BUT I have something coming up that has my mind going and I thought maybe a blog would help. Sure I could plaster my thoughts all over facebook, but I already torture my "friends" enough with political opinions and kitty videos. (I love the video of the cat that is stuffing its face with grass and then looks up with this worried face like it just farted in public http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYLU8DAZo2c)
For maybe the last ten years, my hip/groin has been giving me problems. I thought maybe it was just tight muscles ... I tried chiropractic for a while which seemed to help at times. I tried acupuncture (I told my doc once that I was trying acupuncture and he said "I think that's great -- I totally believe in placebo.). Again, things seemed to help very temporarily.
Over the past two years or so, things have gotten a little bit worse. I can't move my leg outward or twist it, and my left leg really starts hurting if I walk more than 1/4 mile. If you think about it, this means no hiking, no traveling abroad and walking around Rome (for which I have a passion). My mom may read this (Hi mom!) so I won't tell you what it does to my love life.
In short, I am becoming unable to do the things a healthy 42 year-old person should be enjoying.
This last year I went to an osteopath who told me that I likely tore my labrum cartilage in my hip. It's the layer of cartilage that cushions your hip joint and acts as sort of a gasket to keep it in place. He mentioned that it probably happened about 10 years ago and has slowly gotten worse. I tried physical therapy for a while to assist the muscles that have shifted to support the joint but that didn't help.
So I got an MRI to get a good solid look at it. Turns out the labrum is not torn, it's chewed up. I have seen two surgeons since then who have told me that my only choice is a Total Hip Replacement.
That's right. I'm a 42 year-old person who is now going to get a hip replacement. I will have my current hip joint removed and a metal one put in its place. I would like to state here that I had a problem with getting a crown on my tooth because I didn't want anything but my natural teeth. Heh.
In early December, I scheduled my surgery for February 7th. Today is January 22nd. My surgery is two weeks away and I'm starting to get nervous. You know, since I scheduled my surgery I'm feeling much better?
I would feel nervous too - who wouldn't! That's a pretty major surgery. But I believe God will make your new hip the best ever and you'll be the hippest person around :) - sorry for the pun. I think in time you'll feel so much better and your outlook will improve majorily because you'll be able to do all the things you haven't been able to do in a long time - and then you'll say "how cool is that!". Love ya! Mama Nina
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