Hip Dysplasia is still lame

Well, as it turns out the hip saga is not over yet.

See that black line across my pelvic bone on the left side of the x-ray? That's a break in the bone where they made a cut. It had healed, but broke apart 6 months later for unknown reasons.

More surgery in early September. It won't be as difficult as the last surgeries and the recovery shouldn't be as long. 1-2 months on crutches instead of 2-3. The surgeon seems confident it should not be difficult to fix.

Oh well. At least this explains the pain I've been having recently and gives me reason to think that it is fixable! Until surgery I can still do gentle yoga and swim.

My boyfriend, friends, and family are super supportive as always. I still feel like the luckiest hip-dysplasiac ever.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to friends and family near and far. Thanks for following my blog.

Home snuggling with Puppies. So glad to be home, comfortable, and on the mend.

Home!

I am home in bed, safe and sound. My boyfriend is taking care of me. Mission accomplished. All is well.

Second PAO surgery complete!

I just returned from my post op appointment. I got a thumbs up from the doctor to fly home tomorrow evening. My surgery appears to be very successful so far. They were able to create good angles for my hip joints on both sides. I'll be on crutches for the next 8-10 weeks or so, with a series of upcoming post-op appointments to confirm that the bones are healing properly. Physical therapy is not usually prescribed during recovery. Once the joint is corrected normal exercise and stretching provides the necessary rehab. In a year or so I'll be able to have the screws removed once the bones have fused.

I am through the worst of it. From here things will just get easier and easier. I am so happy with the success of the surgeries and the support of my wonderful team. I love you guys.

Photos of helpful and sweet people

My healing continues to go well. I don't have a lot to report. I'm just spending all my days in bed until my Post Op appointment tomorrow, just relaxing.

I'm posting some photos of the wonderful people in my life who have been so helpful and sweet during this whole thing. (In no particular order!) The only person I couldn't find a photo of is Veronica, who made two trips by airplane to look after me for days at a time during my last surgery.



My brother Aaron who was with me for both surgeries, and looked after me for 10 days straight last time around. He is so awesome.

My Mom, Margaret, who flew out to be with me during surgery last time around. It was so good to have her company.





Sean. One of my fantastic dogwalker/personal assistants! He is also my very nurturing personal chef who makes sure I have exactly the food I want.


Miguel, Sean's boyfriend, my other fantastic dogwalker/personal assistant. He is also my Spanish teacher and relationship adviser.



This is me with Fred who is with me now, taking care of me at the hotel. She and I knew each other in 6th grade, lost contact, and then randomly met again in college! In this picture we are wearing costumes and going to a drag performance in SF.



Above is Jack, a good little buddy who helped me with laundry and cleaning several times a week. This guy knows how to properly dote on a lady.



The illustrious Kirsten who helped me with various logistical feats involving electric cords in high places.




Old-friend Amy, (her super-nice husband Issac in the background!) We have been friends since I was 21. She is a therapist by trade and contributed a beautifully grounding guided visualization to help me face painkiller withdrawals last time around. Very sweet and helpful.




New-friend Amy, conversationalist extraordinaire and occasional grocery-shlepper.




My housemate and good old friend Mim, who I have known since age 19. She and her husband Michel let me move in with them for the duration. Thanks guys!



Mim's husband Michel, my other housemate. He makes good donuts.



Above is Val, my ex-boyfriend Jake's mom, with whom I'm still very close friends. She has been with me on the day of surgery for both surgeries. A very comforting presence.



My lovely boyfriend Arshad who has taken responsibility for all of my electronics. He makes sure I have the best and that I can reach the controls for them without leaving my bed. He also gets me out of bed and into nice restaurants, sweetly escorting me everywhere while I glide about on crutches. We were dating throughout my last surgery, but it only recently got "serious." We are very excited about each other. See him below in fashionable hamburger earmuffs.


So cute! Who can blame me for having a giant crush on him.

Leaving hospital today...

Check out this photo of my incision taken earlier today when it was time to change the bandage! The incision is closed with internal stitches and steri-strips tape on the exterior. This is the same combination used on my last surgery and that scar turned out nicely.

Leaving hospital tomorrow morning

Tomorrow morning I will be discharged from the hospital. Today the staff confirmed I would be ready for this by giving me a little "pop quiz" on stairs, walking, getting out bed, etc. using crutches on my own without help from the staff.

I took a shower.

I drank lattes.

I had a mushroom cheddar omelet for breakfast and grilled salmon with brown rice and carrots for dinner.

I surfed wikipedia

I read my book

I talked with a friend on the phone who has a broken heart.

The physical therapist told me that they have never seen anyone bounce back so quickly from this surgery in terms of basic functioning like getting out of bed, putting on socks, sitting, moving standing, etc. I don't know how to account for that. I'm neither younger nor more athletic than most people who get the PAO.

The surgeon also said he found my bones particularly nice to cut. Now that's a compliment you don't hear ever day.

Drinking a latte in bed...

This is my third day in the hospital. Everything is satisfactory. Just like last time, I have my own private room, TV, wifi, and room service. The food is decent. The coffee is actually good.

Nothing really new or interesting to report today. It appears I'm not being given blood. The doctor said that if I were male I would probably need a blood transfusion, but women seem to be able to tolerate more blood loss. Interesting.

Of course I'm on pain meds and will be for a few weeks. I get "the nods" while I'm doing little things and sometimes fall asleep in the middle of speaking sentences or writing text messages. Ha! It just actually happened after that sentence, even though I am drinking coffee.

In the evenings my brother Aaron comes to chill with me. We sit around and watch bad television and totally relax.

That's all my news for now!

Progress...

Everything over here is going as well as can be expected. I am making even faster progress than I did after the last surgery.

Today, Wednesday, I was able to get out of bed using the walker. All my tubes were removed because I didn't need them anymore. (Oxygen, catheter, vital signs detectors.) It's all very slow going. I can only go a few steps from the edge of my bed using the walker, but that is a lot at this stage! Tomorrow I will be able to take a shower.

One of the doctors told me I might need to be given blood because I lost a lot in surgery, but I haven't heard a word of that since this morning so I suspect it isn't necessary. Actually, I was told that during surgery they vacuumed up my blood off the operating table and put it in an IV bag and put it back in my veins! Sounds crazy, but I guess this is standard procedure.

Aside from the blood loss, there have been no problems with this round of surgery at all. I feel relieved to be able to be over this hurdle and looking a better future.

OK, sleepy time now. More chatty details soon.

out of surgery!

I am awake, out of surgery, and feeling pretty good. I have a vital signs monitor on my finger and it is hard to type, so I'll just post a photo or two. :-)



This is me with Arshad when he dropped me off at the airport. We have been "dating" for awhile now but only in the last few days decided to consider ourselves a Real and Actual couple. We couldn't be more sickeningly cute and happy. This romance is a bright spot in my life that is lifting my spirits even during difficult surgery days.


This is me in my hospital bed making moose antler shapes with my hands. Note the highly attractive tube in my nose.

Left hip surgery tomorrow!!!

Hello friends and family. I'm back with more surgery reports and updates.

So, it has been three months since my right hip surgery. I was on crutches for about 10 weeks. The last two weeks I have been able to walk without crutches and often without pain. I can tell already that the right hip is functioning better because of the surgery. On a good day I don't limp at all. I can tell that these surgeries will improve if not totally resolve my hip problems and that I probably won't have any kind of limp or disability afterward. Most people who have the PAO surgery can be very active and even athletic. That's why this surgery is the preferred treatment for young people, as opposed to hip replacement which has some limitations.

The hardest part of the recovery process last time was the painkillers. I hate the side effects and the lack of motivation I feel on them. Also I became quickly physically dependent on painkillers and was very sensitive to withdrawal symptoms. Luckily, I have a good GP in San Francisco who prescribed some awesome medications to help with withdrawal symptoms. Note to everyone: if you ever need ongoing narcotic painkillers and then you have withdrawals, you do NOT need to detox without medical assistance! There are all these great treatments that really help! It is still not easy, but much better with treatment.

So right now I am on an airplane flying up to Seattle for the next surgery. It should be my last one, aside from a quick outpatient surgery in a year or so to remove all the screws from my hips. I am looking forward to getting this over with and moving on with life. I am reminding myself that getting this surgery is a very positive thing.

I have felt really lucky in the last few months that I had such great support and help through it all. I have these really helpful dogwalker/personal assistants named Sean and Miguel. They take good care of me and my little chihuahuas. I have wonderful friends who get on airplanes to look after me for days at a time. (Thanks Veronica and Fred!) I have sweet housemates who let me move in with them during my recovery and who keep me happy with home made Israeli-style donuts (Michel!) and lots of amusing conversation. (Mim!) My little buddy Jack does my laundry and takes out my trash several times a week, and entertains me with his endless snarky comments about life. Oh, and I have an awesome nerdy boyfriend, Arshad, who takes care of all my technological needs, keeping me supplied with sweet sweet electronics and appliances. He also snuggles nicely. And Amy has been an expert lounger, keeping me company with all kinds of delightful hanging out that doesn't require leaving my bed. Other Amy gave me good lovin through guided meditation to help me face withdrawals. My Mom, and Val were wonderfully supportive visitors last time around. And last but never least, my brother Aaron has been totally on duty for me while I'm in the hospital and for the difficult first days afterward. (Hopefully I am not forgetting anyone in this thank you list!)

In short, I am the luckiest girl to ever have hip dysplasia!

So yeah, now I'm flying north. Same awesome surgeon. Same good team at the great hospital. The surgeon is a "master" at this surgery, according to everyone, and when I look at my x-rays compared to the ones that other people post on the net, I agree... he did a very nice, neat, job. My recover seems to be going better than what I read about on the net for this surgery. I think I have a great surgeon and that I will have the best possible outcome.

I'll let you know how it's going as I go along. One step at a time, as it were.

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