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Having posted just once or twice before my BHR with Dr. Bala
in India April 7, may I introduce myself to my fellow
surface hippies. My story in a concise paragraph or two: car
accident in '95, then with the skills and experience of a
long-time Outward Bound instructor and professional yoga
teacher I maintained and got by for years. My life has
always been active, athletic, outdoors. Along the way I
tried almost every bodywork therapy. Intensive Oriental
medical TX including acupuncture, herbs, bodywork, Qi gong
and diet convinced me the problem was resolved. So I
enrolled in acupuncture school! Within a few months of
23-hours a week classes and clinics piled on by 30-40 hours
of study I'd lost all the benefits I'd gained as a patient.
The rigors of the education opposed the benefits of the TX
and lifestyle. I limped along with the spavins and the
heaves for 3 more years, trying prolotherapy and more
bodywork. I hit two nadirs of despair, the last one
Christmas 2005. Then out of a clear blue sky my bodyworker
said, "Have you heard about hip resurfacing?" catapulting me
into intense research, a few contacts with surface hippies
in Santa Fe and Wyoming (especially Gregg Dean) and email
contact with Dr. Bala right
after Tibetan New Year February 28.
Yes indeed I prayed to
find a way out of pain and the loss of my active life. My
limp was so bad I looked like a drunken sailor reeling down
the deck. Within five swift weeks I was being prepped for BHR on my right hip at Sri Rama- krishna Hospital in
Coimbatore, India. I borrowed the money, a dear
friend with frequent flyer miles bought my ticket, and this
utterly dragged down, despairing, broke and on the verge
63-year old, once- famous singlehanded ocean racing sailor
was re-hipped and reborn under the skilled hands of Dr. Bala
and his crew. Wonderful, compassionate nurses, physical
therapists, the anestheseologist, Pravin my guide for all
things outside the hospital -- I shall never be able to
thank them sufficiently. They all get a five star rating
from this surface hippy!
It was not an easy passage. Waking from surgery, finding
myself wholly alive and thrilled I jumped on the laptop and
spent hours informing friends and supporters. I got two
bedsores out of that, and their healing has considerably
slowed my otherwise steady and amazing recovery. So here's
the caveat: those with fair, thin
white Nordic skin must be especially, especially careful
about these wicked things medically called decubitous
ulcers. They can develop in as little as two hours. A few
basic precautions will prevent them. Go into surgery lean.
I'd gained 17 pounds since Christmas. Do your breathing
exercises. I was still a little congested from
the plane trip. Turn and turn and get in and out of bed in
the first days post op. I glued myself to a computer screen
-- too long in one position. There are of course hospital
things such as a sheepskin mattress pad or an "egg crate"
foam mattress that provide a little air space between bed
and skin, but mainly it's the moving and shifting about so
circulation isn't impeded.
Home in Santa Fe I hiked an hour and a half five weeks post
op. I'm walking or hiking every day and soon will get back
in the pool for laps and water workouts. Then Pilates for
core strength, and my bet with myself is by June 30 I'll be
running and cycling. August 12th I have a date on a schooner
on the coast of Maine to climb the rigging. THAT's the
moment that will tell me whether I've finally, truly come
home ... to the sea.
Please don't hesitate to contact me concerning Dr. Bala or
Sri Ramakrishna Hospital or my experience of traveling to
and from India.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Judith Lawson
Santa Fe, NM
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