New Owners hip

So I definitely had a blonde moment. Ok Let's face it, it wasn't the first one I had today and probably won't be the last one either. Anyway I was on my way home from school. There was a train on the track so I took the a different route to avoid the train. I was thinking about my hip replacement surgery because we have been working on getting me a long term sub who actually knows math for the time I am gone. As I drove down the road I passed a storage place (you know the place you rent a storage unit). On the sign it said, "New Owners hip". I thought why do I care about the owner's hip anyway. Then it hit me that it wasn't that the owner had a new hip it was under new ownership there was just a huge, and I am talking huge gap between owners and hip. I was really glad no one was in the car with me when I had this moment or it could have been embarassing (not like posting it on my blog for millions or my five faithful readers is not embarassing). I hadn't had a hip replacement story in a while so this was the latest in the adventure. We are on the countdown. About 3 months until surgery. Have a great day and I hope this gave you a small laugh. Remember if you have an encouraging hip replacement story feel free to share it with me.

Everybody has a story.....

Have you ever seen Steve Hartman and his everybody has a story segement on CBS news. Well that is kind of how I feel when talking to people about hip replacement. Everyone has a story and here is the latest. My mom went to the bloodmobile on Friday because she is our giver. Jeremy my bro has been known to give also but mom usually represents the McClain clan. Dad was told to not come back because he passed out and due to my disease I have bad blood. Anyway while she was giving blood she was talking about my hip replacement and one of the nurses who works the bloodmobile came over. She said her daughter, who is 39, only 10 years older than me, had recently had hip replacement. So maybe it isn't so uncommon in younger folks like myself. She said her daughter had it done like on a monday and spent 2 days in the hospital then by Friday was able to go to her sons baseball game. I know there is still a lot of recovery after the actual procedure but to feel good enough to go places is encouragement. Again God brings encouragement in the weirdest ways. And just like Steve Hartman I am beginning to believe that everybody has a story. If you have a story you would like to share feel free to post in my comments or send me an email. Who knows yours might be the next one I post.

Have you ever noticed....

Have you ever noticed that when you have a major medical diagnosis or are having a major medical procedure in my case hip replacement, everyone you encounter has had or knows someone who has had the procedure or illness. Well last night I happened to be watching David Letterman and one of the stage guys(ok he was probably more like a producer because he was dressed in a suit) had just returned from surgery. I bet you can't guess what kind of surgery he had. That's right he had a hip replacement. Isn't that wierd? He said he had hip replacement 2 weeks ago and was up walking with a cane. In fact he was standing on the side of the stage last night. That was really encouraging to me who is facing major hip surgery. You just never know where encouragement is going to come from. So next time you have something like that happen watch and see how many people have a story about whatever is ailing you and remember it might come from some really unusual source like late night TV.

Favorite Moments from the Doctor's Visits

Here are a few of my favorite moments from seeing 2 orthopedic specialist in a 3 day span.

Orthopedic Specialist 1:

As we were discussing my options for the avascular necrosis he said here are your options.
1. Inject medicine into your joint space however you have no joint space left so that option will not work.
2. Physical therapy but that won't work because you don't have much mobility now
3. Take an anti-inflammatory but you already do that
4. HIP REPLACEMENT

Since option 4 was the only option left that is what I am opting for.

Another one of my favorite moments was when we were talking about hip replacement and the risks. He through out dislocation, infection, and then said " 1 in 1000 patients die because of a blood clot that travels to the lung but we really try to cut down on that here at McBride." At that point I wanted to ask what number I was in the 1000 and had he already had his 1 death.

The other thing I heard no less that 5 times in the 3 days and 2 doctor's visits was
"How did your hips get so bad?" and "You are so young" You know these people are used to seeing people who are at least 60. So the first guy did not want to do surgery since I was so young so he sent me to the hip replacement specialist. That was quite the experience. See below.

Orthopedic Specialist 2 (Hip replacement guy):
WARNING IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE SURGERY ENTAILS PLEASE STOP READING NOW.
As he was looking at my x-rays he was going over what he was going to do. I was already aware of the procedure because I had read about it on the internet. So he points to the ball part of my hip and tells me he is going to saw it off then he points to the socket and describes the procedure as cleaning it using a tool that looks kind of like a cheese grater. That's right a cheese grater. Then he reaches into is pocket and pulls out the replacement socket. That's right an actual replacement socket. Then he says he is going to machine out my bone (hollow it out) and put the ball part of the joint back in. He pulls that part out of his pocket too. That's right he pulled an actual replacement hip out of his doctor's coat pocket. Crazy huh? Then he handed it to me to see. I played with it for a while then handed it to my dad. I later asked did he pull an actual hip joint out of his pocket. I guess this discussion was supposed to make me feel better.

Anyway the hip replacement doctor was really nice and I really like him. In November he is going to complete the procedure above. I hope he uses a new joint not the one from his pocket.

Adventures in x-rays.

I don't know if you have had x-rays in a while or ever on your hips, knees, and feet but it is an experience I don't want to have again soon. Did you know they do x-rays these days(maybe they have always done it this way) standing up? That's right I had to take a x-rays of my hips, knees, and feet all in the standing position. There are a few lessons I learned through this experience. Lesson 1: Don't wear jeans to a doctor's appointment if you think you are going to need to take x-rays of the lower half of your body. Of course I did not think this was going to happen but from now on I will dress for the occassion just in case. The first thing I had to do was to put a gown on because apparently you can't take x-rays through jeans. Luckily the x-ray tech came by to give me instructions on putting on the gown or I might have never gotten it on. I was confused on whether the opening went in the front or the back. Then I went to get the x-rays done. I was lucky enough to get the student x-ray tech. This particular student was deaf so we also had an interpreter. It got a little crowded in there with me, the x-ray tech, the x-ray tech student, and the interpreter. So we took x-rays of my hips then we moved on to x-rays of my knees and feet. Did I mention these were standing x-rays? So they pull these stairs over and say we need you to climb up so we can get the knees and feet. Does this sound like a good idea for someone who is having trouble with hips, knees, and feet? I don't think so. My little arthritic joints wouldn't hardly climb this 3 feet by 3feet by 3feet box. I almost fell off the box a couple of times. It was quite the experience. So we get all the x-rays done and I get off the box with the assistance of some of the personel in the crowded room. They develop the x-rays before they let me go to make sure they have what was ordered by my doctor. They come back out and say we are going to have to do your foot again. I said "I can't do that" so they said ok we will just note that on the x-ray and go on. Thank goodness. At this point I had been twisted like pretzel, risked my life standing on the edge of a 3 by 3 box, stood up forever, and had to put on a hospital gown. Enough trama for one day. I was so glad that x-ray experience was over. We go to see the first orthopedic specialist and he orders x-rays. I was a pro this time though. I did not wear jeans I wore knit pants and knew what to expect. This was only one stading pelvic x-ray. I thought surely these people have what they need by now. We all know my hips are bad do you need more proof, come on. Then I go to see my hip surgeon and they order more x-rays. This time I got to take them laying down. I had to roll on my side next to a wedge pillow to take these. I would take this kind anyday over the standing ones.
Lessons learned : If you remotely think you are going to need an x-ray the lower half of your body wear something they can take x-rays through to avoid wearing a hospital gown. Be ready to climb a mountain if it requires your knees or feet and don't be afraid to tell the x-ray tech you are not doing it anymore. Also start practicing balancing on a 3 by 3 platform now if you think you may need standing x-rays of your knees.

The journey begins.

I created this blog for those of you who are interested in following my journey through bilateral hip replacement. After a check up with my rheumatologist and some x-rays I was diagnosed with avasular necrosis in my hips. Basically the blood supply to my hips has been cut off causing the bone to detoriate. This is common with people with Rheumatoid Arthritis. After visiting with several doctors and having what felt like a million more x-rays the only option available for me is to have hip replacement. Bilateral hip replacement means I will have both my hips replaced. I have scheduled surgery for my right hip on November 21st and then will have the other hip replacement next summer. By this time next year I should according to all the reviews of people who have had this done feel like a new person and will wish I would have had it done sooner. Anyway I hope you enjoy following my journey.