Surgery #2 Scheduled

      My second periacetabular osteotomy is scheduled for June 6th. Once again, Dr. Chris Peters will perform the surgery, and it will be at the University of Utah Medical Center. I am determined to try to be better about blogging in the hospital, so that I can be more detailed about what the experience is like. This is after all, a blog meant not only to be read by my friends and family, but to be read by other individuals with hip dysplasia who have to have this surgery (there just really isn't all that much information out there!).

       Last time I was nervous. This time, I just dread it. I remember what it was like, and I didn't like it. But then, no one likes having to ask their mother to put their socks on for them, or call their brother at three in the morning to help them get out of bed so that they can go to the bathroom. It's just not fun. It's painful, and it's really frustrating. I have not recovered 100% from the last surgery,which I expected. My left leg is still numb from nerve damage, which is also to be expected.

      So why am I going ahead and having the next surgery??

      Well...because the surgery is fairly new, we don't really know the ong term effects. However, doctors believe that if I have this surgery, I am less likely to have arthiritis (which a couple doctors told me I might very well have by age fourty without the PAO's) and I am less likely to need total hip replacements (which have to be replaced again and again). Apparently it is more difficult to recover from a PAO than from a total hip replacement,  but in the long run, it's a much better deal, especially for young people who wish to continue to be active...like me. (Disclaimer: I don't know this for sure, that's just what I've heard and read.) Hip replacements are significantly more restrictive than PAO's, even though the recovery time is longer. And here's the other thing - I want to be a mom. And pregnancy with little bitty hips, stricken with hip dysplasia...now, that just doesn't sound like very much fun, does it? When I used to babysit kids, holding small children on my hip hurt after only twenty minutes, sometimes even five. I don't want to be a mom who can't hold her kids, has arthiritis, and desperately needs hip replacements far too early in life. And while it's inconvenient timing, this is the most convenient it's going to get, and in the long run, I believe that it will be for the best.

        So...I have six weeks and six days to get in a whole lot of living - walking, dancing, playing, working, and so forth before surgery. And let me tell you something - I plan on using every single day.