Surface Hippy Blogs - Dr. Ball Hippies

Surgery & Post Op

nospam@example.com (Kenny Gensel) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:52:44 -0700

Surgery:

Day 1: Pretty immobile, jacked up on pain meds. Able to move to chair by end of day. Day 2: Walked around ward with crutches. Confidence growing. Day 3: Ready to go home in morning. Learned how to nav stairs w/ crutches. Drive home was PAINFUL [no meds prior to leaving; snafu due to Sunday discharge]. Drive straight to pharmacy, downed the meds, straight to recumbent chair for snooze.:

Home Recovery::

Day 1: walked around block with family. Very nice to get out. Able to check work email. Able to go up / down stairs (2x day).:

Day 2: able to make work emails / calls from home recumbent chair. Pain meds make it difficult to multi-task. Attention span greatly reduced. Must take nap.:

Days 3-5: look forward to daily walks around block with family. Easier to get in / out of bed each day. Able to go up / down stairs as needed. Cut all "additional" pain meds [percocet] but for 2x/day oxicontin.:

Day 6: attended BMX Olympic Trials. Only able to stay 2.5 hrs. Percocet in car ride home and useless rest of day.:

Day 8: decided to drive myself to work-likely a mistake. Driving is PAINFUL. Sitting at work in regular chair painful. Lower back hurt since I was trying to sit comfortably. Home at 3pm and resumed the percocet. Disappointment.:

Days 9-13: went to work every other day for short days; had to take perc to recover. Days stayed home were pain free & no percs necessary. Driving and sitting at work were key culprits. Limited mobility around house possible with only 1 crutch.:

Confidence Boosters::

Home and walking within 4 days of surgery - perception of "being on track" good feeling. 4 days post surgery perceived to hit plateau or even step backwards; easy to feel sorry for myself and get moody.:

Determination: epiphany that mental toughness is as important as physical therapy.:

Dr. Ball personally called to check up - classy guy. Great help to confidence.:

Read article in Competitor Mag re: pro athletes Floyd Landis and Robyn Benincasa had same surgery. Emailed and got a response from Robyn! Wow what a boost. :

Must maintain mental toughness - this is a marathon not a sprint.

Life Pre-Surgery

nospam@example.com (Kenny Gensel) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:04:20 -0700

Pre Surgery Lifestyle:

1987-2004:sports 5x / week; volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer.

1993: motorcycle accident; fractured femur. Long term result - severe arthritis, bone spurs, loss of cartilidge.

2002-2008: severe pain after sports; self medication through alcohol

2005-2008: stopped all sports but basketball due to pain. Added mountain biking (less impact) to pick up slack.

Paul's Hip Resurfacing with Dr. Ball

nospam@example.com (Patricia Walter) — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 08:48:55 -0700

On Nov. 19,2007 I had my left hip resurfaced by D. Scott Ball at UCSD Thornton Hospital, La Jolla, CA.

I got in 30 days early due to a cancellation so I only had about 5 day window of being "anxious" but due to prayer I was very peaceful all the way up to going under.

I was put under at 1:00 and remember waking up about 5:00 with no pain. Did not remember throat tube going in or out or the catheter going in.

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Top 10 Reasons I Selected Dr. Ball

nospam@example.com (Patricia Walter) — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 12:23:51 -0700

Three years ago at the age of 37 I was given the news I have osteoarthritis by my family doctor. I was referred to a hip specialist and was told I needed a Total Hip Replacement, oh and by the way, would never again participate in high impact sports. Three other specialists gave me the same news. As the FDA hadn’t yet approved the resurfacing there wasn’t a lot of info available.

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