DON

[Guest guest]

DON, did you call Dr Gross's office? I don't know what your level of pain

is, of course. But I would suggest to you that you slow down. There must

be some way to manage your pain while you're lining up resurfacing surgery.

That old saying, " Marry in haste, repent at leisure " keeps coming to mind.

I commend you for taking steps to deal with your fear and, thus, the way

you've approached service providers. That's good!! You must see many

heartbreaking situations in your work -- and there might be an avalanche of

feelings/fears behind this hip surgery fear. But, can you slow down?? I

know that sometimes when I would -- what? -- I would " hit the wall " with my

pain, the realization that I simply could NOT get away from the pain, that

it was stuck to me like my shadow, would cause me to almost panic. And I'd

get irritable. And then I would have to make myself slow down. And loosen

up. And remember that my escalating fear was " feeding on itself " and that

I needed to rachet things back down. Perhaps you're having some panic

attacks?? Get a plan in place, which lets your emotions/psyche know that

you're taking care of things. It's sort of like having a baby with the

training of Lamaze as opposed to just writhing in pain without any feeling

of control!! It hurts no matter what, but with a plan in place you will be

able to " stay on top of " the pain. For awhile longer. Call Dr Gross's

office. Talk with them. Send in your films, etc. Schedule a date. Slow

down. And good luck. (Joyce, Dr Gross, LHR, 2/2/04)

sungold518@...

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sungold518@...