Hip trip report

[Eleeski]

It took a while for this latest installment. Sorry for the delay.

I survived the skiing over the new year and the stormy week after. While I'm not fully cleared to ski, soft snow is OK. I got some wonderful (but reasonably limited) days. Skated out just as the big storms that rained and shut down Tahoe arrived. Hip got stronger and no injuries All good.

Except that we drove home with my son who had picked up a nasty flu. A day later, I'm sick as a dog. Fever, queasiness, snotty nose and general flu malaise.Yes, I did get my flu shot but that doesn't protect against everything.

So why are irrelevant illness details in a hip recovery description? Because it made my hip hurt! It was almost as hard to get out of bed at the peak sickness as right after the hip operation. All kinds of radiated pain - thigh pain, knee pain, butt pain, groin pain, back pain. About the only thing that didn't hurt was deep in the hip joint. Binge watch some TV and devour Kleenex for a few days. First day back trying to work and I must have picked up something wrong - pulled back muscles.

Wow, was I surprised at how close to the edge I must be. C'mon, a cold shouldn't affect me that much. Maybe my healing is not that far along. Maybe I'm just that weak. Maybe I'm just getting old.

So I get in to visit Ben the PT and he checks me out. Clean bill of health! So I'm off to Squaw again for this latest round of powder! Ben rolled his eyes.

Today was awesome! Lots of fresh powder and they dropped the Red Dog rope right as we got there! Soft snow is good for the hip. Or at least my soul.

Eric

 

[Monique]

Boo! And yay!

 

[Eleeski]

Yipee! Doctor cleared me!

Skeletally, I'm better than before. There's still healing to go and it will be slow (a year?!). I'm supposed to listen to my body and build back into shape. He's also expecting medals and titles - OK, I'll try. My hip is no longer the limiting factor.

I do have a ways to go. I rode my bike to the doctor's (4 bucks to park! No way!). It's a long hard ride with a nasty climb and a couple sections where you just have to keep up with the cars. I passed all my vital signs and wasn't too sweaty for the Xrays. But I was almost 15 minutes slower on the hour ride than last time (strong headwind was a couple minutes but I dogged it). The ride home was brutal. My strength and endurance must improve.

It was a tough operation. They interviewed my doctor on PBS about death rates from hip issues. He agreed to the interview because he hasn't killed anyone. Some of the other San Diego hospitals have the worst death rates in California. I guess it's risky. Would I do it again? Probably. Am I going to get my other hip done? No way - unless something bad happens there. Should Stan (my arthritic skiing brother) get it? Absolutely - but he will suffer.

Suffering is temporary. I loved that I could angulate my hips and hold edges on the Ice. I love that I can dry land RTB. Maybe I can talk Kirk into coming to the lake and pulling me for a ski ride early next week. Bumps in Tahoe in two weeks. Life's good.

Is this the end of the hip trip?

Eric

 

[Eleeski]

One year checkup. The doctor says that whatever dislodges the implant will also break a lot of other bones - "don't get in a car crash". I can do whatever I can do.

Of course it's not perfect. It still hurts to bend it all the way up. It still gets sore. And I'm noticeably weak on that side despite a lot of continuing work. But I'm way more limited by my arthritic shoulder than by the titanium hip. Or the age deterioration of my skills.

The waterskiing went well. Won tricks at Regionals and Nationals, beat last year's best scores and qualified back into Masters. A bit frustrating as I never really ripped off a great fast run to realize my full potential. And my victories were a bit diluted as some of the competitors didn't show up. My brother who pushes me never got it together - he's scheduled for a Birmingham hip next week. And I could barely slalom - I needed to engineer a new kick in hardshell rear toe so I could get up one footed. Slalom is progressing slowly (literally, I'm shortening at 32 instead of 34) but it's getting fun again. Jump and overall - maybe next year.

For snow, I did get to enjoy quite a bit of last year's record year. Broke my bump skis - not the hip! Skied in July. I'm really excited to get enough days in to pay off my pass (got some new race skis so I'll even enjoy the icy days).

The Birmingham hip was a success for me. If you are active, if you have enough bone and if you commit to the rehab, I'd recommend it (note arthritic brother's upcoming surgery). But I'm not getting the other side done (unless something bad happens).

This hip trip is over - and ended well!

Eric