My name is Kara and I am a personal trainer in Boston. I’ve wanted a blog for a while but could never think of a theme or a focus until October 26, 2013 when it hit me. I was in complete awe at how simple an idea it was, and it came to me when I was writing a post to Facebook that was excessively long…
I LOVE to write, it doesn’t matter what it’s about or where I am, I just love to put thoughts down. It can be in my phone, on my IPad or Macbook air, in my notebook, my journal, a paper napkin..I’ve even written on an airline puke bag (it was clean).
All I know is I love to write.
My mantra: DO WHAT YOU LOVE. The focus of this blog is simply that…writing about life. I decided I wanted to share my experiences, stories and thoughts with everyone in the hope that they would laugh (or cry) a little and/or gain some knowledge from my experiences…and heck, maybe even share some with me!
Oh, and I LOVE Malbec.
Enjoy!
Thoughts of a Crow 
Hello Kara,
I wanted to let you know I am so thankful to stumble on this blog. I found it somehow through looking up the hashtag labral tear on instagram. I am a new recent graduate 25 year old physical therapist in Boston working for about 5 months now. I am getting FAI surgery this Thursday. Your blog was finally one I could relate to. I was honestly having a freak out tonight (hence irrationally looking at the hashtag labral tear on instagram, despite how many times I will tell my own patients to avoid Dr. google during injuries) and your blog completely made me feel better. I am an ex college track/XC athlete and have been unable to run for a year now and went through the long diagnosis process too and had many of the same frustrations as you did. My last year of PT school last year I wiped out surfing which was the icing on the cake for my left hip. (totally get all your sting like a bee needle references, at this point I feel like a voo doo doll with how many pokes I’ve gotten since I also tried PRP first) I have to take 6-8 weeks off of work starting this week which was tough to deal with since I do not do well with bordem. I am happy that even though I completely did not follow my own advice I give all the time and picked up my computer and went nuts tonight I ended up on your blog over someone else. (I know doom and gloom ones are out there which is the last thing anyone would need before a surgery). Thank you for sharing your story, especially the parts about focusing on what to be thankful for. I know I appreciate my body more now that I am going through this surgery soon and will take better care of it from now on by being more well rounded instead of running. Plus I know I am in for a lot of family time which should be a positive thing. I will probably follow your posts now because I appreciate your positivity!
Hey Andrea! I am so happy you found my blog! I also looked up what the whole process would be like…I googled labral tear surgery recovery and just like you, found horror stories about the whole process. I didn’t find one blog or site that said anything positive about it so I decided that I would blog about it and tell the truth but to also highlight the positives because there are a lot. To be honest, it is not as bad as I thought and I think that being so active helped with that. I thought I would be in a lot more pain the first few days out of surgery but the pain killers obviously helped with that. I started weening off of them on day 3 and I only take tylenol as needed now. I’d say the hardest part the first week was that the pain killers made it so I didn’t want to do a thing and clearly like you, it’s hard to do nothing but you get through it. Just take it in stride. If you cant motivate yourself to do anything, just recognize it and be easy on yourself. I felt super guilty not doing anything because I had so much time on my hands. At about day 4 I was able to actually get motivated and leave the house but it was very tiring. Have friends visit you, take small trips outside even if its someone driving you around just to get fresh air. If you dont have a mindless hobby, try to find something. Writing isnt mindless but it helps a lot. I always write, even if it is one sentence that I am thinking over and over again, I will write it down and sometimes that turns into 5 pages of writing which is so therapeutic.
Oh the body…my body changing is one of the hardest parts but its been changing for about 2 months now ever since I stopped doing my regular exercise so I have had time to come to terms with it. But right after surgery it was like starting all over again. Best thing to do is tell yourself you look great, beautiful, whatever you want even if you dont believe it and understand that it will get better slowly, that its only temporary. Or just dont look in the mirror lol. Best part about being an athlete for so long is that our bodies have the ability to bounce back VERY quickly.
You will be fine and you will recover no problem. Just keep positive. I always write what I am thankful for at the end of the day. If I find I am writing something negative in my journal or venting negatively, I will always end it with positive thoughts, things I am good at, etc. It allows you to go to bed with a positive outlook on life and then wake up feeling great. I hope you do keep following my blog because I will be writing many more posts about this whole recovery process. And I also write about other fun stuff about being in your 20s. Its a great time so enjoy it! Find some way to laugh about your life right now, it always helps me. Good luck with the surgery and please keep in touch…my email is kac73086@gmail.com