Re: Another hot string of mesages going down....

[Guest guest]

Hi,

There have been a few emails here about 'doing it for the family' .........

they do pop along on a regular basis.........

And I think if many of us asked our families to butt in and say what they

thought there would be fairly endless tales of relief.......... My son still

remains shocked by his 'new mum' .......... for much of his childhood I was

a crippled wreck and he was very scared I would end up even worse and he

would be lumbered with needing to care for me full time......... He studies

muscles and things at Uni and knew the odds I was up against to regenerate

enough muscles to regain the use of my leg after my fused hip........... but

he wisely kept his mouth shut..........and gave as much support as he could

to me getting the new hip.........

Now he watches with awe as I do things he has never seen me do in his life

time............ and no doubt he is so very happy he can get on with his

young life and live it for himself rather than be worrying about me not

coping............

I think I am one of the weird ones who never at any stage had any doubts

from the moment I discovered a surgeon would consider helping me..........

as far as I was concerned I was dying anyway so there wasn't a real

risk........ just an opportunity to 'get an actual life'............and

anyway my GP sister did enough worrying about it for the both of

us.........smile. And when you check the risk stats on most highways so many

of us travel I suspect it is a heap worse than dying on an operating table

getting a hip replacement..............how many stay at home because of

that...........???

Edith LBHR Dr. L Walter Syd Aust 8/02

>

> I've got to wade in here regarding the pre-op jitters, or pre-op

> diddling as this syndrome has been described....OK, my hip is, uh,

> not quite right, great bone vs. bone action, all the gory details of

> YOUR x-rays... So - why haven't I pitched a tent on the JRI doorstep

> to wait for the first opening? Because I get by fine (relatively

> speaking). So I have to pop 1 or 2 vicodins a day, and I'm not

> riding my bike much, and getting into a car is a graceful exercise

> of back up lower my ass s-l-o-w-l-y to the seat, then grab my right

> leg and swing it over to the gas pedal area...THIS IS NOTHING! I can

> live with this...WHAT's MORE IMPORTANT is that I have a 4 year old

> son who sometimes needs his Dad in the middle of the night, and if I

> thought there was a 1 in 10,000 (or whatever, I haven't worked

> out the critical odds) chance of losing WHAT I HAVE NOW then I would

> just happily go online looking for that 55 gallon drum of Vitamin V

> that'll last a long time.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi,

There have been a few emails here about 'doing it for the family' .........

they do pop along on a regular basis.........

And I think if many of us asked our families to butt in and say what they

thought there would be fairly endless tales of relief.......... My son still

remains shocked by his 'new mum' .......... for much of his childhood I was

a crippled wreck and he was very scared I would end up even worse and he

would be lumbered with needing to care for me full time......... He studies

muscles and things at Uni and knew the odds I was up against to regenerate

enough muscles to regain the use of my leg after my fused hip........... but

he wisely kept his mouth shut..........and gave as much support as he could

to me getting the new hip.........

Now he watches with awe as I do things he has never seen me do in his life

time............ and no doubt he is so very happy he can get on with his

young life and live it for himself rather than be worrying about me not

coping............

I think I am one of the weird ones who never at any stage had any doubts

from the moment I discovered a surgeon would consider helping me..........

as far as I was concerned I was dying anyway so there wasn't a real

risk........ just an opportunity to 'get an actual life'............and

anyway my GP sister did enough worrying about it for the both of

us.........smile. And when you check the risk stats on most highways so many

of us travel I suspect it is a heap worse than dying on an operating table

getting a hip replacement..............how many stay at home because of

that...........???

Edith LBHR Dr. L Walter Syd Aust 8/02

>

> I've got to wade in here regarding the pre-op jitters, or pre-op

> diddling as this syndrome has been described....OK, my hip is, uh,

> not quite right, great bone vs. bone action, all the gory details of

> YOUR x-rays... So - why haven't I pitched a tent on the JRI doorstep

> to wait for the first opening? Because I get by fine (relatively

> speaking). So I have to pop 1 or 2 vicodins a day, and I'm not

> riding my bike much, and getting into a car is a graceful exercise

> of back up lower my ass s-l-o-w-l-y to the seat, then grab my right

> leg and swing it over to the gas pedal area...THIS IS NOTHING! I can

> live with this...WHAT's MORE IMPORTANT is that I have a 4 year old

> son who sometimes needs his Dad in the middle of the night, and if I

> thought there was a 1 in 10,000 (or whatever, I haven't worked

> out the critical odds) chance of losing WHAT I HAVE NOW then I would

> just happily go online looking for that 55 gallon drum of Vitamin V

> that'll last a long time.

>

[Guest guest]

" but I never hear people in this group

say: my choice for resurfacing was driven by what is best for me vis-

a-vis life with my family. "

I have posted several times and your post captured my attention. I

often write about regaining althetic performance and returning to

a " normal " life. I have also referenced my children. I was very

active prior to surgery and ran eight painful miles in LA the night

before surgery. I respond because I am the father of two little

boys (4 and 7) who are still impressionable enough to believe their

daddy can do anything. My four year old can ski the most difficult

mountains in Colorado the entire day without stopping. I was

crippled with pain at the end of the day trying my best to keep up

with them. My window of opportunity was rapidly closing due to the

condition of my hip. I did this in large part for my children. I

am the coach of several athletic teams, and coaching and bending to

pick up baseballs, etc. was a nightmare. I had to lay my bicycle on

the ground to get on it because my ROM was so restricted. I had a

hard time carrying my boys or holding them when they needed me. I

had sugery last month and it is the simple things about this that I

enjoy the most. As painful as it is mentally and not physcially, I

can now sit through an entire Red Sox game in old stadium seats. I

was good for about one inning prior to surgery due to the pain in my

hips. I will require surgery on my other hip in the near future. I

will not hesitate for a moment. Seeing the smile on my boy's face

when I teach them something new or participate in athletics with

them is worth a million times more to me than the inconvenience of

the procedure and rehab that I endure. As I was being put under

prior to surgery I had one of my favorite pictures of my boys on top

of Aspen mountain in my hand. I can't tell you how pleased I am

that I took action and moved on with life. I did this for me, and

most importantly my two little aspiring athletes.

Best of luck with your decision... C+ Dr. Amstutz 5/04/04

> ..like R. made note of a little while back, and I

> can't stop myself, gotta jump in here.

>

> I flew down to JRI last Tuesday and met w/Dr. Schmalzreid. One

> message that came through loud and clear (I paraphrase slightly):

> Know what you need to know so that you don't second guess your

> choice (resurf vs THR). I can empathize with the analytical

> tendencies I'm hearing out there - that 's the way I am too (my

wife

> slams me for once having taken 1+ year to finally choose a new

> mountain bike).

>

> I've got to wade in here regarding the pre-op jitters, or pre-op

> diddling as this syndrome has been described....OK, my hip is, uh,

> not quite right, great bone vs. bone action, all the gory details

of

> YOUR x-rays... So - why haven't I pitched a tent on the JRI

doorstep

> to wait for the first opening? Because I get by fine (relatively

> speaking). So I have to pop 1 or 2 vicodins a day, and I'm not

> riding my bike much, and getting into a car is a graceful exercise

> of back up lower my ass s-l-o-w-l-y to the seat, then grab my

right

> leg and swing it over to the gas pedal area...THIS IS NOTHING! I

can

> live with this...WHAT's MORE IMPORTANT is that I have a 4 year old

> son who sometimes needs his Dad in the middle of the night, and if

I

> thought there was a 1 in 10,000 (or whatever, I haven't worked

> out the critical odds) chance of losing WHAT I HAVE NOW then I

would

> just happily go online looking for that 55 gallon drum of Vitamin

V

> that'll last a long time.

>

> You post-op resurfs are astounding and courageous...the image of

> on Ford and the android gal leaving for the country at the

end

> of Blade Runner comes to mind: courage and commitment in the face

of

> uncertainty...your tales of physical ability, agility, and

capacity

> are sheer pornography for me...but I never hear people in this

group

> say: my choice for resurfacing was driven by what is best for me

vis-

> a-vis life with my family.

>

> Anyway...I want to believe in what resurf has to offer...I've

ridden

> the Flume Trail above Lake Tahoe, I've more than once caught the

> backside of Kirkwood after a big dump of powder, and I know what

> it's like to play in warm waves..I'm just still working the

> personal risk angle.

>

> OK, lemme have it: Singer, get a grip! [Or lose your grip, per

some

> earlier emails....]

[Guest guest]

Thanks ; you establish a point of reference for me.

And you know I must stay active - my four year old hasn't graduated

from snow tubing yet - Bob

[Guest guest]

Yes you have the 'pre-op jitters' or whatever.... we all have/had

them!

My BHR is almost 4 years old and it was the best thing that I ever

did for myself.

Yes we all manage ....I thought I was 'managing' until a man in his

70's stopped me in a supermarket car park to see if he could help

me...I was 52 ... I got into my car and cried. I obviously thought

I was 'managing' but the 'outside world' saw something different.

My hip history was quite short ...diagnosed March 2000, having been

bone on bone for at least 18 months although I didn't know. I chose

Surgery for September...gitters!!! Just before my surgery I started

to hear 'chalk' sounds... had I left it any longer I would not have

had good enough bone stock for the resurfacing.

You have a four year old, go for it and give him and yourself the

best possible time together. Nobody can give you a 100% gaurantee

that the surgery will work out ok, but we can all guarantee the you

will be in more pain and become more incapacitated as time goes on

if you choose to do nothing.

I only look at this site now and again to make sure that reurfacing

isn't failing in droves. It seems that it isn't! Go for it and get

your life back.

Arlene

Mr Treacy BHR Sept 2000