Thursday, November 6, 2008

Sugery Update

Back in September, I wrote about John's hip and a possible osteotomy. Well, this afternoon, we went to Southwestern near downtown Dallas and saw the hip specialist to whom we had been referred. Dr. Podeszwa was much younger than I expected, and not foreign as I had anticipated. He actually was born and raised in Michigan. Anyway, he listened to John, myself, Mr. Warren, and Mrs. Warren, then examened the x-rays we brought, and had John lay down while he manipulated his hip joints.

Obviously, John's left hip joint is little more than a complete joke. Socket? Try dimple. And the ball isn't much of a spherical shape, either. Which makes for a hella complicated osteotomy. Another factor is the strength of the bones comprising John's hip, and Podeszwa actually used the word "whispy" to describe them. But the most important thing, and possibly the most strange, is that since the end of September John has not experienced any more pain (or so he says).

Based on all of that, Podeszwa feared that he might cause more problems than good. He recommended that John go about his life, and, if farther down the road he has another episode of pain, he might go for a total hip replacement. Normally, total replacements are reserved for people 50+ years or so, but because John is a "household ambulator" and not a "community ambulator," (lolz) Podeszwa thinks that would be a good way to go.

In summation, no surgery in the near future (yay!), and John should go back to ambulating a.m.a.p., as, apparently, his left hip cannot get any worse.

On a wildly unrelated note, I'm really bummed about the bans passed in California, Florida, and Arizona. I know that change happens slowly, but I really hope I get to see it sooner rather than later.

1 comment:

Priya said...

Very glad to hear John's doing well! Let me know if you guys decide to get a second opinion in Houston.

ANYWAY. I was just thinking about one step forward, one step backwards, and I think that since Obama has the power to replace 2 supreme court judges in the next four years, he will be able to make lasting change in terms of the rights the GLBT community will be afforded. It might not be right now, but it will definitely happen. And I look forward to seeing those rights grow throughout my lifetime.