Onward to 2011 ...

For me, 2010 started on crutches and has ended with a hydroblade (well, half a hydroblade - I can get down and hold it but can't get back up ... yet).

2009 was a year of surgery; 2010 was a year of recovery. I hope that 2011 will be a year in which I think about my hips less and less, and eventually not at all.

For 2011 I am not planning any surgeries or trying to fit my life in around physical therapy and crutches. I don't have any looming doctor appointments. My x-rays are in storage.

I am looking forward to a front-row seat at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, NC next month. I am on the panel for all of the dance events from Novice to Championship. This will be the last competition I judge this season after a very full schedule. I am grateful that I am able to sit in the cold through an entire event without hip pain. (Some of the events at Junior Nationals went on for hours, with just one potty -- uh, Zamboni -- break.)

For those recovering from PAOs or preparing for surgery in 2011: it's going to be a long year, but when it's over you will have your own story to tell.

Happy New Year!