize he's not moving. Instead, his eyes are fixed on the girls in the gym (my PT is at a fitness center). I quickly realize he's not doing the stretch because it's embarrassing (just like every other PT stretch), and he's trying to impress the girls that are working out.

Since he's embarrassed me OH so many times (and just in 1 day), I QUICKLY jumped on the chance to embarrass him. I started laughing and said, "What?! You don't want those girls to see you doing the stretch??" He laughed and responded quickly with a sharp, "NO!" To which I couldn't resist responding with, "Oh but why not!? I bet they'd be impressed! Do you want me to get their attention for you??" To which I got another, "NO!" Again, I just couldn't resist, so I piped up with a, "Hey girls!!" He busted out laughing and hollered back at me, "Shut up!!"

I about fell on the floor I was laughing so hard along with all of the other patients in the PT room!! It was definitely sweet victory. Not only for me, but for all of the other PT patients that have been embarrassed multiple times by doing stretches that make you look like an idiot time and time and time again...

So, how did he manage to get me back?? He took me to these machines that I have never in my life seen a woman use. He starts me out on hardly any weight at all (because he thinks I'm a weakling). After doing 1 rep, I tell him he needs to increase it. He doubts me, but decides he's going to do as I ask and REALLY increase the weight. And, I just happen to blow him away by being able to do it. His comment to me was, "You're doing a really great job!!" Yeah...that's right!

The next machine, he decides he's going to keep it up and set the weight super high. I could do it, but with my bad hip, I felt like it was too much for my hip to handle 10 reps of. So, after telling him it was too much, he lowers it a bit, and I manage to blow him away (yet again).

The last portion of my PT requires my entire hip to be exposed (it gets hooked up to this machine), so they usually put me in a room with the female assistant (which I greatly appreciate). He puts me in the room and wheels in the machine. Put he puts the machine on the right side of the room. I looked at him and said, "Uh...it's my left hip." He replies, "I know," and plugs the machine in. To which I say, "So...wouldn't it make more sense to plug it in on the left side of the room?? I mean...I'm sorry!! I promise I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job!" He looks at me, lets out a little huff, unplugs it, rolls it over to the other side of the room, lets out a little laugh, and tells me to have fun on his way out the door (?).

Even though it was a painful PT session (for my hip, that is), I had quite a blast giving the assistant grief. And I'm pretty sure all of the other patients enjoyed laughing at the poor guy just as much as I did!

Oh what a day!! :)

Eureka!!

Today was a very enlightening day!

Besides the fact that I realized I haven't posted in a month (exactly)... Yeah...oops... There (finally) was a breakthrough with that pesky hip pain I've had for 2 months now.

The doctors weren't about to tell me what was wrong with my hip. All the tests I had done came back 'normal.' So, they decided to give physical therapy a shot (and told me it would be my last shot at getting rid of the pain).

I went today for the first time.

I walk in and find out I've been assigned to this really cute, young, not married guy as my physical therapist for however long I have to go. Jackpot!!

Anyways, cute physical therapist figured out what's wrong with me. My hip is rotated backwards. And yes, it is as painful (if not more) than it sounds.

But, he says he can fix it! And, even though it hurt like crazy what he was doing to me, I was able to walk out of the office like a normal person for the first time in 2 months.

Last exciting piece of news for the day...

As of today, I graduate in less than 4 months!!! YAY!!! :)