My Surgery

I’m scared shitless of blood, needles and anything that can be associated with surgeries. I’m known for rescheduling my yearly physical several times before I’ve built up enough courage to be able to go without shaking like a leaf. A mere casual conversation covering anything anatomical and I’m about to hurl like a drunk high schooler. It needed to be said: I’m a big wimp.

So to finally go through a full left hip replacement - one of the most advanced orthopedic surgeries - is to me like climbing Mount Everest or visiting Mars without oxygen.

I spent the days before the surgery in bed, watching movies and writing my mental will (my cooking knives are going to…). The poor Missus had a complete basket case on her hands.

I hardly got any sleep the night before the surgery. We headed up at 4:45am and *checked-in* at the hospital at 5:45am. The following 2hrs were gruesome despite the absolutely awesome staff. The anticipation had me sweating like Nixon and my face must have been transparent in it’s paleness. The anesthesiologist must have realized when we met that I was in dire need of a strong cocktail and no details: “Let’s get this dude knocked out a s a p”. Two hours later I woke up in the post-surgery room with a new hip and a big smile.

Everything went according to plan: a new left titanium hip with metal bearings with an estimated life span of 25-35 years, a left leg 15 millimeters longer (gap went from 27 to 12 millimeters) and 35 years of pain gone in a *single* moment. All the nerves working as they should and no complications. Hell, everyone I saw through my groggy pupils smiled and cheered.

In that moment I felt like I had been handed a new life where anything is possible. I have 3-6 months of physical therapy in front of me before I can start living that life in full. But it started today with 50 feet on a walker and 20 feet on crutches outside my hospital room without pain.

I was walking with my new bionic body 24 hours after my surgery. The sensation is indescribable - I no longer have Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. A small step for mankind but a huge leap for… Through life I’ve learned that it’s not what happens to you but how you react to it that matters. Nothing rings more true a day like this.