Surgery Details

A lot of you have been asking when, where, who and what my surgery is...so I thought I would provide some information. Thank you again to all of you who have been so incredibly supportive during this time. I am one lucky lady!!

When: February 7th, 2008 - 11:00am

Where: New England Baptist Hospital, Boston, MA

Who: Me, Dr Murphy and a host of other hopefully very talented surgeons, anesthetists and nurses

What: http://www.hanchegenou.com/us/orthop_hanche/periacetabulaire/periacetabulaire.php

Pre-HipOp-opotamus

The days seem to be coming faster and faster as I approach the big day. This past Friday was my pre-operative appointment and I came out of it looking like a real ‘user’…with tracks up and down my arms from all the blood work and unit donation. I feel like a real jerk when I’m complaining about donating my own blood for my own surgery…surrounded by selfless people who are just there to save someone else’s life. It hurts just the same though! I must have looked more pathetic than usual on this particular day as I left the blood donor clinic with a lollipop and a baby football (the squeezer they put in your hand to get the blood out faster). Okay, so no lollipop, but I did get a pat on the head and a “you did so great” comment as I left the room.

The entire day was spent meeting with individuals who knew nothing about my particular surgery…some who didn’t even know my surgeon…and trying to get answers to questions that had been flying around in my old noggin for a long time. My wonderful mom was with me to offer support and to answer some of her own questions…most of which should have been answered in my original consultation but unfortunately I went solo and only remember one comment from the 2 hours I spent with the surgeon…”You’ve got some messed up hips”

Here are the things we learned during the pre-op appointment that might be useful to those of you out there preparing for PAO surgery.

1. Morphine is your friend after the surgery…but in case it makes you violently ill like your mother and grandmother…think happy thoughts and bring something to bite down hard on to deal with the pain
2. Anesthesiologists apparently intake a lot of the stuff they prescribe. I’m just hoping the lady I met with has NOTHING to do with my surgery…because if she wasn’t high when she was talking to us…then she has a host of other problems that I don’t need her to deal with when I’m ‘under’
3. Dr. Murphy is apparently really difficult to work with and the nurses find him to be in the pain in the rear. This is the best news we heard all day because the more of a perfectionist he is…the better hands I’m in. I’m not looking for a friend here…
4. There is always someone who has it worse than you…so suck it up. This was the lesson that mom and I received for FREE from the cabbie on the way to the hospital that morning. To tell you the truth, I knew this one already, but it was a great reminder as I was feeling sorry for myself that morning. The cabbie must have sensed my apprehension because she filled us with horror stories from her youth that definitely made me feel I had it pretty darn good.
5. Rock stars get nervous about hip surgeries too!! I can’t name any names, but let’s just his last name rhymes with Schmyler and mom rode in the elevator with him and his personal nurse and they weren’t exactly “Living it up when they were going down”

So I’m now 18 days from the surgery and have moments when I’m actually excited about it…followed obviously by moments of shear terror…but heck…I’m making progress!

And so it begins...

College Sports...2
5ks...4
10k's...5
1/2 Marathon's...4
Marathon's...0
Attempted Marathon's...2
Adventure Races...9
Century Rides...8
Triathlons...6
Last time I really worked out...10 months, 3 days and about 8 doctors visits ago
# of MRI's in the past three years...2
# of xrays in the past three years...10+
# of diagnoses prior to hip dyplasia...I've lost count

I was finally diagnosed with hip dysplasia about 9 months ago. Forever trying to keep up with my athletic friends and family...I was biking a lot, attempting to jog (pronounced yog...with a soft j) and had repeated pain in the right hip and groin area.

After countless trips to the PT and no improvement, he finally sent me back to the doctor telling me there was no way I had the simple femoral stress fracture and torn labrum cartilage diagnosed months before. After convincing my doctor to take more x-rays, we discovered there was definitely an issue with my hips...the pelvic bone wasn't exactly fond of 'cuddling' with my femoral head. Not being much of a cuddler myself...I understood completely.

The next step was to find a surgeon who specialized in hip dyplasia surgeries. During my research I came upon my future surgery for the first time...PAO. Which incidently doesn't stand for Periodical Aromatic Odor (as google will sometimes tell you). In my case it stands for Periacetabular Osteotomy....or as I like to say...the hacking off, rotation and reattachment of 1/4 of the pelvic bone. I learned that last technical bit in Dr. school.

So now I am approximately 24 days from my first surgery and decided to start a blog for several reasons. One, because I thought it would get me more sympathy from my friends and family (think BIG presents while I'm in the hospital) :)...but mostly because I think it will help get my mind off what is to come.