Eve of Re-struction

This is Alexis, Sam's Mom.
I have promised her that I will contribute to her blog around her surgical time.
It is Wednesday night and we are checked into a Boston hotel.
The trip here was pretty uneventful with the exception of Sam learning some pretty interesting methods of how to quiet a mild to moderately turbulent flight.
We get lost on our way to the hotel, but manage to see Fenway Park and Harvard University in the process. Sam navigates us through the city in the dark and we arrive unscathed, despite seeing a record number of ambulances and police cars along the way.
In the event that we would have been lost in a Boston "neighborhood"-
Josh (Sam's special friend) is here to protect Sam- so all is well.
The road to Boston has been a long and painful one for Sam. She has suffered from hip pain for at least 5 years, had 2 femoral stress fractures and through-out that time ran several 1/2 marathons and adventure races. The pain persisted and eventually she was diagnosed with Developmental Hip Dysplasia and referred to a surgeon for PAO. On Monday her surgeon informed her that he may do a a femoral osteotomy as well. Sam never does anything half way. Dr. Murphy told her that he will make the decision regarding the femoral osteotomy following the PAO. It will add several hours to the procedure and at least 236 gray hairs to my head.
Faith- an essential part of the equation.
Sam has just completed her night-before-surgery hibiclens scrub and is moaning about how tacky (terribly sticky- not tawdry) it is. She has had a rollercoaster day- emotionally. I, who know her well have managed to stay out of the thick of it. Josh, who is fairly new to the equation has been caught in the cross-fire more than few times. He takes it well, and Sam- who is more than aware of her ricocheting psychological well-being lets us know how much she appreciates us both being here.
We will report for duty at 9:00am and her surgery will begin at 11:30am.
After all this tme I can't believe that "we're on the eve of "re"struction.
Sadly Sam & Josh have no idea what I am talking about with that line- I only hope that some of you might!
Thanks to all of you who have called and sent her well wishes. We will keep you all posted.
THM (Tragically Hip's Mom)

This is ground control to Major Tom...

I am having a hard time keeping my feet on the ground...

...I officially have 71 hours left until I am on the operating table. I have to say that I think I am handling it beautifully. Now you ask my friends and family and they might tell you that I am full of it and am a complete basketcase...but what do they know! ;)

Starting today I am focusing on packing everything I will need for my time in the hospital. For those of you who have your surgeries in the coming days and months, I hope this proves to be as helpful as the lists I have stumbled upon while preparing for this day.

1. Baggy pants - comfy pj's from the Tinevez family and some yoga pants from Lu Lu Lemon










2. A t-shirt to sleep in that smells of a certain individuals cologne. An additional shirt to wear during the day that reminds the nurses that yeah...I'm kind of a big deal. ;)

3. I-pod with all the music in the world...thanks to Sara for the additions last night. I also have two playlists stored...one with a bit of 'feel sorry for myself' music and another with 'suck it up and get better...worse things could happen' music

4. Non slip socks - and some bright new white ones care of Ray and Marion this Christmas! :

5. Toiletries: Incuding Bath and body works sweet pea lotion, Wet wipes and no-wash shampoo

6. Feather Pillow given to me from Yvonne and Dad about 15 years ago...still my favorite! I'm also bringing the shopping in Macao book to plan for my trip to visit you both in China this year...get your walking/shopping shoes on! :)

7. Beautiful quilt made for me by my granny and given to me this Christmas

8. Candy for the nurses...anything to get that private room and additional morphine... ;)

9. Comfy shoes. More specifically a pair of crocs from Auntie Fran!

10. Sodoku puzzle books, magazines and GMAT preps care of Richard's "thank God you are finally leaving us in peace" present and The Secret (Positive thinking book recommended by Bernie)

11. Netflix movies to watch on my latop thanks to the Accenture crew in Raleigh

12. Beautiful scarf and leather gloves from Terra, Rob, Craig and Jos to keep warm on the way to the airport after the surgery

13. Painting to remind me to always live, laugh and love...You are a bright shining star Jill!

14. My support crew: Mom and Josh

It is quite obvious, I hope, when reading this blog that I have amazing support from my friends and family. I can't thank all of you enough for your patience, advice, comfort and light hearted humor that has prepared me for this day. I'd also like to thank Lauren, Denise and Jennifer...individuals who had never met me prior to this operation but have provided unlimited amounts of support and encouragement...thank you SO much!

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.