Wednesday, July 28, 2010

In the beginning

Greetings, friends.

I started this blog on the advice of a friend/co-worker who, upon hearing my story, decided she and others might want to follow along on my journey. So here I am.

This blog is going to document my experience as I prepare to have surgery to correct my congenital hip dysplasia. The simple explanation of this disorder is that the hip joint does not fit properly, the ball and socket is off-kilter. This means that there is a lot of bone on bone pain, pinched nerves and limited movement/activity. Its something I was born with, and attempts to correct it in infancy didn't work properly.

I've been managing the disorder with physical therapy and copious amounts of Advil, neither of which really helps. The PT is really just a bandaid fix and the Advil ripped a hole in my stomach. The last year has been one of the most painful, and I recently decided I needed to do something. First on the docket was new pain meds, which are working (thank goodness) so I don't have to eat 15 Advil in a day!

The decision to begin this process of correcting the problem was a tough one. I had just been accepted to the graduate program at Clark University on a full scholarship, and was so excited to go. I had even resigned from my position at USM. The more I started thinking about school, the more I realized I wasn't really ready. The pain was pretty bad and I was nervous about going to school in pain, or hopped up on drugs. I couldn't ignore the fact that I have amazing health benefits from the university, that I am young, and that this is probably the best time of my life to do this. Conversations with family, friends, and my doctors helped facilitate my decision to put grad school on the back-burner and take care of myself. The big tipping point came from a conversation with my primary doctor, who told me that I'd likely need to correct this before having children. I'd like to begin having children in the next 4-6 years and I don't want anything holding me back.

So here I am, continuing a position at the financial aid office, and thinking about what's coming next. A week from tomorrow I meet with a specialist at Children's Hospital Boston for an exam and consult. There, the journey really begins. I'll post again after that appointment, which will be the start of a blog about the events leading up to the surgery, the procedure itself and my recovery. You may find it boring, or funny, or sad, or pointless or any combination of these. All I know is, particularly during recovery, I'll have a lot of time on my hands, so I might as well do something.

Cheers!