OP
OP
keepmovin
member
United States....and this is a long read!
The emotional side of things:
I wish I had found Bonesmart 2 years ago. Had I been on the site right after my second hip operation, I might have taken the problems I began having more seriously and not just summed it up as a setback in recovery. I think that’s the dilemma we face after our surgeries. Is this pain we are having something serious or is this just normal comings and goings of our recovery? I had my operation mid- October of 2013. I quickly recovered and was up moving around almost without crutches two weeks later. My 6-week check-up was remarkable, ROM 100%. Ironically, it was that day, on the way home when I was hit suddenly with exhaustion, flu like symptoms, a slight chill. I went home and rested summing it up to “over doing it” in the city. It was the holiday and my husband and I spent the day enjoying the festive atmosphere. I quickly recovered but then a week later, I experienced a sudden and excruciating pain in my joint, like someone took my leg and twisted it 180 degrees! That was the beginning. The infection wasn’t discovered until it came to the surface almost 3 months later in mid-February. I had no seepage, no pain at that point, no fevers, just a bulge and redness – it looked like cellulitis which is what my GP thought it was. My surgeon was contacted and infection confirmed a few days later.
This past Friday night, I thought I would dig back into Bonesmart to find anyone who had a similar experience with infections. I stumbled upon @Vetgirl who had gone through surgery Sept. of 2013 and discovered she had an infection in Dec. of 2013. This was exactly when my infection turned up. Had I been on Bonesmart then, things might have been different for me now. I would have followed her throughout her ordeal and perhaps I would have contacted my surgeon sooner. Nonetheless, I continued to read her posts and spent the whole weekend reading her story from beginning page 1 to the end page 63. And then she disappeared. It caught me off-guard because I desperately wanted to read a happy ending for her.
She spoke passionately with dignity and grace her struggles from the beginning of her infection up until her posts end. There was power, strength and energy in her words, but there was humor there too. You could feel the anger in her words as she struggled with this battle fighting the beast inside her. She fought long and hard to regain her old life. It just seemed it was one battle after another. She didn’t seem to have a moment’s peace with it all. The only difference was I was able to find peace from all this for about 15 months whereas her journey was continuous. She expressed herself and spoke the words I felt but couldn’t express. She became my voice for me and I wanted to thank her and tell her I know what she’s going through because I’m there too. But then I would laugh because obviously I couldn’t. I was reading the past, what was already done.
And then she spoke for me again, on the matter of having your friends and family by your side, waiting for the support that never shows up. The calls that never come. No one was really there for her – people you think are your friends or close family. This is when you find out who your friends really are. Of course, her husband was always there and her kids but no one came calling to find out how she was, no one stopping by and if they did, it became all about them, not her. It was then that I wish I could have stepped into a time capsule and transported myself back to the past, even then, I would have to find a way to merge the oceans as I am in the USA, she lives in Australia.
I not sure when I started to cry if it was for her or for me. Maybe it was for both. This is how I was feeling about the people around me. There were so many promises and good wishes but that’s where it ended.
She vowed things would change for her once this was all behind her. Someone posted to her: You have been given enormous wisdom and compassion but it comes at such a high price”. So true. But, I’m not sure how it ended for her. After her spacer came out and she received her new hip, her life returned and she was so happy. But then she dislocated her hip and sadly, another revision was scheduled. My heart sank.
Besides the emotional side of things, I learned a lot from her thread. It is filled with helpful articles shared to her from the bonesmart community about infections and how they work in the body. There is a tremendous amount of research being done and hopefully in a few years’ time science will have a clear understanding as to how we can prevent infections from occurring on devices placed into the body. @Vetgirl also had a team of professionals who guided and advised her along the way. I learned quite a bit as she generously shared what she learned. I still find most of this a challenge to understand and may reach out to our forum board for some clarifications.
I wish @Vetgirl well. Words cannot adequately express how you have helped me during this time. Thank you for sharing your story. I just wish we could have met sooner.
With all my heart, I am eternally grateful!
The emotional side of things:
I wish I had found Bonesmart 2 years ago. Had I been on the site right after my second hip operation, I might have taken the problems I began having more seriously and not just summed it up as a setback in recovery. I think that’s the dilemma we face after our surgeries. Is this pain we are having something serious or is this just normal comings and goings of our recovery? I had my operation mid- October of 2013. I quickly recovered and was up moving around almost without crutches two weeks later. My 6-week check-up was remarkable, ROM 100%. Ironically, it was that day, on the way home when I was hit suddenly with exhaustion, flu like symptoms, a slight chill. I went home and rested summing it up to “over doing it” in the city. It was the holiday and my husband and I spent the day enjoying the festive atmosphere. I quickly recovered but then a week later, I experienced a sudden and excruciating pain in my joint, like someone took my leg and twisted it 180 degrees! That was the beginning. The infection wasn’t discovered until it came to the surface almost 3 months later in mid-February. I had no seepage, no pain at that point, no fevers, just a bulge and redness – it looked like cellulitis which is what my GP thought it was. My surgeon was contacted and infection confirmed a few days later.
This past Friday night, I thought I would dig back into Bonesmart to find anyone who had a similar experience with infections. I stumbled upon @Vetgirl who had gone through surgery Sept. of 2013 and discovered she had an infection in Dec. of 2013. This was exactly when my infection turned up. Had I been on Bonesmart then, things might have been different for me now. I would have followed her throughout her ordeal and perhaps I would have contacted my surgeon sooner. Nonetheless, I continued to read her posts and spent the whole weekend reading her story from beginning page 1 to the end page 63. And then she disappeared. It caught me off-guard because I desperately wanted to read a happy ending for her.
She spoke passionately with dignity and grace her struggles from the beginning of her infection up until her posts end. There was power, strength and energy in her words, but there was humor there too. You could feel the anger in her words as she struggled with this battle fighting the beast inside her. She fought long and hard to regain her old life. It just seemed it was one battle after another. She didn’t seem to have a moment’s peace with it all. The only difference was I was able to find peace from all this for about 15 months whereas her journey was continuous. She expressed herself and spoke the words I felt but couldn’t express. She became my voice for me and I wanted to thank her and tell her I know what she’s going through because I’m there too. But then I would laugh because obviously I couldn’t. I was reading the past, what was already done.
And then she spoke for me again, on the matter of having your friends and family by your side, waiting for the support that never shows up. The calls that never come. No one was really there for her – people you think are your friends or close family. This is when you find out who your friends really are. Of course, her husband was always there and her kids but no one came calling to find out how she was, no one stopping by and if they did, it became all about them, not her. It was then that I wish I could have stepped into a time capsule and transported myself back to the past, even then, I would have to find a way to merge the oceans as I am in the USA, she lives in Australia.
I not sure when I started to cry if it was for her or for me. Maybe it was for both. This is how I was feeling about the people around me. There were so many promises and good wishes but that’s where it ended. She vowed things would change for her once this was all behind her. Someone posted to her: You have been given enormous wisdom and compassion but it comes at such a high price”. So true. But, I’m not sure how it ended for her. After her spacer came out and she received her new hip, her life returned and she was so happy. But then she dislocated her hip and sadly, another revision was scheduled. My heart sank.
Besides the emotional side of things, I learned a lot from her thread. It is filled with helpful articles shared to her from the bonesmart community about infections and how they work in the body. There is a tremendous amount of research being done and hopefully in a few years’ time science will have a clear understanding as to how we can prevent infections from occurring on devices placed into the body. @Vetgirl also had a team of professionals who guided and advised her along the way. I learned quite a bit as she generously shared what she learned. I still find most of this a challenge to understand and may reach out to our forum board for some clarifications.
I wish @Vetgirl well. Words cannot adequately express how you have helped me during this time. Thank you for sharing your story. I just wish we could have met sooner.
With all my heart, I am eternally grateful!
We have so many old files, too, that have to be discarded so I thought this was a good time to go through it all! I also prepared all our taxes in an organized fashion. We don't do them, however, we have a friend who does our taxes and our daughter's taxes. Are you an accountant? This week it's all about cleaning and organizing once again. All the bills need to get paid and today I'm placing a big food order in to be delivered on Thursday. 
This past weekend set me up for that 'perfect storm'! 
....Actually, I do need this. My eye Dr. told me I would benefit from this. But don't see this happening for quite some time! 
Well, that will be difficult, no getting around that one. That's what I have now. Let me know if you need help with that. Took time but I learned a few tricks along the way.
