Summer 2013

We're about a week into Summer of the year 2013. I wish I had something witty to write, but unfortunately I do not. I also wish I was writing this post because of some exciting revelation or discovery, and again, I do not. As I'm watching the final laps of a NASCAR race postponed from yesterday due to rain, I'm writing this to pass some time. You see, I am somewhat stuck home or close to home for the next 24 hours. I am having a routine medical procedure tomorrow that requires me to have a diet of clear liquids today. I am allowed tea and coffee, and even with sugar. But no creamer or milk. I am also allowed to have Jello, so I have a batch of Lime Jello in the refrigerator. Obviously I am off from work tomorrow. With Thursday and Friday being days off for the Independence Day holiday, this is going to be a short week at the office.

So what else is new? Not very much. The status of the two non-running motorcycles has not changed. I still haven't scheduled having my hip replacement surgery. Actually, the hip hasn't been too bad recently. Sure, there are days when the pain is bad, but overall it has been bearable.

Speaking of the new job, I'm still learning the ins and outs. But I have been able to contribute much more over the past couple months and I am settling in. Definitely enjoying my new gig.

That's about all I have for now. So until next, take care.

I'm not a Hipster - Part 2

Like I said, I really cannot get into the habit of posting on a regular basis. But while waiting to head out for dinner, I figured I'm long overdue. Besides, there has been something on my mind that I wanted to share.

It was at the beginning of the year when I posted I'm not a Hipster, the story about my 1984 motorcycle accident and my bad left hip. For the most part, I've been more than happy to procrastinate and continue to put off having the hip replacement surgery. But lately, the words of the orthopedic surgeon that repaired my broken femur after the accident and later diagnosed my bad hip are really starting to hit home. It was sometime in the late 1980s when I was first diagnosed with hip problems and at that time Dr. John Calhoun Killian told me this about getting a hip replacement. He said that I would get along just fine for a while, perhaps needing aspirin now and then. As time progresses, I would probably switch to the stronger OTC pain meds (back in the day ibuprofen was recently available without a prescription). He went on to say that at some point I will then start taking prescription, probably narcotic, pain medications. Finally he said, I will finally get fed up with the pain and discomfort and opt for the surgery. A reason for not just getting the surgery when the issue was first discovered is simple. The replacements wear out, and since I was much younger then, I would likely be on my 2nd or 3rd replacement by now. Well, those who know me have heard me say that the time is coming soon for a while now. It's been about 4 years since I filled my first prescription for Hydrocodone. This time, I'm thinking that it may really be that time.

For years, riding my motorcycle didn't bother or aggravate the hip. As a matter of fact, there were times that I felt a little stiff and cramped getting on the bike, but after a nice ride I felt fine when I got off. That is no longer the case. In the last few weeks or months I've noticed a change in that now riding the motorcycle exacerbates any pain or cramps as well as creates pain when it wasn't there before the ride. My sister told me that one time she was discussing my hip issues with my father and she said I would probably not get the surgery until I couldn't ride. She may have been right. The frequency and level of pain I've been suffering from the past few months is really starting to get to me. Hell, just getting on and off the bike is a chore. I even tried to ride my bicycle a couple weeks ago, and could not for the life of me get my leg over the seat! If I didn't know better, I would bet that I've lost more range of motion in the last 3 or 4 months than I have in the 3 or 4 years prior. Tying the shoelaces on my left sneaker is almost impossible. Where the pain and discomfort used to be something that was easily dismissed and dealt with, it is now front and center almost every day. So I guess, the time really is near. Exactly when, still undetermined. But definitely looming on the horizon.

I'm not a hipster

Twenty-eight years ago this coming July 22, I had a serious motorcycle accident. The last vehicle in a chain of three or four that collided while avoiding a car that had entered the Northern State Parkway in an unsafe manner. The bike went into a high-slide when I tried to lay it down, and I slammed into the back bumper of a Buick 225. I will admit, I am partially to blame.

I ended up with a compound fracture of my left femur, and some nerve damage that caused 'foot drop' of my left foot. I was hospitalized for just under six weeks. During that time, things got dicey when a fat embolism made its way to one of my lungs. The surgery to repair my leg, inserting a titanium rod (sometimes called a Kushner Rod) in the femur had to wait until the embolism was cleared up. Combined with an external prosthetic brace, the rod allows one to begin putting weight on the leg immediately after being discharged from the hospital. This reduces or eliminates the muscle atrophy that one would get if the leg was in a cast for a few months. I forget how long I ended up wearing the brace as I progressed from using two crutches, to one crutch, and then to a cane. I used cane regularly for quite a few years, perhaps six or seven, maybe a little more.

A couple years later I returned to the hospital to have the titanium rod removed. I was only in the hospital for a day. I had asked to keep the rod, but I never did get it. Around that same time, the 'foot drop' went away quite suddenly. I had been going for testing, and surgery was suggested to correct the nerve damage. But one day while hanging out with a friend at her job, I noticed that I was tapping my foot to music. With the rod removed and the nerve damage gone, it seemed that the ordeal was completely behind me. Or so I thought...

Not too long after I began to suffer from back pain after walking, running, etc. When it got bad enough to visit the doctor, a leg length discrepancy was discovered. My left leg was now about a half inch or so shorter than my right. X-Rays showed that my left hip was starting to develop arthritis. The doctor theorized that it could have been an unnoticed hairline fracture at the time of the accident. I was measured for a prosthesis (a lift that fits inside my left sneaker) and the back pain did go away. But at that time, the orthopedic doctor told me the progression I should expect. He said I'd be fine for a while, perhaps needing an aspirin or two now and then. After that, I will likely switch to the stronger OTC meds for more frequent and severe bouts of pain (at the time Ibuprofen was the drug that you no longer required a prescription for). He said the next phase would be that I would end up taking perhaps twice the listed dosage on a frequent, if not regular, basis to deal with the hip and leg pain as the hip deteriorates further. After that, prescription pain killers. This is the phase I have been at for the last three years. My regular doctor had tried to prescribe anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs like Celebrex, but they barely took the edge off the pain, let alone make it go away. So the last three years, I have been taking Vicodin aka Hydrocodone. Not every day mind you, just when the pain gets past a certain threshold. It gets tricky now and then, deciding whether or not to take the opioid. Some days, I wait too long and end up 'chasing the pain'. When that happens, even taking the max dose of Vicodin does little more than soften the edge of the pain. The last phase as you can guess is that I finally opt for the hip replacement surgery. Why not just get it done years ago you ask? The replacements wear out, and if I were to have had it replaced when first discovered I probably would have had it redone once or twice since then. The doctor years ago suggested I wait until I can't deal with the pain any longer.

And that's almost where I am now. I saw a specialist at Stanford University Hospital a couple times the last two years. The bad news he gave me last time was that my hip is getting near a point where the damage will make the surgery and recovery more difficult. But I am still thinking of the logistics of being out of work for a couple months, getting around immediately following the surgery, and other related issues. Then again, the increased pain has had other effects. I'm less mobile these days, and that's causing a bit of a weight gain issue. Of course the gain in weight makes it more painful to be mobile, which goes back to the beginning of the cycle. When will I get my hip replaced? I'm not sure, but at this point I know that I need to pull the trigger sooner rather than later.