Happy Anniversary to me!

Two years ago today, a few months before I turned 45 years old, I had my hip fixed (January 22, 2008)! I had my right hip "resurfaced". It basically is a hip replacement but not quite as radical. I had been suffering terrible pain for a few years prior to my surgery. I had been experiencing different levels of pain probably a good 8-10 years prior to that. When I finally went to see the doctor for the pain, I was told I have osteoarthritis and that "I was too young to get a hip replacement". Too young? I remember tearing up in the doctor's office after he left, thinking, I'm going to have to wait until I'm "old" to stop being in this kind of pain? My whole life had come to a screaching halt from the pain. I couldn't walk without extreme pain. I couldn't get enough sleep at night because of the pain. All the things I had loved to do were no longer an option. My husband and I love to take trips on our motorcycle. We love to go to craft fairs, car & motorcycle shows, flea markets. I love to garden. I sell at craft shows. All of this requires walking and stooping and lifting, etc. My grandson was born in December 2007. I was looking forward to being a Grandma for the first time, to play with him, to babysit him, to pick him up and sit on the floor with him. My hip would have none of that! Just the everyday stuff of getting in and out of the car, going up and down stairs, grocery shopping, etc. became way too painful. Over-the-counter and prescription pain meds were really not helping anymore. I had even started taking prescription sleeping pills to try to get better sleep at night. Finally, I started doing some of my own research on-line about hip arthritis and found some information about "hip resurfacing". It's been around for awhile, but the old way had been discontinued due to problems with the devices. They continued to do the procedure over-seas. About a year prior to my surgery, the U.S. finally approved a new device and doctors started performing the surgery here again. I found a wonderful website and forum specifically for hip resurfacing, which I will reference at the end of my story. It is full of information. The website administrator also had the surgery, which prompted her to start up the site.

Hip resurfacing is basically going in with a metal device and "capping" the top of the thigh bone and then putting a cup into the hip socket. In a traditional hip replacement, a part of the thigh bone is removed and a different type of device is installed. With hip resurfacing, there is more range of motion and the chance of dislocation is less. Hip resurfacing is recommended for younger, more active people. I was back to work after one month, though it was more like 2-3 months before I started walking normal again. I remember thinking what the heck did I do to myself the first few days after my surgery. But once I got past the worst of the surgery pain, I could tell my hip pain was gone.

2 years ago today, I had my surgery. The surgery gave me my life back.

For more information on this surgery, check out this website!

http://www.surfacehippy.info/index.php