Temporarily disabled? Me?

I realized over the weekend that things were getting bad when my husband (Noah) and I went to dinner and couldn't find parking that was close to the restaurant. When I got out of the car and put the weight on my legs, the assault of sharp dagger-like pulses resulted in somewhat of an involuntary but (I thought) quiet string of curses. Noah, who informed me that I wasn't nearly as subtle as I thought, asked me if I wanted him to just drive me to the door and then he'd re-park. Wow, unable to walk through a parking lot?  No, of course not.  I walked it (hobbled, more like) and reached the door, pain aching in my hips and knees. Brilliant. We spotted an empty handicap spot steps from the door, and I realized that post-surgery, I'm going to need to get a handicap placard while I'm injured.  I mentioned this to Noah, who asked the obvious: I'm clearly having trouble walking...why not apply for one in the meantime, especially since I don't know how long I'll be hobbling around before I can even schedule the surgery?

Did it really get that bad? Am I temporarily disabled? It's so strange for me to wrap my head around. I had no idea what California's requirements are for getting a temporary placard. So of course, I googled "how to get a handicap plate" and found a really helpful website:
http://arthritis.about.com/od/driving/a/handicapparking.htm

It provides some general information and then has a state-by-state breakdown of the requirements, forms, etc.  I didn't realize that I truly fall into the category of people eligible for temporary placards in California. I'm not sure what I thought (if I even had considered it at all) the requirements would be. But I thought at least a cast, walker or cane would be necessary to qualify a person as handicap. In the future, I'll definitely think twice before ever again judging anyone in a handicap spot who isn't "obviously" handicap. I'm still amazed at how strong pain can be from such a seemingly-minor injury. Which of course, begs the question, am I just a wuss? Do most "normal" people just suck it up and hurt while they walk through large parking lots with their hip injuries? Is my hip injury worse than I've been assuming?

So, I decided it makes sense to have the placard in case I need it, but of course, I can use it as a backup if I can't otherwise find parking that's close enough. Clearly there are people with greater needs than I have at the moment. So I figure that for the most part, I'll just park in the regular parking. But on a particularly gruesome day or where there's no parking to be found anywhere near my destination, it'll be helpful to have the placard.

But of course, I'm finding that obtaining one is not a simple process -- for me, that is.  The orthopedist who referred me to the surgeon won't sign off on it because he's no longer my "treating" physician.  And of course, the surgeon can't sign off on it until he actually sees me.  I've been calling every day asking whether anyone has cancelled and whether there are any earlier appointments available than my appointment two weeks from now, and so far no luck. So this morning, I swallowed my dignity and begged to at least see the physician's assistant so I don't have to wait two weeks to apply for this placard. They told me they'd see what they could do and would call me back. So far, no call, but I suppose I'll give them at least 24 hours.

My other option is to ask my regular internist to sign off on the paperwork. But I'm sure he won't do that without examining my hip. Afterall, I've been seeing orthopedists and I don't think he's even aware that I have any problem with my hip.

So I'm in a state of limbo. In the meantime, I suppose I don't need to go anywhere with a huge parking lot.

I read that water is supposed to help people with screwed up joints, so I worked out in the pool today, swimming laps, and doing some aqua jogging and walking.  The walking is HARD. Much harder than the jogging, because there's so much more resistance from the legs and arms. The jogging was no impact because I did it in the deep end. Nevertheless, I think I overdid it because although it all felt wonderful in the water, once I got out, it all came crushing down on me again.

And that's something else that I've gotten absolutely no consistent answer on -- how do I stay strong and fit while not messing up my hip with a labral tear? The stationary bike hurt like hell this weekend. So that's out. Yoga and pilates made logical sense but ended up hurting. Swimming may turn out okay, but the way I did it today certainly didn't work. Walking hurts. Heck, sitting hurts. I don't know what to do and it's driving me nuts. I called the surgeon's office and spoke with some assistant who told me to "just do what feels good. If it hurts, stop." Well, that makes sense, but I don't usually know how it really feels until after-the-fact.