Bring It

A little late to start the countdown, but tomorrow is the day! I'm in Vail (well, Avon) and am all set for surgery tomorrow at 12:30. I'm having it done by Dr. Philippon. His best guess is that I will need labral reconstruction (using a graft from my IT band) as well as plication of my joint capsule. He gave me a 90% chance of success - given my age, etc. He thought the biggest concern would be cartilidge damage - which could mean continuing pain - but he was happy with what the MRI showed - good joint space and cartlidge looked better than he had expected, so fingers are crossed on that.

Pre-op day was pretty packed without a lot of waiting around, which was nice. 7:45 am I checked in for MRIs for both hips - since I was still deciding which hip to do. Shortly after, I was brought into the PT for a stress test. Lots of jumping around on one leg with strong elastic attached to my waist. I underestimated this test. I was sweating and breathing hard -especially at 8000 feet. One of the highlights of my day was chatting with a guy next to me on the exercise bike during my little warmup in PT. He was there for a 3 month follow up after having his labrum reconstructed using his IT band. First success story I've seen in the flesh and it could not have come at a better time. He was so happy with the results. It was a revision operation for him too - having had surgery back in 2006 to correct impingement. He said it was like night and day. Only good things to say. Seriously, just what I needed to hear. The Physical Therapist I met with also had positive things to say about the reconstruction, the recovery time, and based on what I told him he thought it seems like the left hip should be done first too. Stars aligning.

After PT. I had some lab tests and then I went out with my parents for a quick lunch in Vail fillage. Then it was back to see Dr. Philippon and his fellow. Lots of great info on what they saw in the MRI and confirmation that it seemed like the left hip should be done first. Then it was off to surgery check in and meeting with nurses. Now 'home' on the couch where I'll be spending quite a bit of the next 10 days.

Last night I was scared and undecided. Tonight I'm scared, but I'm decided and feeling good about the decision. I have high hopes for tomorrow.