Post op appointment positive! Flying to SF tomorrow.

Today I had my ten-day post operation appointment. The x-rays below were taken. I got a thumbs up from the doctor and clearance to fly home tomorrow to SF. Every day I feel less pain and have more mobility. My bandage is off and my incision is closed without surgical tape. My bruises are fading.

Dr. Downer, the surgeon, was able to create a really good angle, so that the femur is covered and capped by the hip socket. They estimated that the previous angle had been about 50 degrees with my dysplasic hip, and my new hip is about 70 degrees. Twenty degree improvement!

This should keep my leg properly in my hip socket so I won't have the joint and muscle pain I was having before.







Close up on the right side: It is possible to see where the pelvic bone was cut in 3 places to move the joint to a better angle. The screws are holding it in place while the bone fuses and grows back, and will be removed in about a year when the bone is solid.













This winter I will have the same surgery on the other side. Comparing the joints it is possible to see that the other side has a much shallower socket than the new-and-improved joint. Later this year I will be good to go on both sides.







The surgeon says that even after this surgery my hips will not be perfect, but if indeed both surgeries are successful they should prevent pain and joint degeneration during my most active adult years. I'm not planning on having kids, but with my new hips I would be able to. It is possible I will never need to have another round of hip surgery after this.

...Or, in 15-30 years, I might need to have hip replacements or even a series of hip replacements. Most people with hip dysplasia do get hip replacements eventually. Because I would be getting the first hip replacement when I'm older, though, I would have plenty of bone left to do the multiple replacements I might need without running out of opportunities. The PAO surgery means that I will not end up in a wheelchair at any point in my life from hip dysplasia. It was super important to get it and I'm so glad I did.

This concludes this round of blogging about my surgery!
I'll blog again through my next one.

In the hotel

I've been comfortably installed in the medical hotel for a the past two days. I am continuing to heal well. Aaron has been an amazing help, but he is out of town right now at a grad-school retreat. My good friend Veronica is coming into town to look after me. We don't see each other nearly as often as we'd like and it will be so great to get some time together.

Not a lot of new news... I'm spending most of my time in bed taking it easy. My pain has lessened, and I'm on a very gradual painkiller taper-down.

Last night I was nerding out online, and found this interesting BBC news story about the surgery I just got. Whoa! I'm glad I didn't see this before I had the surgery. The only thing I don't understand about this clip is that the girl in the story is putting full weight on her leg so soon after surgery. Maybe this was actually two months later and they just didn't explain the time lapse.

Anyway, if you wanna see in graphic detail the amazing surgery I just had, check this out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t6RWO8uG-g

A good day

Today I was in less pain and could do more and had more energy. I eat veggies every day and drink tons of water. Feels healthy. Today I also took a shower and put on fresh pink PJ's. I was able to reduce painkillers slightly today. My only bandage now is very airy and lightweight. I have hardly any bruising.

I leave the hospital tomorrow. The physical therapists cleared me for stairs and other basic tasks. I'm ready to go home on my stylish crutches!

My post-op appointment is on the 25th and I'm staying at the medical hotel until then.

During this time, my brother is going off on a school retreat for his new grad school program and one of my best friends Veronica is going to come stay with me.

All is well. I am solidly on the mend.

Make that Super Owies.

Yeah. I over did it. Trust me, I'm going to err on the side 0f taking it easy in the future. I am soooo stiff and tender everywhere.

My surgeon is very much for taking it easy and not trying to "exercise" or anything like that. He says the priority is on limiting movement to gentle, non-strenuous kinds of things that will allow the bones to knit themselves back together.

I just got too excited about being able to cruise around on crutches.

There is talk of me being able to leave the hospital tomorrow, but right at this moment I'm feeling so far from ready.

Probably Sat, but who knows... maybe t0morrow after all.

Thurs 9/17: Super Progress.

Today brought huge progress.

I saw the incision-- it is only about 6 inches long on the front of my hip. No drains, and no visible bruising yet. Amazing.

My energy level is pretty good. I do nap throughout the day, which is important for healing, but I also have enough energy to basic daily tasks-- washing, eating, prettying up, email/phone, etc.

I got up on crutches today and walked around the hall at the hospital. I do have pain but I can also tell that my body is already more correctly aligned. My hip is in a better position. I can feel it.

Everyone here says the rate of my recovery is unusual and fantastic.

Nap time.
Falling asleep typing.

Evening report, Wed, 9/16

The consensus here at the hospital is that I am recovering unusually quickly.

Today I had my first day of physical therapy and was able first to sit up in bed and put my feet on the floor, and then later the same day to use a walker to stand up.

I no longer have any cords, oxygen, etc. attached to my body and thus can wear my own PJ's, rather than the snap-up hospital nightgowns. Much nicer.

My very wonderful therapist visited me in the hospital today, which was particularly sweet for me.

It was Val's last day this week though and she headed home. Thanks for all the sweet care and nurturing bodywork! It helped get me in just the right zone.

Goodnight to you and your hips, everyone.

My dogs are at summer camp while I'm in surgery...

This is one of my fabulous dogwalkers, Miguel. His equally fabulous partner (not in photo) is named Sean.

Here he is with the happy chihuahua pack:

Left to right:

Nano (hiding behind)
Nacho
Pepe
Samson (hiding behind Pepe)
and Schnitzel



Yay for chihuahua gangs!

Val taking good care of me

Day After Surgery

Aaron and I are sitting in the hospital room right now. He slept over in a cot last night to keep me company because I was feeling a little bit scared, and he is a really good brother. I was scared because my blood pressure and heart-rate were too low but I'm normal again. I am still pain free, due to excellent pain management. Last night Aaron and I started watching Mad Men season 1. Today I might be able to get out of bed an up onto crutches!!!
I'm feeling in a good mood!

This concludes my morning report.

photo of us this morning

Operation News!

Hey everyone!
The operation is finished!

We just spoke with the doctor, and he said that everything went very well!!
My sister is in recovery right now, I'll post later on after she's moved into her own private room and we've had a chance to speak.

So far so great it seems!

Night time notes

I'm settled in and ready to go. All is in order. I start the surgery prep process at 6:15 AM tomorrow and surgery begins at about 740 am. My brother will post notes on this blog when I am out of surgery and awake. I expect to spend most of the day tomorrow sleeping or dreamy on pain meds.

I am feeling calm and ready.

They are going to fix me. Tomorrow I am going to start getting fixed.

Surgery Tomorrow!

Well, I seem to be maintaining mentally so far. I've been holding it together pretty well, although I did have a spontaneously teary moment about surgery during my lovely dinner date with Arshad last night. He has been a total sweetheart to me during these pre-surgery days and has, among other things, made sure I am well equipped with crucial television series. (Madmen season one and Californication season one.)

Yesterday I took a break from surgery preparations and went to the annual Art Deco Society Gatsby picnic with two scintillating and glamorous ladies, Kirsten and Melissa. Here are some photos of pre-surgery deco-decadence.












Me at Gatsby













Melissa and Kirsten, two ladies who deeply rock my world.







I'm on the plane to Seattle right now. (Virgin America has WiFi.)

Sweet Arshad drove me to the airport in his sweet car this morning:















Next up: Picking up my designer leopard-print crutches at my Seattle PO Box. Checking into the medical hotel. Rendezvousing with my support team. Trying to get in the zone mentally by any means necessary.

Pre-op appointment

Yesterday I went to my pre-op appointment.

It went really well and I am feeling much better about the surgery.

I feel like the staff is 100% competent. The atmosphere of the wing I'll be in is quiet and peaceful. Everything is methodical and unrushed. I will have my own private room with cable television, a direct phone line, and room service.

The surgery will last about 90 minutes.
Anesthesia will not be general anesthesia, but rather deep sedation combined with a spinal block. I will be totally "out cold" and unaware of the surgery, and completely numb throughout my right hip and leg, without the side effects of general anesthesia. I like this.

I will have three people there with me: my mom, my brother Aaron, and my good friend Val, who I consider family. Val is very sweetly offering to do bodywork on me before and after surgery (she is a cranio-sacral and massage therapist.) Could I be any luckier under the circumstances?

Today I bought cute new pj's for the hospital and an ipod touch for my "toy bag."

I'm feeling more and more ready.

Thanks to everyone who is helping and being so sweet to me!

Countdown to surgery

8 more days!

I go under the knife on 9/15/09. My surgeon is Dr. Phil Downer of Seattle Orthopedic Center.

The surgery I am getting is called a PAO (Periacetabular Osteotomy.)

So, the condition I have is Hip Dysplasia. That means my hip sockets are too shallow and my joint is degenerating from being badly positioned. These pictures explain it:













Ouch! Not good.

This is what the PAO surgery will do:














Much better hopefully! The surgery cuts the pelvic bone, repositions the joint, and creates a deeper angle for the hip socket... protecting and preserving the joint.

The surgeon is one of a handful of surgeons in the US that are highly experienced with the PAO. The hospital I will be at is a very nice hospital. I visited a friend there in the past and was very impressed with the atmosphere! Kind of like a nice hotel.

Tomorrow I fly to Seattle for my pre-op check up.

Logistics are all in place. My friends and family are all being angelic. I couldn't hope for a better scenario for this surgery.

That being said I am quite naturally fucking scared out of my mind.