Re: bilateral day 6

[Guest guest]

Hey Steve, only about ten more weeks and you'll be training again.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Des

In a message dated 4/26/2004 8:44:00 PM Pacific Standard Time,

sog@... writes:

I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that ran

over me last Tuesday?

[Guest guest]

Hi Steve

Great to hear you are on the other side.

Hoping you have a speedy and uneventful recovery.

ine

April 2003, March 2004

> I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

>

> Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that

ran

> over me last Tuesday?

>

> Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

Hi Steve

Great to hear you are on the other side.

Hoping you have a speedy and uneventful recovery.

ine

April 2003, March 2004

> I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

>

> Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that

ran

> over me last Tuesday?

>

> Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

Susie,

If you want another opinion, I had simultaneous bilateral in Belgium w/DeSmet

on 7-2-02.

I personally am so happy that I had it done that way. One anesthesia, one

surgery, one rehab, " one suffering " as DeSmet put it.

As a fit 50 year old, my doctor felt that I could handle it. I also had the

most optimistic and positive attitude for the surgery. I couldn't wait to start

my normal and active life again.

Attitude is everything. The first 48 hours are tough, that controlled

morphine certainly was needed, but I NEVER EVER had a negative thought or ever

wondered if I had done the right thing.

When I first stood on my two feet after surgery (with walker) and put some

weight on my hips, I knew that the surgery was a great success! From then on,

each day was a great adventure to gradual progress. The huge smile on my face

and gratitude to the great new procedure and Dr. DeSmet's gifts grew larger all

the time.

I am now playing tournament level tennis with great movement on the court and

amazing all my friends and observers.

Best of luck to you and to your decision.

Saeed

Madison, WI

[Guest guest]

Susie,

If you want another opinion, I had simultaneous bilateral in Belgium w/DeSmet

on 7-2-02.

I personally am so happy that I had it done that way. One anesthesia, one

surgery, one rehab, " one suffering " as DeSmet put it.

As a fit 50 year old, my doctor felt that I could handle it. I also had the

most optimistic and positive attitude for the surgery. I couldn't wait to start

my normal and active life again.

Attitude is everything. The first 48 hours are tough, that controlled

morphine certainly was needed, but I NEVER EVER had a negative thought or ever

wondered if I had done the right thing.

When I first stood on my two feet after surgery (with walker) and put some

weight on my hips, I knew that the surgery was a great success! From then on,

each day was a great adventure to gradual progress. The huge smile on my face

and gratitude to the great new procedure and Dr. DeSmet's gifts grew larger all

the time.

I am now playing tournament level tennis with great movement on the court and

amazing all my friends and observers.

Best of luck to you and to your decision.

Saeed

Madison, WI

[Guest guest]

> I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

>

> Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that

ran

> over me last Tuesday?

>

> Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

Steve...I'm considering bilat.....maybe I shouldn't??? Let's hear

some details. Thank you and glad you're back! Susie

[Guest guest]

> I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

>

> Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that

ran

> over me last Tuesday?

>

> Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

Steve...I'm considering bilat.....maybe I shouldn't??? Let's hear

some details. Thank you and glad you're back! Susie

[Guest guest]

Hey dude,

I see you have finally crawled to the computer to write. That

was a pretty short message, I'm going to assume your " seat " is not

quite comfortabale enough yet for more lengthy correspondence. Let

me know how your trip went on Sunday...I had this mental picture of

you squirming in your airplane seat as your plane sat on the runway

for 2 hours at LAX. If your caboose is too sore for typing you can

give me a call. says hi.

I'm getting my staples out today. Sleeping well, and eating

like a teenager. I'm reading books about Roman life during Caesars

time and it's helping me to feel tough. No pain, just tightness and

weekness at day 12. I feel like I could go to a cane now, but I'm

gonna continue to wait as long as I can stand it. It's all about the

synovial capsule reforming, baby....

Chris

> I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

>

> Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that

ran

> over me last Tuesday?

>

> Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

Hey dude,

I see you have finally crawled to the computer to write. That

was a pretty short message, I'm going to assume your " seat " is not

quite comfortabale enough yet for more lengthy correspondence. Let

me know how your trip went on Sunday...I had this mental picture of

you squirming in your airplane seat as your plane sat on the runway

for 2 hours at LAX. If your caboose is too sore for typing you can

give me a call. says hi.

I'm getting my staples out today. Sleeping well, and eating

like a teenager. I'm reading books about Roman life during Caesars

time and it's helping me to feel tough. No pain, just tightness and

weekness at day 12. I feel like I could go to a cane now, but I'm

gonna continue to wait as long as I can stand it. It's all about the

synovial capsule reforming, baby....

Chris

> I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

>

> Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that

ran

> over me last Tuesday?

>

> Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

Steve, that's a great story and a wonderful testimony. Atta boy! Joyce (Dr

Gross, LHR, 2/2/04) I LOVED your question about the truck -- made me laugh out

loud.

[Guest guest]

Steve, that's a great story and a wonderful testimony. Atta boy! Joyce (Dr

Gross, LHR, 2/2/04) I LOVED your question about the truck -- made me laugh out

loud.

[Guest guest]

> > I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

> >

> > Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck that

> ran

> > over me last Tuesday?

> >

> > Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

>

>

> Steve...I'm considering bilat.....maybe I shouldn't??? Let's hear

> some details. Thank you and glad you're back! Susie

Susie,

Heaven forbid that you should take my light-hearted reappearance as a

contraindication of some kind. Here's the way it went:

At 8AM on Tuesday, the anesthesiologist said to me, " I can't get the

needle for the epidural in, so we'll have to do a general " . Suddenly,

it was 2:30 in the afternoon, I was in a different room, and a nurse

was telling me they were all finished and everything went fine. I had

pretty much no pain, and started doing my ankle pumps right there in

the recovery room.

My operation took unusually long (about twice as long as Amstutz

estimated) because:

1) I had the most extensive bone spurs (osteophytes) that Amstutz

said he's ever seen

2) According to Amstutz, I had unusually hard bone (I attribute this

to 32 years of karate, but who knows?)

I'm a little fatigued, because the long surgery caused more blood loss

than would otherwise have occurred, but I'm getting stronger every

single day.

I'm a week out now, and today I took a very nice stroll to the end of

the block and back (on crutches, of course). I had absolutely no pain.

None.

Admittedly, getting out of bed the first time last Wednesday and

trying to walk was pretty uncomfortable - but then I didn't have the

benefit of continuing epidural pain meds, either. By Thursday, when

they put me on crutches and walked me down the hall the improvement

was really remarkable. By Sunday, when I returned home, I was really

pretty comfortable.

I live alone, and I've been pretty much self-sufficient since I got

back. I've had friends run errands for me (and help me deal with these

*&&^*&^%*^%$$%# TED hose), and people who are much better cooks than I

have brought me food (although I did a pretty good job with dinner

last night).

The biggest problem I've had so far is avoiding internal rotation.

Since I had -5 degrees of internal rotation before surgery, I'd grown

unused to stabilizing in that direction.

One thing that I would strongly recommend is doing whatever you can to

improve strength and conditioning before the surgery. Make no mistake

about it, it's an ordeal and the better shape you're in beforehand the

better you'll be able to cope with the physical stress.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. In a heartbeat. My only regret is

that I didn't do it months ago - and I haven't even had my staples

taken out yet.

Steve (bilateral C+ 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

> Hey dude,

> I see you have finally crawled to the computer to write.

Well, some friends of mine decided to clean my house while I was gone.

In the process, they unplugged the computer, and I couldn't plug it

back in without violating my bending restrictions.

>That

> was a pretty short message, I'm going to assume your " seat " is not

> quite comfortabale enough yet for more lengthy correspondence. Let

> me know how your trip went on Sunday..

Well, everything was just great at Orthopaedic Hospital, but once I

was discharged things sort of went to hell. I'd arranged for a minivan

cab to pick me up and take me to the hotel, but they never showed up.

I called another cab company, and the same thing happened. Called a

third company, and they sent a regular cab (which just wasn't going to

work), and the driver called for a minivan cab which finally arrived

about 45 minutes later. All in all, Harold (one of the Orthopaedic

Hospital staffers), my friend Jeff, and I spent over 2 hours in the

lobby just waiting for a cab to show up. Apparently, there's a lot

more lucrative traffic to be had in LA on a Saturday evening than some

crippled guy wanting a 10 block trip to a hotel.

The next day, it took 50 minutes for the (pre-arranged) LAX wheelchair

to show up to take me to the gate.

I slept most of the (2 hour) flight.

Once we got to DIA, everything worked like clockwork. Just as I

arrived at the house, some friends brought over some food. We had a

nice little dinner, I watched a little TV and crutched my way to bed,

where I slept like a baby (okay, where I popped a couple of Vicodin

and slept like a baby). Things have been getting better ever since.

I still tire pretty easily, but I'm getting better all the time.

>.I had this mental picture of

> you squirming in your airplane seat as your plane sat on the runway

> for 2 hours at LAX. If your caboose is too sore for typing you can

> give me a call.

It's not bad at all. I expect that I'll be downright comfy when I get

the staples out.

> says hi.

> I'm getting my staples out today. Sleeping well, and eating

> like a teenager. I'm reading books about Roman life during Caesars

> time and it's helping me to feel tough. No pain, just tightness and

> weekness at day 12. I feel like I could go to a cane now, but I'm

> gonna continue to wait as long as I can stand it. It's all about the

> synovial capsule reforming, baby..

EXCELLENT! I'm really glad to hear it. Tell howdy, and I hope to

see you guys again the next time I'm in So. Cal.

Steve (bilateral C+ 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

Steve,

Congratulations! I was thinking about you and following your

progress. You were the one considering going to your garage for

tools and doing it yourself...correct? I am pleased you opted for

Dr. Amstutz. You sound in great spirits. I hope things continue to

go well for you. I am one week out before I make my own visit to to

good doctors at JRI. I made this decision and things happened very

quickly. I am looking forward to the road to recovery. Any last

week preop suggestions?

All the best...Go Buffs!....Aleks

> > > I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

> > >

> > > Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck

that

> > ran

> > > over me last Tuesday?

> > >

> > > Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

> >

> >

> > Steve...I'm considering bilat.....maybe I shouldn't??? Let's

hear

> > some details. Thank you and glad you're back! Susie

>

> Susie,

>

> Heaven forbid that you should take my light-hearted reappearance

as a

> contraindication of some kind. Here's the way it went:

>

> At 8AM on Tuesday, the anesthesiologist said to me, " I can't get

the

> needle for the epidural in, so we'll have to do a general " .

Suddenly,

> it was 2:30 in the afternoon, I was in a different room, and a

nurse

> was telling me they were all finished and everything went fine. I

had

> pretty much no pain, and started doing my ankle pumps right there

in

> the recovery room.

>

> My operation took unusually long (about twice as long as Amstutz

> estimated) because:

>

> 1) I had the most extensive bone spurs (osteophytes) that Amstutz

> said he's ever seen

>

> 2) According to Amstutz, I had unusually hard bone (I attribute

this

> to 32 years of karate, but who knows?)

>

> I'm a little fatigued, because the long surgery caused more blood

loss

> than would otherwise have occurred, but I'm getting stronger every

> single day.

>

> I'm a week out now, and today I took a very nice stroll to the end

of

> the block and back (on crutches, of course). I had absolutely no

pain.

>

> None.

>

> Admittedly, getting out of bed the first time last Wednesday and

> trying to walk was pretty uncomfortable - but then I didn't have

the

> benefit of continuing epidural pain meds, either. By Thursday, when

> they put me on crutches and walked me down the hall the improvement

> was really remarkable. By Sunday, when I returned home, I was

really

> pretty comfortable.

>

> I live alone, and I've been pretty much self-sufficient since I got

> back. I've had friends run errands for me (and help me deal with

these

> *&&^*&^%*^%$$%# TED hose), and people who are much better cooks

than I

> have brought me food (although I did a pretty good job with dinner

> last night).

>

> The biggest problem I've had so far is avoiding internal rotation.

> Since I had -5 degrees of internal rotation before surgery, I'd

grown

> unused to stabilizing in that direction.

>

> One thing that I would strongly recommend is doing whatever you

can to

> improve strength and conditioning before the surgery. Make no

mistake

> about it, it's an ordeal and the better shape you're in beforehand

the

> better you'll be able to cope with the physical stress.

>

> Would I do it again? Absolutely. In a heartbeat. My only regret is

> that I didn't do it months ago - and I haven't even had my staples

> taken out yet.

>

> Steve (bilateral C+ 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

Steve,

Congratulations! I was thinking about you and following your

progress. You were the one considering going to your garage for

tools and doing it yourself...correct? I am pleased you opted for

Dr. Amstutz. You sound in great spirits. I hope things continue to

go well for you. I am one week out before I make my own visit to to

good doctors at JRI. I made this decision and things happened very

quickly. I am looking forward to the road to recovery. Any last

week preop suggestions?

All the best...Go Buffs!....Aleks

> > > I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

> > >

> > > Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck

that

> > ran

> > > over me last Tuesday?

> > >

> > > Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

> >

> >

> > Steve...I'm considering bilat.....maybe I shouldn't??? Let's

hear

> > some details. Thank you and glad you're back! Susie

>

> Susie,

>

> Heaven forbid that you should take my light-hearted reappearance

as a

> contraindication of some kind. Here's the way it went:

>

> At 8AM on Tuesday, the anesthesiologist said to me, " I can't get

the

> needle for the epidural in, so we'll have to do a general " .

Suddenly,

> it was 2:30 in the afternoon, I was in a different room, and a

nurse

> was telling me they were all finished and everything went fine. I

had

> pretty much no pain, and started doing my ankle pumps right there

in

> the recovery room.

>

> My operation took unusually long (about twice as long as Amstutz

> estimated) because:

>

> 1) I had the most extensive bone spurs (osteophytes) that Amstutz

> said he's ever seen

>

> 2) According to Amstutz, I had unusually hard bone (I attribute

this

> to 32 years of karate, but who knows?)

>

> I'm a little fatigued, because the long surgery caused more blood

loss

> than would otherwise have occurred, but I'm getting stronger every

> single day.

>

> I'm a week out now, and today I took a very nice stroll to the end

of

> the block and back (on crutches, of course). I had absolutely no

pain.

>

> None.

>

> Admittedly, getting out of bed the first time last Wednesday and

> trying to walk was pretty uncomfortable - but then I didn't have

the

> benefit of continuing epidural pain meds, either. By Thursday, when

> they put me on crutches and walked me down the hall the improvement

> was really remarkable. By Sunday, when I returned home, I was

really

> pretty comfortable.

>

> I live alone, and I've been pretty much self-sufficient since I got

> back. I've had friends run errands for me (and help me deal with

these

> *&&^*&^%*^%$$%# TED hose), and people who are much better cooks

than I

> have brought me food (although I did a pretty good job with dinner

> last night).

>

> The biggest problem I've had so far is avoiding internal rotation.

> Since I had -5 degrees of internal rotation before surgery, I'd

grown

> unused to stabilizing in that direction.

>

> One thing that I would strongly recommend is doing whatever you

can to

> improve strength and conditioning before the surgery. Make no

mistake

> about it, it's an ordeal and the better shape you're in beforehand

the

> better you'll be able to cope with the physical stress.

>

> Would I do it again? Absolutely. In a heartbeat. My only regret is

> that I didn't do it months ago - and I haven't even had my staples

> taken out yet.

>

> Steve (bilateral C+ 4/20/04, Amstutz)

[Guest guest]

> See, this is the reason to have your surgery in England. They have

really

> roomy taxi cabs there with lots of leg room. It's hell backing into

the damned

> thing but once the driver throws your luggage in after you,

hopefully missing

> your operated side(s), it's fine.

Which reminds me that I forgot to mention the oblivious idiot who

clipped me on the right incision with his rolling suitcase while I was

waiting for the chair in LAX. you were right, LA is (expletive

deleted) Mordor.

Steve

[Guest guest]

> See, this is the reason to have your surgery in England. They have

really

> roomy taxi cabs there with lots of leg room. It's hell backing into

the damned

> thing but once the driver throws your luggage in after you,

hopefully missing

> your operated side(s), it's fine.

Which reminds me that I forgot to mention the oblivious idiot who

clipped me on the right incision with his rolling suitcase while I was

waiting for the chair in LAX. you were right, LA is (expletive

deleted) Mordor.

Steve

[Guest guest]

> > > > I'm baaaaaaaaaccccckkkkkk!!!

> > > >

> > > > Did any of you happen to get the license number of that truck

> that

> > > ran

> > > > over me last Tuesday?

> > > >

> > > > Steve (bilateral C+, 4/20/04, Amstutz)

> > >

> > >

> > > Steve...I'm considering bilat.....maybe I shouldn't??? Let's

> hear

> > > some details. Thank you and glad you're back! Susie

> >

> > Susie,

> >

> > Heaven forbid that you should take my light-hearted reappearance

> as a

> > contraindication of some kind. Here's the way it went:

> >

> > At 8AM on Tuesday, the anesthesiologist said to me, " I can't get

> the

> > needle for the epidural in, so we'll have to do a general " .

> Suddenly,

> > it was 2:30 in the afternoon, I was in a different room, and a

> nurse

> > was telling me they were all finished and everything went fine. I

> had

> > pretty much no pain, and started doing my ankle pumps right there

> in

> > the recovery room.

> >

> > My operation took unusually long (about twice as long as Amstutz

> > estimated) because:

> >

> > 1) I had the most extensive bone spurs (osteophytes) that Amstutz

> > said he's ever seen

> >

> > 2) According to Amstutz, I had unusually hard bone (I attribute

> this

> > to 32 years of karate, but who knows?)

> >

> > I'm a little fatigued, because the long surgery caused more blood

> loss

> > than would otherwise have occurred, but I'm getting stronger every

> > single day.

> >

> > I'm a week out now, and today I took a very nice stroll to the

end

> of

> > the block and back (on crutches, of course). I had absolutely no

> pain.

> >

> > None.

> >

> > Admittedly, getting out of bed the first time last Wednesday and

> > trying to walk was pretty uncomfortable - but then I didn't have

> the

> > benefit of continuing epidural pain meds, either. By Thursday,

when

> > they put me on crutches and walked me down the hall the

improvement

> > was really remarkable. By Sunday, when I returned home, I was

> really

> > pretty comfortable.

> >

> > I live alone, and I've been pretty much self-sufficient since I

got

> > back. I've had friends run errands for me (and help me deal with

> these

> > *&&^*&^%*^%$$%# TED hose), and people who are much better cooks

> than I

> > have brought me food (although I did a pretty good job with dinner

> > last night).

> >

> > The biggest problem I've had so far is avoiding internal rotation.

> > Since I had -5 degrees of internal rotation before surgery, I'd

> grown

> > unused to stabilizing in that direction.

> >

> > One thing that I would strongly recommend is doing whatever you

> can to

> > improve strength and conditioning before the surgery. Make no

> mistake

> > about it, it's an ordeal and the better shape you're in

beforehand

> the

> > better you'll be able to cope with the physical stress.

> >

> > Would I do it again? Absolutely. In a heartbeat. My only regret is

> > that I didn't do it months ago - and I haven't even had my staples

> > taken out yet.

> >

> > Steve (bilateral C+ 4/20/04, Amstutz)

Thank you Steve for responding and I'm soooo glad to hear you talk so

positively about the surgery. I definitely need to get myself

conditioned....ugh...should be tricky with all this hip dysfunction.

I'm glad you mentioned that because every day I say to myself that I

need to get with it....I have been watching my diet very closely and

I have lost almost all of my excess weight but my muscles are pretty

darm pitiful....too pitiful for surgery at the moment. Otherwise I

think I'm ok...no other contraindications that I know of....AHHHH!

Do you have stairs to contend with on a daily basis? I'm impressed

that you can take care of yourself at this point. How long before you

can drive? Did you give blood pre-op? What kind of re-surfaces did

you get...Birmingham? Keep that positive spirit!....and keep us

posted. Susie

[Guest guest]

Hi Susie,

I had OA first diagnosed in 1988 on the left hip and then I started feeling

it in the right hip a few years later. As a passionate sportsman and tournament

ranked tennis player, I was determined to avoid THR and wait for the next

medical development. Just when I was almost ready to give in to THR in late

2000,

I accidentally found the Birmingham UK website and knew immediately that this

was the answer!

I decided to go to Belgium and Dr. DeSmet based a lot on what I learned from

" Surfacehippy " and patient's rave reviews of his successes. I first was

leaning towards Treacy or McMinn in the UK but I heard that DeSmet (he learned

from

the UK guys) was taking on difficult cases that UK was turning down and he was

very successful. (I think he still has only one failure in way over 1000

surgeries.) DeSmet was also very athlete friendly, meaning he wasn't making

strict

statements about advising against running, etc. His attitude is that when

your body says to you that you are ready, you should be able to return to normal

activities.

I was also impressed that DeSmet returned emails right away himself and not

some surgeon's secretary 2 weeks later.

I also liked DeSmet's website and the videos of active people, including a

guy hitting tennis balls at 4 weeks! (one hip).

The great bonus was also that he was the least expensive. In 2002 the cost

was $16,000, I assume it is higher now because of the Euro appreciation and

other demand factors.

If you are ever in the Waterloo area to visit your family, you will have to

call me and I'll show you my stuff!

Let me know if you have any questions. Do you live in LA area? I go there

often because I have a lot of family there. I helped influenced Donna, a tennis

player and actress in LA, go for the surgery and she is very pleased to have

restored her active life.

Let me know if you have questions, please try to put my name in the subject

heading so I don't miss it. It's hard to read every mailing.

Saeed

[Guest guest]

>

> Thank you Steve for responding and I'm soooo glad to hear you talk so

> positively about the surgery. I definitely need to get myself

> conditioned....ugh...should be tricky with all this hip dysfunction.

> I'm glad you mentioned that because every day I say to myself that I

> need to get with it....I have been watching my diet very closely and

> I have lost almost all of my excess weight but my muscles are pretty

> darm pitiful....too pitiful for surgery at the moment. Otherwise I

> think I'm ok...no other contraindications that I know of

I was pretty lucky in that I was able to maintain a fairly high activity

level right up until surgery (I did an hour on the elliptical trainer

at the Holiday Inn in LA two days before surgery). Some people can't

manage this because of the severity of their symptoms. Just do what

you can you can. You might want to work with a trainer or physical

therapist to strengthen your hip musculature and your upper body

(helps with crutches and with getting in/out of bed, cars, etc,

particularly with a bilateral).

Some specific advice if you're contemplating a bilateral: spring for

one of the more expensive raised toilet seats with *handles*.so you

can ease yourself down and push yourself up off the seat. They will

give you a raised seat after your surgery, but the ones they

distribute don't have handles. This probably isn't as much of an issue

for those only having one side done at a time, since their unoperated

hips aren't subject to bending precaustions. It'll make a big

difference the first few days.

Another thing: think about how you're going to retrieve a dropped

crutch or reacher. There's a technique for doing this if you're only

having a single hip done, but you can't execute the maneuver with two

operated hips. This is what I did. I was fortunate in that somebody

sent me a " get well " bouquet with a bunch of those helium-filled mylar

balloons (not the rubber ones, which deflate quickly). While I was in

the hospital, I realized that I could tie one of these to each crutch

and my reacher, so that the balloon was floating a little bit above

waist height if the crutch fell. This enabled me to just grab the

ribbon and haul the crutch back up if I dropped it. This probably

isn't as big an issue if you don't live alone, since you can always

holler for help. I'm sure that, given enough time, I could teach my

dog to fetch a crutch...but I'm also sure that the skill would be

superfluous by the time she acquired it. ;-)

.....AHHHH!

> Do you have stairs to contend with on a daily basis?

No, fortunately. My house is all on one level, although I do have a

couple of steps to negotiate to get in and out of the front door.

They'll teach you how to do stairs on crutches (with and without a

handrail) after your surgery. However, negotiating a long flight of

stairs on a regular basis is probably not a lot of fun. I can't really

advise you on how to handle that, but I'm sure there are other

bilateral patients here who have had to deal with it.

>I'm impressed

> that you can take care of yourself at this point. How long before you

> can drive?

A month or two, I expect. I suspect that I'm going to have to rent an

" alternative vehicle " for the first few weeks, since my car (a

Porsche) is not exactly " hip-friendly " .

> Did you give blood pre-op?

Yes. I arranged for two units to be drawn and shipped (I live in

Colorado and had the surgery at JRI). Unfortunately, they couldn't

draw the second unit (I have a kidney condition that slows my red cell

production). Since they lost more blood than they expected due to the

unanticipated length of my surgery, I had to have a unit of bank blood

in addition to the one I provided. I'm pretty nervous about this, and

will continue to be for the next six months or so (at which time I

should have definitive results from HIV and Hep C testing). The odds

of being infected by bank blood are low (1/500,0000 to 1/1,000,000),

but they're not zero. You should definitely do autologous donation if

you're having a bilateral.

> What kind of re-surfaces did

> you get..

Conserve Plus

>.Birmingham? Keep that positive spirit!....and keep us

> posted. Susie