I've got a date!

No, not that kind, although my flame crutches are quite popular... I made a date for a hip resurfacing surgery with Dr. Mont in Baltimore for November 15. I posted about resurfacing here, and the Surface Hippy website has a lot more information, if you're interested. Basically they remove the diseased part of the top of the femur bone and cap it off with metal, and insert a metal cup into the socket where the cartilage was. It accomplishes the same thing as a THR but leaves more bone. The surgery is more difficult than a THR, which is why I decided to go to Dr. Mont, who has plenty of experience with resurfacing, and with osteonecrosis patients. The date is not set in stone; Dr. Mont has to review my x-rays and make sure I can wait that long. Oscar at work says you shouldn't be a "beta tester", and I agree. But resurfacing has been FDA approved in the US for eight years and has been common practice in Europe for longer, and Dr. Mont has done over a thousand of them.

After my surgery I decided to become a teetotaller for a while. I've been pretty good about it until last night. Yesterday was my birthday and some friends had a little get-together for me. I decided that just one night couldn't hurt too much--as one witty guest said, "that hip ain't gettin' any less necrotic"!! It was fun to have a margarita and some rose, my favorite summer wine. And, the red Power Ranger showed up to wish me a happy birthday!! For a split second I thought he was Strong Bad, but no such luck...