A whirlwind. We landed in Nashville on a Monday night. I had an appointment with the doctor on Tuesday morning early. There is a certain calmness to Dr. Byrd. He explained that yes I have a torn hip labrum. He listened to how it happened and explained that potentially I also have an FAI bone issue. He was very honest that he could not guarantee the long-term consequences of the surgery, but thought I had a good chance for a very positive outcome. In other words, he didn't sugar coat it.
As we walked around Vanderbilt University, I pondered my future. I was on a collision course with surgery and there was no way around it. On the positive side, I was in the hands of a top surgeon. As night fell, I'm not going to lie I was scared. Luckily, I have an incredible family that talked me off the ledge. My brother summed it up the best: what is the worse case possibility--a hip replacement. That isn't so bad. There are people around the world facing a life or death battle. And, he was right.
The next morning, we woke early and headed to surgery. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor came to see me and said they were ready. My life was about to change.
The one thing that I would say for anyone contemplating surgery is to do your homework. I did a lot of research (on the procedure, doctors and post physical therapy) and had a list of questions for the doctor. I also did a lot of lurking on other websites of people who had been through surgery. Surgery is definitely not for everyone. Trust me, I did everything that I could to avoid it. But in the end, I just could not live life without being my active self.
As we walked around Vanderbilt University, I pondered my future. I was on a collision course with surgery and there was no way around it. On the positive side, I was in the hands of a top surgeon. As night fell, I'm not going to lie I was scared. Luckily, I have an incredible family that talked me off the ledge. My brother summed it up the best: what is the worse case possibility--a hip replacement. That isn't so bad. There are people around the world facing a life or death battle. And, he was right.
The next morning, we woke early and headed to surgery. After what seemed like an eternity, the doctor came to see me and said they were ready. My life was about to change.
The one thing that I would say for anyone contemplating surgery is to do your homework. I did a lot of research (on the procedure, doctors and post physical therapy) and had a list of questions for the doctor. I also did a lot of lurking on other websites of people who had been through surgery. Surgery is definitely not for everyone. Trust me, I did everything that I could to avoid it. But in the end, I just could not live life without being my active self.
No comments:
Post a Comment