I am scheduled to have Right Total Hip Arthroplasty surgery on Monday, December 14, 2015.

I am as ready as I will ever be.

I set the surgery date this summer. Right around the time I quit contributing to my own blog. Lol. I didn’t feel like writing or doing much, except continuing to weight train in preparation. I was really motivated for awhile to lose weight, get my body fat percentage down, build lean muscle tissue….and then for the most part I lost most of that motivation as the surgery, and life’s other unpleasant distractions, began to loom.

I did what I could. What I was mentally and physically able to do. Fought off depression several times, and I feel like I’ve been strong for my kids. Sure I could have done more…if I were friends with me, I would have tried to push me harder. But I didn’t anticipate how low I would feel on different days. I didn’t anticipate the severity of other life’s challenges that have occurred since this summer. So I did the best I could. And I had good help (thank you Sharon & Dustin).

So it’s here. In the past 2 weeks I’ve had my physical with my primary care provider to clear me for surgery. I had my first chest X-ray and my first EKG….I felt like a car battery being hooked up to about 20 jumper cables. I worried about what might happen if the nurse let the ends touch, especially because all the little clamps were in a big tangle as she hooked me up. I met with a nurse for my pre-surgery assessment. Very nice lady, but she talked to me like I was an eternal couch potato….gently encouraging me to try to do tricep dips and start building my upper body strength. And telling me to practice these very simple moves to get used to the motion and to get my hip moving. She didn’t ask, but had she, I could have told her my weight training regimen for the past 16 months. That I’ve pushed an 60-80lb prowler with well over 100 lbs of plates stacked on it….that the motion of gently raising my knees and sliding my heels towards my body is covered very well with the leg presses and hamstring curls I’ve been doing…that the sliding my leg out to the side is done with a resistance band around my ankles. Not to mention the deadlifts, endless curls, pulls, pushes, flies, throwing that weighted ball against the wall to build my core strength and the detestable kettle bell swings. It took all I had to just nod and smile…and then I was grateful for my ability to do all that activity, because Joe B said that she is probably used to seeing older patients, or patients whose joints are so broken down that they are very inactive. And the nurse reassured me that I have an excellent surgeon who has a strong record of good outcomes. That speaks to the health professional in me, and it helped.

I met with my surgeon for my pre-surgery consult. And the picture above is the hardware going into my hip. It’s deluxe….it reminded me of Robo-Cop, or the Terminator type stuff. It’s the best thing technology has to offer for a young, very active, hip replacement candidate. And I am the first of 5 hip replacements my surgeon will be doing on Monday. I hope he has plenty of coffee, or does his yoga, or whatever his morning routing requires for him to be energetic and focused.

He said the surgery takes about an hour, but he never looks at the clock. It takes as long as it takes. He will meet with me to briefly review what will happen, and he will ask me which hip I am getting replaced. He said not to freak out about that, that he knows which hip he is replacing, but that it is his standard practice with each surgery.  I will be getting a spinal block and a sedative instead of general anesthesia. They will have me up and around on my feet before I leave the facility, and he thinks I will be home on Wednesday! They will teach me how to navigate the stairs in my home before they release me. Joe can bring me whatever food I want. Lol. I will be in a walker for 1-3 weeks, then I go right to a cane. Home PT for 2-3 weeks, then outpatient PT.

In preparation, my dad bought me a walker. My dad is awesome. He is so sharp and he just turned 80 a few weeks ago. He checked around and found the best walker for me. Asked me to get a prescription for it to avoid paying sales tax, then asked me if my insurance covered medical equipment like this. I wouldn’t even have thought to ask about any of that. And he blew up my phone checking with me to see if I had called….my dad knows me so well. I probably would have put off calling about any of that had he not kept calling me. Turns out Joe’s insurance covers 85% of durable medical equipment. So I have sleek new ride to bring to the hospital with me. I found myself doing tricep dips with my walker, and then swinging back and forth on it. It reminded me to keep an eye on my youngest who will surely try the same thing.

So this weekend it’s the final prep. I have such a good support team. Our nanny and close friend Makyla set up a Meal Train for me and my family, and I have people scheduled to bring dinner to my family for a week. My good friend Jeri arranged a holiday potluck lunch at my house the Friday after I come home. I have someone to clean my house the day before I come home. Joe took leave from work from the day of my surgery until he has to go back at the beginning of next semester. Our daughter Samantha is coming from OK to help out with her sisters. My 9-year old is my source of happy thoughts. She watches my mood, and when it drops, she reminds me of everything I can’t do now and that I’ll be able to those things again after my surgery. I love her pep talks. I have lots of people praying, sending good words, good thoughts and energy, and making me laugh. Everything is truly, deeply, appreciated. I am surrounded by awesome people.

This is getting long…so I’ll end here. More blog entries are forthcoming, as I get used to resting and being less active during my recovery. I’m looking forward to writing about my experiences so it won’t be quite as scary to anyone else going through this. Wish me luck!