How’s that Ramones song go? Oh yeah…

Twenty, twenty, twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated

Nothin’ to do, no where to go, oh, I wanna be sedated

 Just get me to the airport put me on a plane

Hurry, hurry, hurry before I go insane

I can’t control my fingers, I can’t control my brain

Oh no, oh, oh, oh, oh

Twenty, twenty, twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated

Nothin’ to do, no where to go, oh, I wanna be sedated

Just put me in a wheelchair get me on a plane

Hurry, hurry, hurry before I go insane

I can’t control my fingers, I can’t control my brain

Oh no, oh, oh, oh, oh

Ok you might have guessed that I like to make light of my current situation but literally 24 hours to go and I will be out of surgery with my new hip. I suppose my logic is just to keep thinking positively and laugh a little when possible about this. Everyone seems to know someone or has some experience to share with me when I tell them about my hip resurfacing. Do this or try that, have you ever heard of this….well I am now just excited to be moving ahead with the surgery and then to begin the journey back. I have been toying with the idea of buying a pedometer to keep track of the steps I take post op, could be fun to see my numbers increase over time. Nike has a fun Fuel Band thingy that I might by to keep my progress moral up.

Some other interesting things, I spent last Thursday all day at HSS doing all the pre op checks, they really take up your entire day, EKG, more x-rays, head to this floor, wait for this doctor, pee in this cup, give blood, write up medical history, write a living will, they starve you as all these things are endlessly back to back, take a class on what to expect, how to prepare your home…ugh it was so exhausting that I couldn’t even write on the blog about it for a few days.

The doctors, every one of them, was stunned to learn that I am only 29 and having a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing, but once they saw my hip x-ray they immediately understood, here is the only photo I could find, from back when I had SynvisicOne injected into the hip, Synvisic is a gel fluid that simulates cartilage when injected in the joint, unfortunately did not work for me. If you look at a side by side images of what a healthy hip looks like you can begin to see all the arthritis, ridges, cracks, and issues with my hip.

The day before surgery I have lots of things to do and not do, things I can eat and not eat and it all is just overwhelming after a certain point.  I have to shave my hip area, clean it in the morning with a special iodine sponge to help prevent infection, pack my surgery bag (which reminds me of my transition bag only less speedy things and more lazy stuff), plus the self edema (TMI?) well it is all part of it. At the very least I can enjoy a full meal, avoiding grains and fiber, so we are having Halibut for dinner, along with boiled veggies, and baked potato. Tomorrow no food before surgery but all types of clear liquids, oddly coffee (when black how is coffee clear?), I don’t understand that but whatever the doctors say.

That is it for today, until tomorrow and my surgery I am signing off and thinking positive thoughts, praying I can stay active, and one day run again. I never knew I would miss running so damn much, I miss the freedom and the complete isolation it provides me here in a city that you fight tooth and nail for just an inch.