wow!

[Guest guest]

Dearest fellow Hippies,

I have spent the last 30 minutes reading recent posts... I could just

cry. It is so amazing to have access to so many who are in similar

situations. I am attempting to wait patiently to see my OS next

thursday, and have been educating myself on options through this

group and hipuniverse.com.

When I had my original hip surgeries (bilateral periacetabular

osteotomies) 10 years ago I had no one (NO ONE) to talk to. I

remember the relief of seeing the OS and finally knowing why I was so

awkward and why I had such base-line aches and pains as a teenager.

But it was horrible to comfort my mom who felt like she had failed me

(mostly because my OS was an amazing surgeon but had the bedside

manner of a potato and told us that if he had seen me as an infant

I'd be " normal " ). It was so awful to have the surgery and have no

idea what I was in for, waking up in so much pain (no epidurals in

1994), cathaters and crutches, stitches and scars, canes and

constipation.... but there was such a silver lining, I had the first

hip done in may of '94 and despite the intensity of it all the pain

relief was enough to get me back for the right hip in dec. '94(it was

my decision, my parents and the OS left it up to me)

I do have a point here and it's to share that 8 of the last 10 years

since my surgeries have been so good. I was able to go on long 2 and

3 mile walks 4 or 5 days a week, I could ride a bike, use a nordic

track, elliptical machine, I made it to blue-belt in kenpo karate, I

worked full time while getting my bachelor's degree in nursing....

none of that would have been possible had I not had the originaly

surgeries. After reading many of the past weeks posts by the group I

am praying the good doctor will offer resurfacing. The thought of

being able to ditch the cane and the lodine and aleve and ibuprofen

and resulting protonix for the extremely unhappy stomach... not to

mention being able to go to the museums here in LA and take my dog

out for longer than 10 minutes, having sex without the aid of

multiple pillows.... All of these things far out-weigh any of the

fears that are associated with the surgery.

My mom took me for a second opinion when I was originally diagnosed

and I remember the second OS asking me what my quality of life was

and how the pain affected my " activities of daily living " . For some

reason that really struck a cord, we don't have to live with pain,

all things in life are a gamble, we owe it to ourselves and

especially our loved ones to take care of our hips. I want to hold my

babies with both arms, not have them riding on my lap in a wheel

chair.

Courage friends,

thank you for all our posts

Sam