Hi!

All is well!

It is almost 8 PM and I just back from the hospital.  Rhonda and I left the house for the surgery center at 7 am this morning.  We checked in, Rhonda got prep’ed for surgery and they put her under and took her away at exactly 9:30 am as scheduled.  The replacement took about 90 minutes and the doctor was extremely happy with the results.  She was in recovery for a little over an hour and up to her room in the hospital at 1 PM.  The doctor said “She had the hip of a 70 year old!  During surgery, I had to keep remembering she was only 51!”  Basically, he had to rebuild her hip.  “Normal people have a cereal bowl shaped hip socket, Rhonda had a saucer.”  He had to drill into the pelvis and insert the new socket, then wire (“zip tie”) it to hold it in place.  You could tell the surgery was a challenge for him, one he was excited to take on and he was very pleased that he was able to fix it!

After Rhonda got in her room, she was having pretty bad hip pain.  They gave her more pain meds and managed to get on top of the pain.  She was in and out of sleep most of the afternoon.  She ate some chicken breast around 6:00 PM and felt good enough to get up and walk for the first time and pee.  Success!  She said the hip felt different, but better.  After, she she ate up all of her dinner and was extremely happy and pain free!  I left the hospital about 7:30 and she was going to relax and go to sleep.  Hopefully she will be pain free tonight and sleep well!  Rhonda should be back home tomorrow.

Thank you all for your kind messages, thoughts, prayer and well wishes!  They are extremely helpful!

Scott

We are back from the weekend celebration of Scott’s father’s 92^nd Birthday. I’m so glad that I waited on the surgery so I could go. I know it meant a lot to Jim that I was there. It was a lovely reconnection with the family and I felt such loving support from all of them.

Many had good advice for me from their own joint replacements. Bob reinforced that it is really important not to do more than the PT’s tell you in therapy, because it will “set you back.” He helped Kay through dual knee replacements and his brother through a hip replacement this year. So, he knows! Jimmy told me, take a stool softener every time you take a pain pill. (That explains why they say 1-6 per day on the bottle.) He said that he did that last time and it worked great. “Only took me 9 surgeries to figure that out.”

I found myself having a most interesting conversation with one of Scott’s cousins. When I told him about my hip surgery, he winced. “Oh, I hate the thought of surgery! I went with my mom to chemo and about passed out. I don’t think I could do it.” We then talked about how you do what you have to do to keep living life. I told him about learning that I could be with my greatest fears: pain and disability, and still live a very full life. I described being instantly 90 and understanding what that was like and that there was much still to enjoy even though my range and my abilities had diminished significantly. “I watch flowers bloom, tomatoes ripen, the movements of the sun and the clouds, and I have developed a closer relationship with the cat.” He asked if I was afraid and I said no. Truly I have no fear, just a feeling of growing peace and utter confidence that this will all be perfect.

Now the surgery prep is launched in earnest, two more days. By honoring my new limits, my pain levels went back down. I am managing without ibuprofen or bud budder. I can take Tylenol and I think I’ve done a couple of doses. But mostly I’ve used wine. I was so afraid about giving up the ibuprofen, but I didn’t need to be.

Today in my morning meditation practice I felt such strong energy coursing through me, vibrating. I feel angels around me and the prayers and well wishes of so many. I am very lucky indeed!

Danielle, Dr. Shukla’s assistant, called this morning to tell me I’ve been placed back in the number 2 slot at 9:30 a.m. Check in at 7:30. There is some chance I could go home same day. We will see how it goes. I am surrendered to whatever needs to happen for the best outcome. I trust my team totally to make the best decisions and I will do what they tell me and nothing more.

At my pre-op appointment last week, Dr. Shukla said no yoga or swimming for 6 weeks. He wants to make absolutely sure that the implants have set in the bone and everything has healed securely before he turns me loose. Smart man. Just do your therapy and be careful. No sleeping on my back or driving for a month. Use the walker first 2 weeks, or as long as you need the stability. Then use the cane. Don’t be a rock star/cowboy. I intend for a perfect result and that requires my perfect compliance. Now that I have my head wrapped around 6 weeks, I’m ok. November 1st will come before I know it.

My pain levels have risen to 4-6 when I’m walking and I can barely walk for any distance at all now. Standing is also getting tougher. Yikes! I’m timing this just right. I can make it 12 more days.

Had to have Scott do Walmart shopping today. After a trip to the DMV, I’m spent. I think I can do one little outing a day, unless it is just an in and out kind of thing. Pacing myself is becoming absolutely essential.

I figure it is good to back off now and turn more over to Scott. Soon, it will be up do him to do it all for a while. I certainly don’t question my decision to get this done now. It appears I’ve extended the life of my hip as far as it’s willing to go.

I’m through my hospital pre-op and the insurance authorization came in yesterday. One more pre-op next week and then we are down to surgery day. I feel very ready and that everything else that is left is doable. Glad I got a jump on some things, since walking at all now is so ouchy.

I went to the Physical Therapy Department at ROC for my pre-surgery assessment on August 8th. The PT went over all the restrictions I would have post surgery. I realized that for some time I would not be able to get in and out of my 2-door coupe, or operate the clutch. I love my old Chevy Cavalier. It has absolutely nothing automatic in it. You can’t get cars like it anymore. I went into denial for the next two weeks. Then, I figured I had to get a grip. I’m no longer a 2-door, sports coupe kinda gal. I have 2 hip replacements ahead of me and it’s time for a sensible set of wheels to drive them around in.

Scott and I started talking about what we might want and both were drawn to Subarus. We couldn’t decide if a Forester or an Outback would be better. Scott called his cousin, who has both models, to ask which they liked better. To his surprise, he caught Dean at a truck dealership about to trade in the Forester! He offered it to us for what the dealer had offered him, which was a steal when you consider what an awesome, fully loaded car this is and only a 2012. I’ve never owned anything this nice in my life.

We decided to take it and I went and picked it up on the 24th of August with our parents in tow. We made a day of it. I figured it was a car for all of us and we all needed to make sure we could get in and out of it. Plus, it’s always great to see Linda and Dean. The car was even nicer than I’d remembered. I was overcome with gratitude to have my problem solved in such a wonderful way, and not have to deal with dealers!

Here’s Blue, as I call her:

Then I had to decide what to do with my beloved Moxie. It occurred to me that the young man down the street had turned 15 and would soon be needing a car. I’ve watched him grow from this shy kid to a young man who will actually cross the street to say hi these days. I thought it would be sweet to know she was just down the street, and it would be a great car for him to learn in. His folks came by with him and we took a test drive. I’ll always remember the moment when he reached for a button to roll the window down and I had to explain what the hand crank was for. I realized he’d never seen one in his life! Today they came to pick her up. Here’s Trevor with his new ride:

So we’ve done the neighborhood car shuffle and we are all set–ready for our new adventures!

Yesterday, Scott and I met with Dr. Shukla’s assistant, Davis. He explained all they would do and reassured us 1) there is plenty of bone surrounding the acetabulum to work with, but they can graft if they need to and will use screws to secure the cup 2) they do 30-40 hips a month and 10% are dysplastic, so this is not an extremely unusual surgery for them 3) you didn’t wait too long–we always wait until you can’t walk and have pain even at rest if you try (especially at night), so this is the exact perfect moment to do this 4) we will not do the left one until it gets to this point 5) what you have done in taking good care of yourself has prolonged the life of your hips, not the other way around 6) these are rated 25-30 years, the plastic liner is what will wear out and may need replacing 7) to prolong its life, limit impact activity–swim, bike, health rider; don’t overdo walking or hiking 8) keep your weight down.

So, I came away feeling much better and reassured that it is all perfect and this is the right team. I did ask him if they were the best on staff and he said, “Yes, that’s why you were sent to us.” He was absolutely confident and very matter-of-fact. Scott loved him! I will be limited in my activities for about 6 weeks and on a walker for two weeks. I should be able to drive around 4 weeks.

It’s been a week since my diagnosis. A week of soaking in a life changing event that was in me from birth like a meter running out. Now something else will be set free inside of me. Yes, it feels like freedom. Ironic that taking my legs out from under me should lead to liberation! Whoever says Spirit has no sense of humor and irony is not paying attention. So odd that it waited until exactly 50. Interesting marker.

I’ve done a lot of reading on the International Hip Dysplasia Institute website—very helpful.

http://hipdysplasia.org/about/

It has a section for the real stories of people with hip dysplasia. I find the most help there, especially from the ones who write more extensive blogs on their experiences. I’m also touched by all the sad stories. So many people become symptomatic at young ages and have to have terrible procedures, called PAO’s, since they are too young to have total hip replacements. Some were casted as children and their walking was delayed. Apparently, the golden age for hip replacements is 50 (though it seems to be changing in recent years due to the longer life span of implants). I AM SO LUCKY. Lucky to have had 50 years of not knowing I had this condition, and being able to do all I did, and now being old enough for a THR.

A humorous side note: while doing research on this topic I’ve seen more dog hips than people hips and come to the conclusion that there is more information out there for dysplastic dogs than people!

I’m truly thankful I never knew this and I am so thankful my parents didn’t, especially my dad. If he had treated me like a porcelain princess, I wouldn’t be who I am and I never would have lived the athletic/adventurous life I have. I am grateful for 50 good years on these hips. Not that I haven’t had issues for the last 9 years, but it was never bad enough to stop me until recently. Certainly, I’ve shifted and slowed down, gentled my life. But that was something I wanted to do anyway.

On July 6th, 2017, I had my first ever visit with an Orthopaedic Surgeon, Dr. Shukla. It was a life-altering event that ultimately led to the creation of this blog.

I had been having problems with my right groin/hip for about 9 years, but had always figured I’d injured muscles and/or ligaments during my packing (horseback camping trips) days. Here’s a visual of what leading a pack horse looks like (I’m the long-haired rider in the black duster, getting tugged by my pack horse).

I’d been trying to rehab it with various forms of yoga and physical therapy since 2009, but by 2017, I was having constant pain and walking was becoming very difficult. Here’s the more detailed history of what happened (especially for my fellow hip people who may wish to compare notes):

Hip History for Dr. Shukla

Meeting Dr. Shukla

I was taken to a room and briefly interviewed about my problem. During this interview, I gave the assistant the above Hip History for Dr. Shukla to read. He must have read it while we were waiting for the Xrays to be taken. I recall sitting in the hallway waiting my turn with a bunch of other patients. I saw him peer around the corner of his office area and our eyes met. I had the distinct sense of him sizing me up. Then the Xrays were taken and I went back into the room to wait.

I’d done some research online and I knew that my symptoms indicated there might be something wrong with my hip and that it might even need to be replaced. But I was entirely unprepared for what happened next…

Dr. Shukla came in and introduced himself. I remember showing him the above picture and saying I thought that’s probably what caused my problem, that and probably a bunch of other things that stressed my hips, like lifting heavy weight and belly dancing. He said, “I think we should just go look at the Xrays. They tell the whole story.”

I followed him out to the computer screens where they display the Xrays. There I met his surgical assistant, Davis who had been looking at the screen and immediately pressed his card into my hand. I don’t remember what was said, only the message, that we would be seeing more of each other.

Dr. Shukla began with my LEFT hip. I recall thinking, “But, that hip’s not bothering me.” He proceeded to show me all the things that are wrong with my left hip. “You have congenital hip dysplasia. That means you have a very shallow hip socket and a deformed ball at the top of your femur. Normal hip sockets are a cup, you have a saucer. Normal femurs have a ball on the end.” He showed me where there were bone spurs growing indicating stress and the beginnings of osteoarthritis (white stuff in the xrays). He also pointed out how thin my cartilage is between my socket and femur (dark area surrounding head of the femur). In this case pictures are really worth a thousand words. Here’s my hip and next to it a normal hip:

Here’s a good description of hip dysplasia (Who knew it wasn’t just for dogs, you don’t know how many dog hips I’ve inadvertently looked at researching my condition!):

My head started to spin and I had to ground myself and breathe to stay focused.

Then he moved to my right hip. And I knew why he’d started with my left. There wasn’t enough left of the right hip to talk about what a hip joint should even look like. He said, “You have severe osteoarthritis in this hip due to your dysplasia (mine is bilateral, meaning both sides) and you are literally bone on bone.”

At that point, it sunk in that both my hips were deformed and both would need to be replaced. That was, and still is, the hardest thing to face.

He took me back to the office and we talked. He told me that being active my whole life was probably what helped me make it to 51 on my hips. This was such a reframe for me, since I’d thought I did something to cause this problem. He said I could try more physical therapy and he could do an injection for the pain. I said I’d tried rehabbing it and it doesn’t work. “Besides, when I look at that Xray, I don’t see anything left to work with.” He shook his head and acknowledged there wasn’t anything that would fix it, except a total hip replacement. In fact, he wasn’t really sure how I was walking at all, and just taking 2 ibuprofen and some wine to deal with the pain.

I told him I thought we needed to move forward with a replacement and he said he could probably fit me in in a few weeks and we should get started on the process. I asked how long I might have on my left hip and he told me, “Usually they either go right away or the surgery will give you more time on your left hip. We just have to see how your body reacts. You might get another 10 years, maybe.” I could tell that was the most optimistic projection.

He explained that my leg was not attached properly and he would have to change the angle of the attachment of my leg to my body, try to correct the leg length discrepancy, and drill a deep enough hole in my pelvis to try and make cup he could fit the implant into. I tried not to think about what all that meant. He said my leg would not feel the same afterwards and it would take some getting used to and physical therapy to learn to walk on it.

I remember saying, “Well, at least there’s a reason for all my pain and it’s fixable. I was afraid you would tell me there was nothing wrong and just keep trying to rehab it.” He smiled and shook his head. I don’t recall how many people I was introduced to that day who were going to be part of the process. It all sort of blurred together in my shocked mind. I walked out with a folder explaining how to prepare for surgery and what would happen, complete with a DVD. I was signed up for a joint replacement education class and a physical therapy assessment. It all happened so fast.

When I got home, my partner, Scott and our neighbors were in the garage. They all wanted to know what happened. I think I just handed them the xrays and started to cry. I remember them circling around me, embracing me and reassuring me they would all be here to help me through.