Strep Throat

Can you believe it? I have strep throat. I was feeling pretty bad yesterday. I slept a ton and then late afternoon I had a really bad sore throat on the left side. I also had the chills and dizziness. I told my husband to take me into Urgent Care. The strep culture came back positive right away and I opted to get a shot of Penicillin. They told me I would be feeling better within 24 hours. That is a painful shot though, man! I can't nelieve I actually got strep in the middle of all this recuperating.

2 Week Post Op Appointment

I met with Dr. Peter's PA for my post op appointment yesterday. It was a workout for me to get down the stairs, into the van, and walk all the way to the appointment. Thank goodness I had the handicap placard to park close! It was a good visit though and I learned a lot of things. Here is my list of questions and concerns that I was able to have answered:

-Pain Meds:
Q-What is the goal to taper off? Should I do more and take more or do less and taper off quicker?
A- The goal is to be off pain meds at 6 weeks. Right now I am taking 2 oxycodone every 4 hours. The goal is to move to 2 every 5 hours, then to 6 if I can, then go to 1 oxycodone every 3 hours and slowly go longer as I am able. I told her about my whole pain ordeal and got new prescriptions. I ran out of oxycontin and she gave me 12 more pills to take as needed on bad nights. She told me it is more important to taper off pain meds than to do more. So do less and take less meds.

-Numbness
Q- Is all of the sharp, tingly tumbness I have normal. It is across the top of my quad down to my knee and on the outside of my leg?
A- Yes, those areas are normal. If you were to have numbness on the interior part of your leg, inner thigh, groin, then it would be concerning.

Meds
Q- Is there a reason I have been told to take Tylenol instead of Ibuprofin. I think Tylenol is a joke. It does nothing. My SIL and I are amazed it is still on the market. The only time I take it is when I have nothing else I can take, like when I am pregnant.
A- Yes, Tylenol pretty much does nothing. But Ibuprofin can slow bone growth and we do not want to do that.

Physical Therapy
Q- If and when do I start PT?
A- After 6 week appointment.

Incision
Q- Is the swelling normal? (I had quite a bit of swelling start 2 days ago)
A- No it isn't too common. Keep a close eye on it. Ice it for 1 week. If it is not gone by then, ice and then heat to try to fool your body. This hopefully will help to heal. If your incision area becomes bigger, more red or oozes at all then you need to come in.

Q- When can I get the incision wet?
A-24 hours from now! Steri-strips are going on today after we take the staples out.

Pain
Q- Is the inner groin pain I have normal. It has really been bothering me lately?
A- Yes, it is normal.

Sleep
Q- My legs are twitching like crazy at bedtime. Is this normal and what can I do about it?
A- Yes, it is normal. Prescribed muscle relaxers or I can take 1/2 Xanax like I have been as needed.

Blood Clot risk
Q- How long do I wear the TED hose? How would I know if I had a blood clot?
A- Need to wear TED hose for 2 more weeks (total 4 weeks post op). Blood clots would cause increased swelling in your op leg and intense pain. You would need to elevate your leg with 3-4 pillows while lying down. If this doesn't alleviate the swelling or pain, you need to go to the ER.
You also need to get up every 2 hours and walk around a little (except when sleeping). Also continue taking Aspirin (1/day) for the next 4 weeks.

Other instructions per doctor:
-Cannot submerge wound in water (pool, bath) until 3 weeks from staple removal. (5 weeks from surgery date)
- Continue walking as much as you can tolerate
- The key is to keep your hip quiet and not angry!
- Use both crutches full time until 6 week appointment.
- Watch temperature. Call nurse if it is above 101 degrees.
- Work on putting more weight on your operated leg.

I also told her about my whole pain ordeal and that the patients need to be better educated in the hospital about post-surgery care, meds, and how to taper off. She said that was something they were working on and would make note of it for their discussion.

I left feeling so much better about where I was at. That I wasn't a druggie. That the on-call doctor at the hospital was totally out of line to say what he did. That I still can't hold my "baby" for a long time. That I need to keep an eye on my swollen wound and ice it more. She also told me no more bending as to not aggravate the swelling. That's a tough one. It makes me so dependent on other people. I drop my crutch, what am I supposed to do? Need to reach for a pillow from my recliner? socks on, shoes.... you get the picture. Anyway, it was a good appointment. Hopefully I keep getting better!

29 Staples are coming out today!

This picture is not for the faint of heart. The incision is huge and has gotten really swollen. I have a lot of questions to ask the doctor today so I am excited to go in. It will be my first time going outside in 10 days. Hopefully I can maneuver okay with stairs, getting in and out of the car, etc. At least I will get to use my handicap placard! I will update later on the appointment.

Sweet Kids

I love my kids so much. They have been so sweet to me. Anytime I need anything, they are so excited to get it for me. I try to ask my 3 year old to do things she can do (like hand me my crutches) and if somebody else jumps in to help her do it she yells at them, "No, Mommy said for me to do it!" I just asked my 6 year old if he could get my water and he said, "Oh yes I can.", and he goes running off to do it. He noticed the water was almost gone so he dumped it out and put new ice and water and put the lid back on for me. He is so sweet. He has been letting me give him tons of kisses and hugs too which I love!

I was thinking of a couple of things he said to me before surgery. I could tell he was worried about the whole surgery thing and I asked if he was worried. He looked at me for a minute and said, "No, I'm just scared that you are going to die." Oh, he broke my heart. I told him I was going to be okay and Heavenly Father was going to take care of me. He is such a tenderhearted little guy. Then he cracked me up with the next thing he said. "Mom, can we play the wii after you get home?" "Yeah bud. I would love to play the wii with you." "Okay, but I'm just going to look at the tv. I'm not going to look at you because your hip will be disgusting!" What a funny kid. It is pretty disgusting though, I'll give him that.

Here are the pics they made for me while I was in the hospital. I got lots of comments from the nurses. I hung them up by my recliner now so I can see them. And of course, they keep adding more.

This is my favorite. Love the look on my face!

Notice how I have crutches by my legs. : )

Playing the wii after I get home. Love the belly buttons.

Can't leave out my little princess' picture.

End of 1st 10 Days: What I can and can't do

-Can go to the bathroom
-Can get myself dressed
-Can walk around on crutches. Have to drag my foot.
- Can eat dinner at the table with the family
-Can walk to the other end of my house to use the computer
-Still have to wear TED hose
- Still have to cover incision in shower (no getting wet)
-Can get up out of a chair by myself
-Can't take a shower without help getting in/out
-Can't do stairs (haven't tried yet)
- Can't fix myself meals...too unsteady
-Can't stand for too long...gets painful
-Taking approximately 8 oxycodone a day
- Haven't left the house yet
- Spend a lot of my day playing the wii with my 6 year old, reading, watching movies, and resting
(Loved reading the Hunger Games)
-Can let my 18 month old sit with me but I can't hold him standing up or let him get too wiggly
-Can let others take care of me and enjoy the break! : )

I Hate Pain!

It has been the worst day for me. I realized Friday evening that I was going to run out of pain meds over the weekend. I had been taking the prescribed dose but as I counted my pills, I realized it wasn't going to last until Monday. I knew I couldn't call my doctor's office until Monday and that I was going to figure out a solution. I had no idea how hard that was going to be. Darren (my husband) called the U of U hospital first thing in the morning to see who he could talk to. He was given the name of the on call orthopedist and that he would call back. The oncall doctor, Dr. Beckham, called back within a reasonable amount of time but told Darren that it is the hospital's policy that on call physicians are unable to prescribe narcotics. He then said most patients are off pain meds by now and that I should be okay getting by on Tylenol. He said if I really need to, I could cut my oxycontin in half and take it for acute pain, but that we didn't hear that from him. He also told me that if the pain gets really bad that I can go to the emergency room. Nice professional advice. I was so annoyed that he said most patients are off pain meds by now. Hello, I just left the hospital 5 days ago. I don't think so. Not to mention he isn't even familiar with the surgery I had, a periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) which is a much more difficult recovery from hip and knee replacements. Not to downplay the pain involved in those surgeries, but all of the nurses and my doctor have told me this is the case. So I was really annoyed that he was basically telling me I shouldn't need them anymore. What does he know about the pain I am in? So since this was still about 10 a.m., I decided maybe I would be okay. I had about 4 oxycodones left and Tylenol. Well, by about 3:00 p.m. I realize that this is not going to be okay. I am already having much more pain and we need to call him again. I wanted to talk to the doctor myself. So, I call back 3 more times over the next 2 hours and am completely ignored. The hospital staff keeps telling me the doctor will call me back within 20 minutes but he never does. Since Dr. Beckham told me "I could always go to the emergency room", like that's such an easy thing, I call the Urgent Care at my PCP's office. They said they are not allowed to give narcotics after hours and that they wouldn't be able to give them anyway because my doctor is not involved in this surgery at all. Exactly what I thought they would say. Why would they be willing to give out pain meds when they have no idea what my history is? By 5:00 p.m., I am really upset. I call the hospital again and the same guy who has been taking my messages treats me like a drug seeking lowlife who Dr. Beckham will call if he wants to. I tell him to transfer me to the orthopedic floor. I finally think to talk to the charge nurse. By now I can hardly talk because I am crying so hard. I am in pain and I am stressed out. At first she counts the pills I was given and says, "So you should still have 12 pills left right?" "No... if I took the maximum dose of 3 pills a every 3 hours, that is 24 per day. I haven't been taking that many but I still have run out." She said, "Oh, I guess you are right". No kidding, I'm not as dumb as you think I am. She also couldn't believe my urgent care couldn't give me a prescription. I thought that was weird, why should they? So she called Dr. Beckham and said he would call me back within 5 minutes. Yeah right, I've heard that before. So in the meantime, my husband had called a good friend of our family who is a doctor. We weren't able to get a hold of him and I wasn't sure if we would be able to. My 8 year old daughter walked into my room where I was bawling and asked me if I was okay. Then she asked if we should say a prayer. What a sweetheart and what a good example to me. She has so much faith and love. We said a prayer together and I thanked Heavenly Father for such a wonderful daughter you has such faith and I ask that we will be able to get the medicine I need so I will not be in pain and will be at ease. We were both crying and hugging each other. It was a special moment. Within about 30 minutes, our friend called us back and was willing to get me enough meds to last through the weekend. I was so relieved and so thankful for an answer to prayer, and for my beautiful daughter who helps me remember to ask Heavenly Father to help us and to have faith in Him.
A little while after this, Dr. Beckham from the U of U called me back. I was pretty surprised that he called. He tells me that he spoke with the nurse and that he will write me a prescription to come pick up. I say thank you but then ask, "You spoke with my husband earlier today, right...so why the difference? It is nearly impossible for me to have my husband drive an hour to pick up this prescription (it has to be picked up in person..no calling in or faxing), not to mention it has been snowing all day, and it is 6:00 on Saturday night. Also, I didn't say this to him, but what happened to it being against hospital policy? Then I started crying and said you made me stress all day, my pain got a whole lot worse..so why the difference? All he could say was I'm sorry.
So, I'm not sure what to learn from this situation or what I could do to change the outcome the next time. Of course, I will be very meticulous about the number of pills I have/need, especially to last over a holiday or weekend. I understand that this is a real issue with people who have become addicted to this drug and I understand there is a real concern of addiction. But for those of us right out of surgery, there has to be a better option. I mean, heaven forbid they could actually give us a full 2 week prescription to last until our 1st post surgery visit. I think the least advice I would give the hospital would be to spend more time informing your patients about the drugs they are taking, about how difficult it will be to get a refill, how they should have a plan of how to taper off the drug, how much they may or not need to take in the coming 1-2 weeks post surgery which will be significantly different than in the hospital. I was not advised on any of these things. I was just handed a prescription. There definitely is a need for more patient information and advocacy.

First Day Home

It was so nice to be home. I was more comfortable in the recliner so we moved it to our bedroom for me to sleep and pretty much live in for the next week. I was hooked up with some good books and movies. It is so nice to have my mom here. She takes care of all the kids and me and is constantly busy. My friends and members of my church have been amazing. They have meals planned through Friday and are always calling to take the kids for awhile or help them get to preschool, kindergarten, and other places they need to be. We are so grateful to live where we do! I thought my 18 month old would not sit with me because he is such a wild man but he came right up to me and sat with me. He was so sweet. Pain management has been okay. I have mostly been getting around with the walker. I feel much more stable.

Day 4 Post Op...Going Home!

Today is the last day in the hospital. My pain is pretty much under control and I practice getting around with my crutches...not an easy feat. I'm only able to get to the hallway and back. I'm a little nervous about pain control at home because I am on the max oxycodone, 3 pills every 3 hours, and that has been okay. But even last night I needed an extra dose of Dilaudid. After 5 days in the hospital, there were certain things I couldn't live without. So here is my list of things to take.

Lifesavers in the hospital
- Somebody to stay with you. My husband was my advocate for pain control, he kept me calm, and he helped me so much. I can't imagine not having him there with me.
- ear plugs!
- eye mask. At first I bought this "Sleeping Beauty" eye mask as a joke thinking I wouldn't use it much but it was so good to have!
- Antibacterial hand wipes
- Facial cleaning wipes so you can clean up right in bed
- makeup. I'm a pretty natural person but makeup kept me feeling put together.
- Your own blanket and pillow!
- your favorite lotion so you feel good and yummy smelling
- movies. Although I didn't watch too much. I was pretty out of it.
- People Magazine. Just an easy brainless entertaining thing to read
-Cell phone with all phone numbers you may need

Things I bought/borrowed before surgery:
- Millenial crutches. So much more comfortable to use. Best deal on Amazon.
- Raised toilet seat. cheapest at Home Depot
- Walker. Didn't really think I would need it but it was a must for the first week especially.
-tray for eating in bed or recliner
- shower seat. Cheapest is to just buy or borrow an outdoor plastic chair. I have a big shower so the chair fits in it fine. If you have a tub shower you may need to buy the shower chairs sold at the medical supply stores because they are non-slip.

Day 3 Post Op

Day 3 was much better than previous days. I was originally planning on going home this day but it ended up being too much too soon. I still hadn't walked very far and I still had the catheter in. When PT came in today I walked all the way out to the hallway and back. I even sat in a chair for awhile. Then the nurse came in to finally take out my catheter. I was nervous it would sting like crazy when I first went to the bathroom but it surprisingly didn't hurt at all. But having the catheter out did mean that I had to get myself to the bahtroom now. I managed to get to the bathroom a few times and even to the shower for a shower of sorts.

During the day, my mom and daughter came to visit. I loved having my daughter there, she is such a sweetie. Here she is cuddling with me in my bed. And at the bottom are the pictures all the kids sent to hang on my wall.

That evening my best friend from forever ago came to visit. It was the second time Kristy had come and I loved hanging out with her. Actually she was there for the whole bad nurse ordeal so we will forever get a kick out of that story, I'm sure. So this time she was able to see another ordeal of sorts. We joked that she brought problems with her. By the end of the day, I was too worn out and hurting to get up and go to the bathroom again. So what does this mean? I get to learn all about the wonderful world of bed pans. I have an immense amount of sympathy for anyone in this situation for any length of time. I waited until I couldn't hold it anymore and had them bring the bed pan in. Then, I had to lift myself with my good leg and try to go. I waited, and waited, and waited, and NOTHING happened! How in the heck can I not pee right now?! They tried running water, giving me water to drink, putting my hands in warm water...nothing! Then my friend Kristy left and the nurse left to give me some privacy. Still couldn't go. Then Darren said, Here maybe I can help. He goes into the bathroom and starts peeing and all of a sudden I can totally go. How funny was that! All I needed was a sympathetic peer. Needless to say, the next time I had to go, I found the strength to get to the bathroom.

Day 2 Post Op

I was scared to have the epidural taken out because I was scared of the pain getting out of control again. I told the anesthesiologist this and he said he would get my nurse to bring my meds in right away, 1/2 hour earlier than scheduled. I should have made them get the meds first!!! He took it out and said it should have lasting effects for about 1/2 hour. I paged my nurse. The CNA came in and I told her what was going on and that I needed my meds early. Nobody came. I paged the nurse again. The CNA came in again and I asked if a different nurse or the charge nurse could bring it to me. Nobody came. 1/2 hour goes by. I am starting to freak out because now my epidural will be wearing off and the new pain meds will take a while to kick in. When my new nurse finally came in I lost it. I was crying and giving her the rundown on how I needed better pain control and that 1/2 hour wasn't good enough. I was really upset from the night before. Looking back I feel sorry for her, she walked into a loaded gun. So she was understanding and sorry and told me she will be right on top of it. If I need her and she was helping another patient, she would page the charge nurse. So, I felt like we were off to a good start. At least we understood one another and she ended up being great for the rest of her shift. PT came in that day and we stood with the walker and even managed to take a couple of steps.

Darren washed my hair today. What a sweetheart. I got the regular spa treatment. They have these shower caps with shampoo in them. I have never heard of them before, what an invention. The nurse put it in the microwave, then Darren put the cap on my head and rubbed in the shampoo. It's a no rinse shampoo so when you're done you just take it off and comb through it. I was amazed at how well it worked. No snarls or anything! I felt like a new woman!

That night I had the best nurse. Her name was Maria and she had a strong accent. She was a real sweetheart. After meeting her and the CNA came in to help me, I asked the CNA where Maria was from. She was from Poland. Poland?! Darren and I couldn't believe it. He spent 2 years in Poland when he was age 19-21 serving a mission for our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints).
So he was able having a lot of fun talking to her in Polish (as best as he could) and talking all about Poland. One funny thing that happened with her was they were talking about how pain meds can give you constipation. Darren said, I think she needs another prune juice don't you? Maria didn't really think I needed it and said, "You don't want too much to have loose stools" (I wish you could hear her accent...so cute) Darren said, I think she should have anothe prune juice. Maria, who had been out in the hall when Darren went off on the other nurse the night before, looked at me and said, "He is very matter of fact man". I was laughing so hard. It was the funniest, cutest thing. I have been calling him my matter of fact man ever since. And she would tell me, "You will be okay. You are very vivacious young woman". So Darren likes to call me his vivacious woman. She helped us to have a good time there at the hospital: )

Day 1 Post PAO

I woke up feeling pretty decent the morning after surgery. I slept quite a bit this day. I had great nurses and every time they asked my pain level, I would say zero or 1. Dr. Peter's crew came in to check on me and they were concerned about the degree of numbness in my right quad. The epidural completely numbed my right leg and only slightly my left leg which was great, but they were concerned that I had feeling below my knee and in my hamstring. When they tried to have me flex my quad, nothing happened. I wasn't too concerned at first, having had 4 previous epidurals and having similar ability to move my feet and lower legs. I was getting nervous after awhile though when they kept coming to check it and saying it wasn't very common for the epidural to work in that manner. During PT that day, I stood up and took a couple of steps and my knee buckled. My quad apparently wasn't working to stabilize my knee. My body was not happy to be trying to walk. I heard all kinds of nasty popping sounds in my hip but didn't have any pain. In the evening around 5 I started having weird feelings in my leg. It felt like when you stick your feet in a bucket of ice and it becomes so cold that it feels hot. Anyway, that was going on for probably an hour and then all of a sudden my pain level went from a zero to like a 7. I felt floored. So I paged the nurse a few times, no response. I was starting to get pretty ticked off that the nurse had not come in the room. So finally, she came in and the shifts had just changed so I had a brand new nurse...great, I loved my old nurse! This lady comes in and the very first thing she does is start talking with her hands and smacks my operated leg. I could not believe it! I wanted to yell a ton of profanities at her but instead just gave her a look that could kill. So, we were off to a great start! Then I started asking if my epidural had somehow come out or was turned down because the pain level had gone way up. She said, no everything is the same, and said it should be working. Well, it's not working anymore! What can we do about it. She just kept saying, I don't know and it should still work. So she left the room to check on getting more and said she would be back soon. Of course she wasn't back soon so we started hitting our button again. She finally came in with "special permission" to give me more oxycodone. That's great I said, but it hasn't done much for me in the past so I'm not sure it will this time. I took the meds and immediately felt nauseous so I asked her for some meds for that and some crackers. She leaves and doesn't come back. Finally I am totally breaking down crying and hurting and my husbands asks, "Do I need to do something about this?" Yes you do, I said. I was in so much pain. So he walks out in the hall and she is sitting at her desk. "Where are the crackers?!" "What?" "Where are the crackers?!" "Oh, I'm sorry I forgot." "Well, you need to not forget. My wife is sick and hurting and you need to pay attention and not forget next time!" So she finally comes in with the crackers and I tell her we need to do something else for the pain because the oxy is not touching it. So she leaves to call the pain team. 20 minutes go by and they can't get a hold of the doctors. My pain is about an 8 but if I even twinge or shift it immediately blasts to a 10. The nurse was not helping my mood. My husband walked back out in the hall and there she was again, talking to a different nurse. "Have you heard back from the doctor" "No." "Why not?" "Well, I am not your nurse anymore. The charge nurse is taking over." "Oh, good." So basically, my pain is totally out of control now and the charge nurse comes in to tell me the doctor is coming. He tells me that he thinks my sciatic nerve is probably inflammed and that is the cold/hot feelings and that as far as the pain, they don't know why the epidural can be so picky sometimes. Even the slightest change, can cause the meds to shift and not be as effective. So he put some meds into my IV and upped my epidural. The pain stayed about the same for the next hour and then got a little more tolerable. The charge nurse gave me a Xanax with my next dose of oxy to help me relax and not fight against the pain. I was skeptical about that helping with the pain, but it really helped and allowed me to get some relief to sleep that night. Needless to say, I wasn't too excited to be waking up to the neurologist the next morning saying, "Julie, we've got to take out this epidural."

Surgery Day

My surgery was scheduled for 8:00 a.m. and was supposed to show up at 6:30. I fell asleep just fine the night before but then woke up at 3:00 a.m. anxious and couldn't get my mind to shut off. So I took a xanax to help me get a little more sleep and also knowing I would want the relief at the hospital anyway. So I have taken Xanax many times in the past due to anxiety/panic disorder. Things have been under control for the past 5 years or so and I just take the Xanax every once in awhile. So it was very weird to me that I kind of freaked out after popping the pill. It usually has an immediate calming and sedating feeling but for some reason this time my heart started pounding and I was getting amped up. So I woke up my sleepy husband and he gave me a massage for about 1/2 hour. He is so amazing and sweet to me! So anyway, I totally relaxed and slept good until the alarm went off. We were both sleeping so hard that we apparently slept right through the alarm. We finally got out of bed and hurried to get out the door. We got to the University of Utah hospital at 7:00, about 1/2 hour late. We figured, no big deal. You always end up waiting no matter what but they were actually waiting for us and got right down to business. The staff was great. They were all fun to talk to and helped me to settle down about this major surgery that was about to happen!

Since I've had 4 kids I was not at all worried about the epidural. I've had 4 kids and 4 epidurals with great experience with each one. I was really surprised that for this epidural I totally passed out! He put the needle in no problem, but when he started the meds, I totally lost it. I remember feeling really dizzy, cold, and weak. They kept talking to me and then put something else in my IV to liven me back up. I felt like I was going to throw up but after a little while was feeling okay again. What a great way to start the day!

So it was crazy to realize that I was ready for surgery. They usually give patients Versed at this time to basically put you to sleep. It just makes you really sedated and unable to remember anything. That is why the last thing you usually remember before surgery is going through the big doors. But I had a major reaction to Versed after complications following the birth of my 1st child and wasn't too keen on having hallucinations and nightmares again. The doctor said I was the first person she had met who was "allergic" to Versed. So since I didn't have Versed, I was totally coherent and talking to my anesthesiologist all the way down the hall. I asked if this was weird, if most people are already out by this time, and she said, Oh yeah, usually the patient is totally out of it right now. I wasn't too excited about some of the things I saw as we were going down the hallway. I am really nervous around hospitals and medical things so seeing other patients being wheeled around totally under with all kinds of tubes, IV lines, and equipment kind of freaked me out a little bit. But it was interesting to go into the operating room and see the big room where it was all going to happen. The nurses were talking to me and joking around about my husband wearing a BYU shirt at the U of U hospital (they are huge rivals). So I do remember them getting prepped for surgery and then saying, "Okay Julie, this is when we put you to sleep". I remember them putting the mask on and starting to cough a lot and then I remember waking up in recovery.

Here I am right after being wheeled to my room. It is such a weird feeling to wake up feeling like you just barely fell asleep and realize it has been hours. The first thing I noticed was that there was only 1 hospital bed in the room. I had talked to Shelley the night before, who had the same surgery at the same hospital within the past year, and knew that she had to share a room. So I was expecting to have to share a room. When the nurse came in I asked if it was a private room. When she said, "Yes", I wanted to jump up and kiss her. This meant that Darren had his own pull out to sleep on and I would have so much more privacy. She told me that they had just remodeled the rooms in October. Hallelujah!

The doctors came in shortly to tell me the surgery went as well as they could have hoped. It took just a little over 2 hours for the surgery. I lost as little blood as could be expected, so no blood transfusion, yay! He had to shave the femoral head which I wasn't really expecting and thought was interesting. I guess it helps to get a better fit. I asked what they thought the degree of my dysplasia was now that they had seen it first hand. I knew before that it was fairly mild compared to other patients but obviously my pain dictated the need for surgery. The doctor said that on a bell curve, my dysplasia was right in the middle. Meaning, he felt it was moderate and definitely needed to be fixed. That was what I already assumed was true but it is always nice to hear it firsthand from the surgeon. The epidural worked great and I woke up in no pain. I used the pain pump just a few times in those first few hours but after that everytime they asked my pain level, I said zero. I thought I was going to be smooth sailing and it was until everything went flying downhill the next day.

Here I am in my room the evening of my surgery. I was surprised to be looking pretty decent!

A closeup of the huge scar!

Tomorrow's the Day!

I have been abnormally calm about the upcoming surgery. I have been so busy with the holidays, keeping up with the kids, enjoying company, and being concerned about my dad that I haven't had time to really worry about my surgery. My dad came into town this past week and it was so great to spend a good week with him. For those of you who don't know, he was diagnosed with lung cancer stage 3b in October and it has been so hard for our whole family. It is terminal and very difficult to come to terms with. He had been pretty sick with chemo but after this last treatment, he felt pretty good. He only had 1 bad day. He was able to plan a trip to come see us and play with the kids, go out to dinner, play the wii, and enjoy being together. It was such a blessing to have him here feeling so well. I was so thankful he could come. A few months ago, I was really debating whether or not to go through with surgery. I was afraid either I was going to miss out on his last good months or something might happen and I wouldn't be able to travel. He came to visit for Halloween, we went there for Thanksgiving, and then he came this past week. I have been so glad to have those visits with him and it has made it so much easier to go forward with surgery. He wouldn't hear of me putting it off, especially on his account, so that made it easier too. My mom got into town on Tuesday. Dad took us all out to dinner that night and then today dad flew home. I have been running around town doing a bunch of last minute things today and it has been so nice to have mom here to watch the kids. My ward (people in my church) have been so amazing at offering to help. I have been brought to tears numerous times already with phone calls, visits, people dropping things off, and already having meals lined up from Sunday to Friday of next week. We feel so loved and we are so happy to live where we live. Our neighbors and friends are so amazing. It helps me to be so much calmer about the weeks ahead.
I did start to freak out a little today and decided to call Shelley from the hip blog. She had PAO's done by the same surgeon as me, Dr. Peters and has such great things to say about him. It was so great to talk to her and know what to expect. Thanks Shelley! Here goes nothing!

July to the present

There is so much that has happened in the past 6 months. I am staring my PAO right in the face. It is only a week away from today and I can't believe it is actually happening. I have been so busy with life the past 6 months that I have hardly had time to think or worry about this surgery thing. It has been nice to be distracted and busy with the kids and the holidays. One major kink in the plans that has been really hard is my dad being diagnosed with lung cancer in October. He has stage 3b lung cancer and is going through chemo right now. The prognosis is not good and it has been devastating for my whole family. I live a long ways away from him so it has been difficult to not be able to visit and be there when he needs help or company. I had to come to terms with whether or not I was going to go through with surgery or not. At first I felt like I could never forgive myself if something happened to my dad and I was bedridden post surgery. Or just thinking about the time I would lose with him when he was feeling good was killing me! But my dad has been so supportive of me and told me I was not going to put this off on account of him. He came to visit for Halloween, we went there for Thanksgiving, and now he is making another trip tomorrow. He has been so great at wanting to spend as much time as possible with us. Traveling isn't easy for him right now but he is feeling relatively decent in between treatments. So he will be here up until the day before my surgery and then my mom will be here to take care of me for a few weeks...hooray! What would I do without her? I am finally feeling good about the decision to go through with surgery and that everything will be okay...for me and my dad. I have my pre op appointment tomorrow. I don't imagine it will be too eventful. Just mostly pushing paperwork and bloodwork in preparation for surgery day.

Testing the hip

We went on a long vacation in July to visit family. I knew some of the activities would put my hip to the test. We hiked around Yosemite, visited a water park, hiked at the Redwoods, and again at Mt. St. Helens. We were fortunate to visit some amazing places. I did great at Yosemite. We took off on what I thought would be a fairly short 1 mile hike to see some Saquoia trees, but ended up walking more like 2 miles with some big ol hills. I was amazed that I made it without any pain. I felt good at the water park too but by the time we went to the Redwoods a few days later I was definitely feeling it. I was still able to enjoy myself but I was glad the harder climb we did at Yosemite was already over. I don't think I could have done it again. I had the midstride stabbing pains going on and had to modify my gait somewhat. I don't think anyone else noticed but I was feeling a little gimpy.

MRI arthrogram

I was really nervous about the MRI because I get panicky when I am stuck and/or have no control over a situation. Obviously an MRI could bring out some of those panic feelings. So, I took a Xanax before the appointment, and then decided maybe I needed another one. Needless to say, I was really out of it when it came time for the actual MRI. I didn't have a care in the world. I was however surprised at how much the arthrogram part aggravated my hip. They poked me with a needle to numb me and then injected a big needle into my joint capsule. I was surprised with where the needle is actually injected. I was envisioning it on the outer part of my hip for some reason. It is very enlightening to realize exactly where your hip joint is! It is closer to your groin/bikini line. So...this is where the needle is injected. It isn't comfortable of course but it isn't terrible either. It took a looong time for them to get the dang needle in the right place. I swear I was laying there for 10 minutes with this big needle in me. You can watch on a tv screen that is an xray of where the needle is in relation to your hip. They have to get it in the exact right place and then they inject contrast dye for the MRI. I felt okay after the injection and the MRI wasn't that bad. My hip felt really full and almost bloated for the rest of the day. I was expecting to feel normal within a couple of days but I didn't. It seemed to get more painful and aggravated. I think they really bothered my joint capsule by trying so many times to get the needle in the right place. They told me it was super tight in my hip joint, as everything was "hanging on for dear life" to compensate for the misalignment of my hip. So, since it is so tight in there I guess it wouldn't take a lot to really aggravate things. I was limping around for about 3 weeks! I think I am in the minority for it hurting for so long. It made me realize that something really is not right in there but I was worried that I had started myself on a downward spiral with the arthrogram. I asked Dr. Peters about it about 1 1/2 weeks later at my appointment with him and he wasn't concerned. He said things were probably just irritated and should feel better within a couple weeks. I was surprised to hear it could still be another couple weeks before it felt better but eventually, the pain subsided.

Dr. Peters appointment

So while waiting forever for my appointment, I became completely obsessed with hip dysplasia. I quickly learned the following: If you google "hip dysplasia" you will find a bunch of websites all about dogs. If you google "human hip dysplasia" you will find a bunch of websites about hip problems in babies". If you google "adult human hip dysplasia" you will finally find some worthwhile information. So after searching for a couple days I found this amazing group on yahoo called "hipwomen" that has been a lifesaver for me. If you randomly came across my site and you are searching for information, go to this site! http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/hipwomen/

Such a wealth of information from women who have been through this exact problem or are in the middle of it just like me. I could go on forever about the people I have already met on this website who have helped so much. The day of my appointment I looked at my email that night and had a bunch of well wishes from people I had never met from all over the world wondering how my appointment went. It brought me to tears to realize how fabulous these women are and how concerned and helpful they are. I also feel lucky to already have some great friends who are willing to watch my kids all day while I run around to doctors.

Anyway, back to my appointment which was on June 18, 2009. Dr. Peters walked in the room (finally...my appointment was at 9:30 and I finally saw him at 11:45) and said, "Well, here you are at the hip doctor. You must have something wrong if you are here!" He took a lot of time with me discussing what is going on and recommended I have surgery. It is called a PAO...periacetabular osteotomy. I am putting a couple of links here to explain it. It is a very intensive procedure which he has gratefuly done many times. I guess he has done this surgery over 200 times and currently does about 2/month so at least I am in the right hands! The bad news is the left hip is just as bad, actually worse on xray, then the right and I will have to have that one done at some point too. The good news is my cartilage looks pretty good and I am a good candidate for this surgery, meaning arthritis hasn't developed very extensively yet. So that is all of the crazy insane hip info in a nutshell. I have an arthrogram MRI next Friday. I am really excited to be poked with a humongous needle full of dye right into my hip joint and then wedge my claustrophobic body into a tight tunnel. Thank goodness for Xanax...I will need it! Here is the xray of my hip so you can try to dissect my problem and the links to some websites that explain what is going on better than I can.

MY HIP: Not a lot of horizontal weight bearing...the acetabulum or hip sockets go up at angles and don't extend to the outside of my femur. This puts too much pressure on the cartilage on the outer lip of the acetabulum.

Great websites for more info (posted on side bar as well)

http://www.hip-joints.co.uk/hip_dysplasia.htm

http://hipandpelvis.com/patient_education/periace/page1.html

http://health.howstuffworks.com/hip-dysplasia.htm

http://swarminteractive.com/patient_ed_animations.html

What is the matter with me anyway?

Well, I decided to take the plunge and begin a blog of my hip story. I have benefited so much from others blogs about their lives with hip dysplasia and decided that I wanted to offer my story to anyone who might come across it or benefit in any way. So here goes nothing...

I first noticed pain at the end of my 2nd pregnancy. This was back in 2004. The last 6 weeks or so of my pregnancy was horrific. I had stabbing pains in my groin that would escalate down my inner thigh. When I asked the doc about it, he figured the baby was sitting on a nerve and aggravating it. Nothing serious. I too chalked it up to pregnancy pains even though there were times when I would be mid stride and have this terrible pain. I would scream out in pain and literally fall to the floor. However, after giving birth, the pain went away and life continued as normal.

I went on to have 2 more children (now up to 4) and had similar pains at the end of pregnancy when the baby dropped. I now know it was due to that little turkey dropping to my pelvis and aggravating the heck out of my bad hips. The pain was always on my right, not the left, but my babies always favored my right side. Maybe part of the problem??? It makes me wonder if the pregnancies accelerated my hip depreciation/pain but I don't know. Others seemed to be diagnosed about the same age as me. And even if it did, so be it. I wouldn't change it for a second. Even if I end up having to have numerous surgeries and/or a THR my kids were totally worth it.

So after baby #4, the pain initially went away and I never thought about my painful hips again until about 10 months later when I started upping my workout to lose the baby weight. I had been running about 2 miles at a time, 3 days a week, as well as some classes at the gym. I would have occassionaly twinges of pain but not enough to make me think twice. Then about 10 months later, I increased my running to 4 miles and more often. I started having random stabbing pain in my hips which progressively occurred more often. It would just hit me out of nowhere mid stride. I tapered off a little but still had stabs of pain here and there. I remember playing baseball with my kids and chasing my 5 year old around the bases when all of a sudden it was like I was stabbed in the groin and my leg kind of gave out from under me. I hobbled around for the rest of the day. I talked about going to a doctor for months but wasn't sure where to go. Finally, the pain was so bad that I had to go to a doctor ASAP. So, I called the ortho my daughter saw when she broke her pinky. He didn't have an opening for 2 weeks and after the 1st week of waiting I was driving one day and just the motion of putting my right foot down on the gas pedal was killing me! I called the office and begged them for any sooner openings. They didn't have anything so I waited it out. On the day of the appointment, I felt pretty good. I didn't have much hip pain at all and even considered not going. I went in and after he asked me questions and did a physical exam he figured it was maybe a torn labrum. He wasn't overly concerned but wanted to have xrays done just to rule anything else out. When he came back, he wasn't so passive about the problem. He said, "It turns out you do have a structural problem here." He went on to talk about hip dysplasia and how he doesn't do the surgery to correct it but that the "it" guy was right here in Salt Lake and his name was Dr. Peters and they would call to set up an appointment for me. I just stared at him with a blank look on my face and said, "I can't have hip dysplasia. How could I possibly have this? I have played college softball and been active my whole life without any pain and you are telling me I was born with this problem?!"
He looked me straight in the eye and said, "I can see that you are doubtful of this diagnosis but I can tell you with 100% accuracy that this (hip dysplasia) is what you have." He went on talking about angles and explaining how my xrays aren't normal. He really got my attention and I couldn't believe I was actually born with bad hips. I made the appointment with Dr. Peters and waited the longest 6 weeks of my life for that appointment.