123 days and counting....

I had my appointment with the good doctor today and I feel like I'm repeating history...first off we talked about my post op hip, that had gone through the surgical dislocation. I told Z that the screws really bother me and he smiled and stated "I bet they do". I asked if they could come out and he said "of course". Wonderful! Then he proceded to palpate my right hip around the area of the greater trochanter where the screws are located and I about jumped off the exam table. "That's where the screws are" he says. Thanks, no doubt! He also performed more range of motion on my right hip and it is mostly pain free, which was a big change from last time. Last time the internal rotation and flexion was still as painful as pre-op and I was so disappointed. Today, it was hardly there. I mostly have muscular pain now and we'll continue to watch the hip as the years go on. Then we talked about the left hip. Z went over the issues with the hip and how unstable it is. He worked it through the same range of motion and I have pain with different movements on that hip, but it's different structural issues too. I have since been having new pain issues in the left hip that I described to him, something like a peeling or ripping and popping like bubble wrap in the front of the hip. He thinks I've torn the cartilage now and wants an MRI-arthrogram......again......I asked why the one from last summer wouldn't be adequate for him and he stated that since it's been a year and new symptoms have shown up, he wants a more recent scan to help him decide the best course of action during surgery. He knows for sure the PAO, but has to see if he needs to do the scope along with the PAO. The scope would be done to address the inside of the joint to clean up any labral or cartilage issues. If he does not have to do the scope, which he would prefer due to scopes destabilize joints, then he feels we'd be better off. That's why he wants a new MRI-arthrogram. If the arthrogram shows no tear, then it sounds like no scope. But if there is a tear, then a scope would be advisable, at least that's what I think I got out of the appointment.
I also asked him about my knees turning in so much and if the PAO would address that issue. He asked me to get up and walk down the hall for him. I returned from my walk with his opinion of pretty severe anteversion, but also that he thinks I'm consciously turning my knees in to help deepen the femur into the sockets and make the legs more stable when I walk. He does not advocate doing femoral osteotomies simply because the pelvic osteotomies are very successful with alignment issues. He also said that once you cut the femur and "untwist" it, then you also need to cut the tibia to get it facing in the correct position since my feet would be turned way out to the outside if we did the femoral osteotomy. So he doesn't want to create several surgeries for me if we don't need to. Seeing as he's been pretty spot on with the right hip as yet, I'm willing to go with his view on everything. 
I'm not too thrilled about going back for another MRI-arthrogram. It's scheduled for Nov 15, 2 weeks before my surgery, which is the day of my pre-op appointment with Z. I would be happy if I never saw the inside of an MRI machine again, truth be told! This will be my 5th one in 1.5 years. That's 4 too many in my opinion. Overall, the appointment went well. Z warned me that the PAO would be much much harder than the SDD. He said I got away with "the easy surgery" first and not to underestimate the PAO....uggg. I tuned him out shortly after that. I remember this talk from last time but it never sounds good. I got bits and pieces of I really need to make sure I have at least 3 months off work and weight bearing issues were totally different than the SDD. I don't know what else he said beyond that.  I am not going to think about how bad it might be. Waking up from the SDD was bad enough! Possibly the worst/most painful moment ever in my! He said we would add the screw removal for the right hip right after the LPAO was done, that it would only take a few extra minutes to do. I'm so happy those things are coming out!

Once my appointment was done I headed over to Beaumont Hospital to visit with H and my brother. She had her SDD done on Tuesday, the 27th and will be going home tomorrow. She seems to be doing pretty well. She was on the pediatric floor so I got a chance to see it finally. It's pretty cute, all decked out with Disney themed rooms and brightly colored walls and decorations. Much more cheerful than the 9th floor where I was:) My brother jokingly warned the nurses that I would be seeing them in a few short months for my next surgery. The nurses were pretty amused and thought it was strange/coincidental how both H and I ended up with major hip problems and not even related. I still try to wrap my head around that!

To end the day, I met up with Niece and her daughter for lunch before I headed back home. It was really nice to see Niece again and her daughter is just the cutest thing! She's a really good girl. Niece and I got a chance to catch up a little and just talk all things hips and otherwise. Then it was back on the road for my 3.5 hour drive home. Bleh.  My hips don't like sitting that long, so I always have to stop along the way and get out and move. I can't wait for the day I don't have to consider my hips all the time.

Chicago/Indy Hippie Union is fast approaching and I'm very much looking forward to picking Krystal up at the airport and heading on to Chi-town. It's just a little under 2 weeks away now!