I am 51 years old. 11 years ago I had a pretty good collision in a hockey game, stretching my right leg in a way it wasn’t ready to stretch. Since then something has been not right with my leg. It started as groin pain, then progressed and after seeing 5 doctors in 5 years they told me arthritis in my hip was the problem and some day I would need a new hip. By year 5, that may have been true but I had shown no signs of any hip issues prior to that day on the ice. I still don’t know for sure what happened, but in the past few years, diagnosis for “sports hernia” have been coming out and from all indications my initial injury was an inguinal or sports hernia. I am not discounting the possibility that the collision could have caused some damage in the hip as well. At this point I have lost much flexibility on the right side, have pain daily walking and nightly while trying to sleep. Having decided enough is enough, I have resigned myself to having things fixed sequentially until I am comfortable that I am ready to be reasonably active for the next 20 years.
1. Hip Resurfacing – There is a slight chance this will alleviate the groin pain also, but I’m not planning on it going in. 2. Get the groin pain fixed – Probably some sort of sports hernia repair taking 6-10 weeks to recover. I will look into this if needed 3 months post op for the hip. 3. Scope the right knee – After years of walking wrong, the knee gets irritated easily. This may be fixed through strengthening and walking better. I will look into this post recovery from the groin issue if needed.
Here is my hip surgery journal.
Surgery Day minus Two - Flight Surgery – Flight to Columbia S.C. was to take off at 6:10 PM. I finally took off around 10pm and got to the hotel around 2am local time. Best thing was that Hertz waited for me and my car was 50 ft from the door
Surgery Day minus One – Not much planned today. Go to the Doctor in the afternoon, and pick up my wife in the evening. Should have used the directions from the website to more specifically find the Dr.’s office. I was within 200feet four times before I called. The directions available on the main phone line got me in exactly on time. Dr. Gross, Lee and the rest of the staff were very nice.
Found out I still needed to go to the hospital (I thought they had everything!). It turns out the blood typing and screening has to be done locally. I get more prescriptions and head to the pharmacy, then to Wendy’s for dinner. My wife is a trooper. Her flight was to be at 6:10 PM today. She is still waiting at the airport. 1am eastern they finally cancel her flight. What a way to calm down before surgery.
Wednesday Surgery Day – I talk to my wife this morning. She will standby for the early flight which would get her here before I get out of surgery, but it is not looking good. The flight she is now booked on will get here in about 6 ½ hours after surgery starts so I should be coherent by then. It will be nice to see her after I wake up. I get to the hospital at 9:30 for the 11:30 surgery as requested. They take me to pre-op at 9:45. Change into the gown. There will be no more modesty for the rest of this trip.
I get a cocktail of pills to start me off, they get the IV set up and take blood for a special healing slushy they use when they sew you up. I’m on autopilot and my rational side is all in tune. I’ve read it all, watched the video, I’m ready. I call my wife, the early flight is delayed (damn) so I will see her later rather than in recovery. Don’t know for sure what time she will get in. I have them put instructions on the paperwork for the doctor to call her on the cell phone if she is not in the recovery room.
Time to go and they wheel me away. Nobody is with me. It suddenly hits me that they are going to be cutting me open soon. A brief moment of anxiety is broken by the music in the O.R. They introduce me to the O.R. Disc Jockey and ask me what kind of music I like. I have no idea what I said. I remember it being very bright and very clean and new looking. They roll me on my side and numb the area for the spinal. Something was said about cold or a little stick or something and I’m out (they must has sent something into the IV to put me out.)
I wake up and life is good. No pain and no memories and NO BIG NEEDLES (as far as I know). Nobody has called my wife though. When the doctor comes in I find out he wasn't given the message so I give him the phone number and he calls and leaves a message. My wife is in the air so she is thinking that the surgery took a longer time. My mother is on vacation on pins and needles and she hasn’t gotten any calls either. She must have been going nuts. My Dad had similar surgery about 3 years ago. He’s at home waiting for word too.
All the communications get sorted out, everybody knows I’m OK and my wife arrives – even though I am doing well, I feel like I am doing much better when I see her. The last two days have been very tough on her I know – but she doesn’t show it.
I get dinner that night, didn’t eat much, and threw up whatever I ate or drank. About 11pm I switched from ginger ale to sips of water, no more nausea after that. I couldn’t sleep though so I watched the end of the Rose Bowl. It was quite a finish.
Thursday Surgery Day plus One – A nice nurse has taken care of me all night. She is married, half my age, and now is here to teach me the finer points of catheter removal. I’m so tired I am unfazed. Then she tells me about the balloon tip inflated in my bladder, and show’s me the syringe used to deflate it. As she does that part she tells me catheters are one thing her husband is truly afraid of (I think this is a tactic to make me want to be tougher than her husband is). Then she says take a deep breath and hold it. OUCH! Lastly she tells me it is much worse putting them in than taking them out. I give thanks to some thoughtful person who sequenced that part after I was put out in the O.R.
Ate breakfast did exercises and took a walk with the walker in the AM. PM was similar with crutches substituted for the walker and did the stairs as well. Thigh is painful to the touch and swollen, butt is sore and weak, and quads are very sore. Boring day but exciting to be walking.
Friday Surgery Day plus TWO – Discharge Day – I get the morning therapy. Quads not bad, thigh still sore but not as bad, Walk with one crutch. Discharge late AM, have a frosty, therapy on my own in the hotel, just waiting to fly home tomorrow. I’m very happy with progress. We both don’t sleep well.
Saturday Surgery Day plus Three – Fly home – a good uneventful day. I walk with a cart from the rental car entrance to the elevator. My wife gets us checked in. I get my first new experience with airport security. I’m going to need to add time to my travel schedule from now on. We arrive back in Chicago. I take a wheelchair to baggage claim and pick up the luggage with a cart. My wife goes to get the car and meets me right outside baggage claim. We load up carefully and on we go.
It is so good to be home! The people were nice while I was gone, but when you are not at 100%, there’s no place like home to relax. The plane ride definitely had an impact on leg. Swelling was more tonight.
Sunday Surgery Day plus Four – exercise at home, swelling still greater than before, but so is my activity. I use the cryo-chamber several times during the day and that helps some. We go out in the morning to buy me a cane. Much better than one crutch and I walk a lot inside and about 1/10th mile outside. Dad stops by in the evening and we have fun comparing notes and just talking. It’s good to be home.
Monday Surgery Day plus Five – Swelling is less. Continue exercise at home. Mom (a career nurse) is back from vacation and comes in the PM to walk. I do about 4/10th mile outside today. Mom also changes the dressing for me (OUCH!). Way too much tape on that Band-Aid and I have a lot of irritation from it from it that I never have had before. It’s really strong tape so we decide to trim it and leave only about ¼ inch on the re-dress. This with a pair of jockeys is much nicer.
Tuesday Surgery Day plus Six – Incredible Edibles and another food basket arrive from people at work. Everyone has been very supportive. Mom is by twice today. We walk about ¾ mile total. Lots of ice after each helps a bunch.
Wednesday Surgery Day plus 7 – Harry and David basket arrives today. I decide to drop the celebrex and no vicadin today. The only drug left from surgery is arixtra and that goes away in a few days followed by low dose aspirin every other day. The day went well. I used lots of ice again. Feels like the muscles are getting tighter, but like the hip is not settled completely yet. I send a note Lee and get a response that nothing I’ve described is unusual and I should have no concerns. My whole body is going through an adjustment after going through the last 10 years with the hip out of whack; joints and muscles in other areas are now re-adjusting to my new correct posture. I expect that will take a while to settle down. So far there has not been pain associated with this.
Thursday Surgery Day plus 8 – Breakthrough Day – I feel very good, no meds, and walk for over ½ mile in the morning. Afternoon is another walk with Mom, this one another ½ mile. Still looking for that perfect sleeping position. Keeping the leg elevated and using the ice water cuff frequently really helps.
Friday Surgery Day plus 9 – Another good morning. Went ¾ mile in the rain. Went to the mall in the afternoon with Mom, another ¾ mile maybe. Ice after. Feels real good
Saturday Surgery Day plus 10 – Walked a mile in the morning, then rested as knee was sore. Walked another ¾ mile in the afternoon and iced hip and knee both. Did 4 sets of the isometrics for the leg during the day, the last just before sleeping. Seems to help with the knee pain
Sunday Surgery Day plus 11 – Low wind chill this morning. Walked a mile and it felt like I wouldn’t have to ice afterward since I was wearing thin sweats to walk in. Originally decided I was going to do only one walk today but knee felt great and sitting all day watching football made me want to walk some tonight. Groin feels odd today like it got stretched during the lengthy sitting (??). Iced that after the walk tonight along with the hip. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. I hope the knee stays this good.
Monday Surgery Day plus 12 – Walked ½ mile with Mom this morning – CARRYING THE CANE. After the walk I am very tired. Lots of ice, and lay in bed for an hour. After that feels pretty normal except for a repeat of the groin issue from yesterday. I’m going to have to keep an eye on that. This afternoon I went for a 1mile walk. I think I walked about another 4/10 mile carrying the cane, but that clearly started to aggravate the groin so I stopped that. It is interesting that with only a light couple of fingers on the cane there is no groin stretch. I do another 45 minute ice session after the walk and try to be sure I get the groin good. 4 hours after the walk, all feels normal, but I am tired.
Tuesday Surgery Day plus 13 – Walked a mile this morning. Decided to use the cane to let the groin settle down. I walked about 50 steps without it in the middle of the walk but didn’t want to push it. My mental key for today is to relax below the waist and try to let the right side move as normal as the left. Easier said than done, as those gluteus muscles still aren’t calmed down yet. Groin feels great after the walk but I ice it anyway. Can’t hurt. This afternoon I do another ¾ mile – all with the cane as a precaution.
Wednesday Surgery Day plus 14 – Sleep last night was not very good. Inside of knee and groin both hurt at various times. Started my day a little later than usual. After I got ready to go on the walk I had no pain anywhere. I think it must be the body still adjusting. There is still some bruising on the inside of my thigh near the knee. Did a mile walk, about 4/10 without the cane then came back to ice. All feels good. Mom came by and took all the steri-strips off today. Nice feeling. It sure was nice to not have any staples or stitches to worry about. I’m a big fan of surgical super glue! Walked another mile this afternoon. Again used the cane as a precaution for most of the way, but did the last 1/10 without it. Ice down again. So far the worst thing is the boredom because I don’t want to overdo it on the therapy, and work is pretty slow right now.
Thursday Surgery Day plus 15 – Sleep was much better last night. I felt really good laying in bed in the morning and the new hip was feeling almost just like the good hip lying in bed. I had stretched some during the night and it really seemed to settle my hips on the same plane. That’s the good news. On the down side, The stretching may have aggravated my original, untreated in jury – suspected to be a sports hernia. Of course 11 years ago they didn’t diagnose those. Walked a mile this morning. Not especially well. If I didn’t walk just perfect, the groin hurt. Iced afterwards but I still feel signs I overdid it. I try to walk in the afternoon but turnaround after about 2/10 of a mile. More ice at home and a thorough dose of “what was I thinking?”
Friday Surgery Day plus 16 – Best sleep since surgery last night – 7 hours straight. No groin pains this morning so I start the day slow in the house and don’t walk until 10:30. The one mile walk was good. Used the cane the entire time and had no groin pain. When I got home I tried something different. I iced the groin while lying on my stomach so I would be icing in an extended position instead of in a semi-sitting position. Seemed to work well. Got in to a bunch of work in the p.m. and decided to skip the walk outside. Besides, it’s snowing. Tomorrow I will start using the treadmill for a while until the streets are OK. Overall a good day with no pains. Maybe I did just overdo it and that muscle isn’t getting the strength back as fast as the rest of the muscles.
Saturday Surgery Day plus 17 – What a beautiful day. We got 6-8 inches of fresh snow last night and bright sunshine today. I couldn’t resist going out so I put on my boots and grabbed my camera and out I went. Probably about ½ mile of walking very slow and purposeful, but very relaxing. My family is in Colorado skiing so my sister and my brother in law came over and shoveled. Very nice of them. I had a chance to ice between my walk and their visit. Same as yesterday on my stomach. This afternoon a little walking and doing the exercises. Trying to be sure I don’t aggravate the groin again. Everything feels great.
Sunday Surgery Day plus 18 – So far I have not aggravated the groin, but for the morning walk I continued to use the cane. I went to a Birthday party for my nephew in the afternoon. Everyone is amazed at how well I am doing. Used the treadmill for about 15 minutes in the evening. My family came home prematurely from skiing. My son broke his arm trying to land a jump. Not bad as breaks go. He’s not in pain, but I can tell he is frustrated. He is in a cast for 4 weeks and Tennis tryouts start in 6 weeks. Luckily it’s his left arm so he can still work on his serve, forehand and maybe develop a one handed backhand.
Monday Surgery Day plus 19 – Walked about 20 minutes on the treadmill in the morning. I don’t really like the treadmill. I am keeping hands on both handrails while I am walking and I don’t feel like I am working my core muscles for balance. I need a solution. I went into the office in the afternoon. IT was good to see a bunch of familiar faces. I really don’t like left foot breaking. I have driven a stick for 30 of my 35 years of driving. This is awkward to say the least. I did some extra sets of exercises in the evening. The groin is still holding up but I am being very cautious with it.
Tuesday Surgery Day plus 20 – Very windy outside today. They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well this is no invention, but I decided to layout a walking path in the house to avoid both the wind and the treadmill. Kitchen, dining room, living room, hallway, bedroom…. I figured out a 200 ft route staying close to walls to maximize the distance. A little over 13 laps and I’ve got ½ mile. Worked great, but I have to be careful on all the turns. My dog thinks I am nuts, but who is he to judge – he chases his tail! Leg and hip feel extra tired tonight and a little sore. I decided to take some Advil before bed to be sure I sleep a little better.
Wednesday Surgery Day plus 21 – Advil worked great. I got 7 straight hours of sleep again. Today is not as windy as yesterday but I have a conference call with work that I mostly listen to so I decide I will use the portable phone and an earpiece and walk my indoor path during the conference call. 25 laps later the call is over and I am done. I’m not sure I counted all the laps, but I know I am at least only 280 feet short of a mile. It worked out well. With all the turns in that walk I decided to do some extra icing today. I first did the groin and thigh, then moved the pad around to do the hip and butt. Everything feels great, but I am still afraid to test the groin.
Thursday Surgery Day plus 22 – Not much new today, but walked outside again. Still using the cane and no groin pain. I am now doing 3 sets of exercises per day, morning, mid-afternoon and before bed. I can feel parts of the leg getting stronger.
Friday Surgery Day plus 23 – Walked to the drug store today. About 1.2 miles round trip. Nothing makes you appreciate the people who shovel their sidewalks like having to navigate around the unshoveled ones with a cane. Iced afterward, but everything OK. I am moving back to the pre-op exercises because they had exercises for the inner thigh/groin.
Saturday Surgery Day plus 24 – Decide to do some light testing of the groin by not using the cane as I prepare breakfast and walk to and from the table. After being up for about 5 minutes, it starts to hurt again. This is really making me believe I will need the additional groin surgery, but I will continue to do the exercises as long as they don’t cause sharp pain. Maybe this is just the way things progress. This is the most frustrating part of recovery to date. As for the knee, it is clearly getting stronger and though I am not running or jumping, I do feel there is hope there. I’m sticking with the pre-op exercises and they don’t cause any pain but each time the leg feels stronger.
The afternoon is completely different – not a hint of groin pain. What a roller coaster ride this is.
Sunday Surgery Day plus 25 – Walked around the house all morning without the cane and with no pain. In the afternoon a walk with my son and the dog is also pain free, though I used the cane for most of it. In the evening I took a half mile walk, without the cane and no pain. Did exercises immediately after each walk.
Monday Surgery Day plus 26 – Walked a mile in the morning with the dog. Did a little without the cane but since this was the first time out with me carrying the leash for the dog (90 lbs of curly coated retriever) I wanted to be sure I was at least a little cautious. In the afternoon, Mom came over and I did another mile with her. I guess about ¾ of it without the cane. Again, exercises after each walk and again at bed time. No pain at all.
Tuesday, Surgery Day plus 27 – Did a mile in the morning with the dog again. This time about 9/10ths carrying the cane. Feels great and the exercises after only make it feel better.
Wednesday, Surgery Day plus 28 – 4 week milestone. Walked ¾ mile early in the morning sans cane then spent the day in an offsite meeting. Standing, sitting, getting restless. Had to drive the stick because my son needed the automatic after school. Actually went very well because the brakes require so much less effort. Walked again in the evening. No cane again. Everything is feeling very good.
Thursday, Surgery Day plus 29 – Again walked in the morning with the dog – no cane. Went to meetings again, but left the cane at home. Good day again followed by a mile walk in the evening. Still doing the exercises 2x per day.
Friday, Surgery Day plus 30 – Rainy morning and I’m staying home so I delay the walk. This time until 1:30, with the dog again. Then the exercises. No other walk today, just exercises before bed. No cane all day.
Saturday, Surgery Day plus 31 – Early morning walk with the Dog. 1.3 miles. He is really loving this. No cane again. Exercises, and a day around the house. The leg is getting better and stronger every day.
Sunday, Surgery Day plus 32 – Another walk with the dog today. This time 1.5 miles with no cane again. Exercises today included many trips up and down the stairs as I had a project in the basement. The leg is OK to go down stairs no problem and I can go up stairs but the step with the right leg has to be careful and slow, but I can do it. The muscles there just aren’t strong enough yet. Everything still feels good,
Monday, Surgery Day plus 33 – Really overdid it yesterday. The hip feels great, but my left side says “what are you doing to me?” The exercises have been focused on the new hip – right side for me. The left has just been going along with it. Also, the weakness in the groin has shown up again with minor pain. Only a short walk today of about ½ mile. Exercises at night again.
Tuesday, Surgery Day plus 34 – Better than yesterday, but still sore in the groin. Backed off again today with only a short walk and exercises. Also spent the morning in the office. Not much new.
Wednesday, Surgery Day plus 35 – 5 week anniversary. Better today and moved the walk back to a mile. This is two weeks now without a cane. It’s in the closet now. Decided to ice the groin after the walk to keep it calmed down. It had been a while and I had forgotten how great the ice works. I should have used in Monday! Another project at home, re-do the closet in the office. This one is not nearly as tough as the basement project. No troubles.
Thursday, Surgery Day plus 36 – Met up with some friends to solve the problems of the world this morning. Then came home and did a 1.7 mile walk with the dog. Very good day. Exercises in the evening. Counting down the days to the 6 week checkup.
Friday, Surgery Day plus 37 – Took number 2 son to school today then went to pick up the tires number one son ordered for his Jeep. At 85 lbs apiece, I decided I should use the cane – for the sympathy factor. You have to know your limits. They guys at the freight depot were great and all I had to do at home was slide them out and roll them into the garage. 1.3 mile walk with Mom and the dog in the afternoon. Exercises in the evening. Hope I didn’t overdo it.
That’s the end of the daily Journal Entries.
At day 42, I went back to Dr Gross for a check-up. Everything is looking great, I’m cleared for regular travel. The down side of that is that vacation is over now. I have been very lucky that I have been able to take a full 6 weeks off work. It has made the recovery go very easy, though it probably wasn’t necessary. If my job didn’t involve 75% travel, I would have gone back after 3 weeks. As it was, I was on conference calls and email the whole time anyway so other than people missing my smiling face, I guess I was doing a lot of the things I normally would do anyway.
A word on airport travel
My first time through the detectors I only had a pair of seats on and the hip set off the alarm. So in my case there is no way I am ever going through a detector again without getting the “male assist” call for the wand. Typically it adds about 1-2 minutes to my security check. The biggest issue is the roll aboard, briefcase, computer and shoes are sitting on a conveyor that is too small and doesn’t accumulate softly. It also backs up the people behind you because there is no room for their bags to go. Other than that, no big deal – just let your friends go first.
Almost ready
At nearly 5 months after surgery I am feeling very good. I do get some stiffness when I first get up after sitting for a long time, but no pain. I have found that starting about 4 months I found my self gradually doing things I hadn’t in the past, without thinking. I jumped into the bed of a pickup (tail gate down) jumping with my normal leg and landing with the surgical leg. I was fine, and after I did it I realized it. It wasn’t a conscious action so to me that is a great sign that I am completely at ease with the new hip. Jogging across the street with the dog without issue as well. The groin pain is gone, the muscle pain is gone, and life is so good compared to before. I am still waiting the full 6 months to start doing any regular athletic activity. I figure that after years of having to deal with the pain, it is a small price to pay waiting a couple extra months for the doctor recommended time to start.
You won’t hear any more from me for a while again.
