By admin 
If only we all had a crystal ball when we were young to see what we might be facing as we get older, what would we do? I’m not sure I’d do anything differently as far as trying to take care of my body. I started working out at age 25 and have never stopped moving and doing some sort of exercise regularly. It’s less intense than it use to be, but I do something 4 or 5 times a week. All that to say, you can do the things you know are good to do and still have an unexpected outcome. I had no idea I would face hip replacement in my late 60’s, but here we are. We don’t get to pick what happens to us, but I’ve drawn the severe arthritis in my hips card. I can’t wallow in self pity and ask why me, but I can and will choose to do something about it.
I’ve mentioned this before, but the time has come. This month, on June 26th, I’m getting my first hip replacement surgery. It’s been a long time coming, over 10 years of pain from one degree to the other and I know I’m making the right decision based on what I hear from others who have done the same surgery. My sister, Renee, had both of her hips replaced in the last 10 years and has had a great outcome. She has no pain now.
I’m going to a local surgeon, Dr. Stephen Kim, with Resurgens Orthopedic and he came highly recommended by our son-in-law, who also had his hip replaced, as well as several of his family members. It’s not a real easy decision to make, but it’s one I’ve pondered over for awhile now. I would tell myself it wasn’t that bad, but once I made the last appointment with the surgeon I had chosen to do the surgery, the first thing he asked me after seeing my scans, was “can I ask what took you so long to decide this”. I replied that I guess I had just convinced myself it wasn’t bad enough yet, but it truly is. I’m bone on bone and there’s not much that can be done to improve that. He said I must have a high pain tolerance and I guess I do, but I’m tired of feeling pain and being fatigued from walking and doing things outside. Hip pain affects every part of the body and I’m ready to get it behind me. I wasn’t walking with a limp yet, but I didn’t want to get to that point before I did something. It has definitely affected my legs and how much I can do. I have had times of limping and wincing with pain. I’m starting with my right hip, since that once hurts the worst at the moment.
I will most like do the first one and recover and then schedule the 2nd one later in fall, at least 3 months apart. I am active and in good shape, so I feel like I will have good results and heal up just fine. I’ve heard that hip surgery is the easiest joint to recover from and as active as I have been my whole life, I should be up and going soon.
So that’s my news on that front. I’m still seeing the functional medicine doctor and taking lots of supplements, but still don’t have it all figured out on what to take forever for improved health benefits. I’ve lowered my cholesterol again by taking Red Yeast Rice and CoQ10, but still want to lower it even more. Those are the things I’ve been working on this year and it’s still hard (I think) to figure out what’s needed for optimal health. I’ve tried to add more protein to my diet and change some of my eating habits by switching out some of the bad ingredients for better. Health is certainly a journey for all of us and I don’t claim to have it mastered by any means. I’m doing what I know to do to improve my health and feel better. I’m hoping that after I’m recovered from hip replacement surgery that I will feel better overall in my body and that it gives me more energy. I think the pain could definitely contribute to my loss of energy.
I would certainly appreciate your prayers as I get this surgery done and recover at home. I’m planning to get physical therapy too and will take all they give me for healing faster. I’ve heard that after I get it done, I will probably kick myself for not doing it sooner and I bet I will too. I hope to feel so much better after both are done. I’m going to devote this summer and fall to getting the surgeries behind me and healing up this year and I’ll be ready to travel again next year, better than ever. We’ve already got a Caribbean cruise with our church friends scheduled again for January and that England, Ireland, and Scotland trip September 2026, so I’ll be ready for all of them by then. We also booked a St. George Island beach trip in September so I will wait until after that for my 2nd hip to be done. We always enjoy a beach trip.
I’ll share an update after my surgery. It’s out patient and I’ll be home the same day and up and walking too. I hear the recovery is very fast, so I am optimistic for a great outcome for me. We probably all know someone who’s done this surgery with good results. I know several and it’s great to know the recovery time is pretty easy.
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