My first surgery at HSS was way back in 1961 when after several failed attempts at a diagnosis, my family found Dr. Howard Balensweig who finally discovered the cause of my inability to walk with out falling. I had hip displasia in my left hip joint. He repaired it with a closed reduction, a giant cast on tiny little me, followed by a brace. I followed up with him annually until I was about 16. Never an athlete, certainly not a runner I always knew it was because of my hip.
After having 3 daughters and going up and down with my weight most of my life, I developed a significant limp in my 40's. I consulted 2 orthopedists in NJ who both said I was very young and I would know when I needed a replacement.
By 2013 I was in constant pain. At 53 I went from having a lot of energy to wanting my husband to drop me off at the door to wherever we were headed. Anything to avoid walking. I kept a steady supply of Advil on me and 600mg was my normal dose. For 4 years I had carried around an HSS surgeon's name. A coworker's husband had his hip replaced at HSS and his wife was so impressed with the entire experience. With her recommendation and my knowledge of HSS being where I had success as a baby, I made an appointment to see Dr. Paul Pellicci for a consult. Any 5 year old could have looked at my x-ray and seen something wrong with my left hip. Dr. Pellicci wasted no time in telling me I would benefit greatly from a THR. He had successfully completed over 11,000. At this point I couldn't have it replaced fast enough.
So December 3, 2013 I had my surgery. I was walking 4 hours later and with some pain meds I was already in less pain than I was the day before.
My new hip and I are coming up on our 2 year anniversary. The first few months were tough for me as I had a lot of soft tissue healing going on and my leg length discrepancy had (happily) been corrected. But I have never for one second thought that this wasn't one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life.
In the past 6 months, my very unathletic self has been doing crossfit 3 times a week. I started in a class with 5 other women in their 20's and 30's. I am doing things I have never done before. I went from being virtually sedentary the 2 years leading up to my surgery to being an exercise machine. I have energy, stamina, strength and have gone down two dress sizes. I have lost almost 20 pounds and gained an enormous amount of self confidence.
None of this would have happened if I hadn't said yes to HSS. Not only am I back in the game, I am in a league I never thought would have me.
Thank you to Dr. Pellicci, Tess and his incredible staff.
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