It's official!

I'm officially back at work!  It went really well.  Everyone was happy to see me which made me feel good.  I only worked 4 hours and by the end of it my leg was tired and my feet were killing me.  Despite that, it went better than I expected.

Update

On Monday I start back to work!  Other than getting up at 4am everyday, I'm looking forward to it.  I'm a little nervous about how well I'm going to do.  I'm starting out at 4 hours a day the first week and then work my way up to 40 hours again.  It's the best physical therapy.  I feel bad though because I have to put in to get quite a few days off because of wedding stuff.  I also have about 15 personal days I need to take before Oct 24 or I lose them all.  It makes me feel guilty asking for all this time off right after coming back to work.  Although it's not like I've been laying on the beach the past 5 months sipping margaritas while working on my tan.  (I wish!)  Anywho wish me luck!

I'm almost back!

It's time!  Time to return the wheelchair, put the walker and crutches back in the attic, and return my grandpa's TV tray.:) I've been getting stronger and stronger.  I'm able to go up a flight of stairs (with assistance) and for the first time since April I was able to take a shower upstairs! Goodbye sponge baths!  Although I can't get up or down the stairs by myself, I've come such a long way.  I'm doing well walking.  I still am a little shaky when I walk but I just need practice to keep my balance.   In about 2 1/2 weeks I'll be back at work.  I can't wait although I'm not excited about getting up at 4am again.  I've been driving also.  It's still hard to get in and out of my car but I know the more I do it the easier it will be.  I'm so happy to be getting back to "normal".  When I went on medical leave from work it felt like we had just gotten done with Christmas.  Now when I go back to work we will be getting ready for Christmas again!  Oh how time flies. 

142 Days Later........

This year has not gone according to plan.  The only plans I really had was work hard, plan my wedding, and spend time with my family and friends.  Actually now that I think about it, I did do all of those things.  I worked hard on keeping my sanity and clawing my way back from my disastrous hip replacement.  I planned most of the wedding from my laptop while in my wheelchair. We made the hard decision to postpone the wedding a month later to make sure I would have enough time to recuperate.  Now it looks like we could have kept the original date but it's better to be safe than sorry.  I spent lots of time with my family and friends because I had all the time in the world.  I had lots of support from friends and family during this entire time.  They were always willing to help my mom and Jason take care of me.  I spent some weekends at my sisters house when mom and Jason had scheduling conflicts and weren't able to be at the house with me.  Any other time my brother TJ and his girlfriend Heather would come over and "babysit" me.  Having all of them and all of my nieces around helped get me through it.  I received get well cards in the mail and from work and it was nice to know people were thinking of me.  To help fill my time up I decided to bring out all of my scrapbooking stuff.  I have done more scrapbooking this year than I have ever done!  I also got back to reading again.  I can't remember the last time I've read so much.  I've also started a sewing project (that I bought a few years ago and never started).  Before all this happened, I was working a 40 hour work week and was on my feet the majority of the time. Add in pain medications and the drowsiness that it causes and I would be completely exhausted/tired and my feet would be in so much pain that I couldn't do much once I came home.  My nights consisted of laying in bed and only getting up to shower.  I had no energy whatsoever.  By the time morning came I would be somewhat recharged and get up to do it all over again.  I will be starting back to work September 19.  Right now I have tons of energy but I know as soon as I start back to work I will get back into this rut of pain and exhaustion.  I guess that is one thing I'm going to miss about all this is having all this energy and motivation to do things.  I realized how much I missed doing all of my hobbies (scrapbooking, reading).  Don't get me wrong, I love working.  I love my job and the people I work with.  I refuse to let my arthritis slow me down or keep me from doing things.  I just hope my body can keep up with me.  I'm so ready to get back to my life though.  To be able to pick up and go at a moments notice, climb a flight of stairs to the shower, or walk outside to get the mail are things that I never thought of as very exciting but now I can't wait to do them.  I have less than 4 weeks and I'll be back at it.  I have one more appt in October with the surgeon and then I think I'm done! 

So close!

In less than a week I go back for my next checkup.  I am praying that he releases me to put all my weight on my leg.  I've been doing great!  I'm mainly on crutches now and only use the wheelchair for long distances.  I can do so much more by myself now than before.  The only thing I'm waiting on is my surgeon to give me permission to get rid of the crutches.  I have cheated a few times just to see how it feels to walk without using anything.  But only around the house and not often.  I certainly don't want to jeopardize the progress I've made since April.  I have even driven a few times.  Driving was the easy part but getting in and out of the car was the hard part.  So hopefully I will get some more good news next week and I'll be on my way!

4 week check up

My surgeon was really impressed with my new hip.  He said it looked great and feels comfortable having me put 40 lbs of weight on it in 2 weeks.  I'll do that for 6 weeks and then after that I'll have another checkup and he will let me be full weight bearing.  He expects me back to work by the end of September.  He said "I think you should be either walking with a cane by your wedding or walking all by yourself.".  I told him I WILL be walking on my own by then.  He saw the look on my face and he said he had no doubt that I would.  I think he also could tell how anxious I was to get back to walking and emphasized that he wanted me to wait the 2 weeks before putting weight on my leg so that I didn't damage anything.  He's hoping that this implant will last me the rest of my life with only needing ,at some point, to replace the head of the femur and the plastic lining.  I'm very excited that he is letting me put weight on it at 6 weeks.  But once I get to that point I hope I can follow the rules and not push myself too hard. I feel like a little kid going to Disney World.  The kids keep asking "Are we there yet?".  You just can't wait to get there and the excitement builds up so much you could burst. Is that a good analogy? I'm so ready to be done with this I can't wait.  I can't wait to get back to my life, back to work, and back to causing trouble with my girlfriends.
                               
                                   BEFORE SURGERY

                            AFTER FAILED SURGERY

                              
                                 AFTER  SURGERY 2

                                  LOOK AT ALL THAT METAL!  My very own custom fit hip!

The ramblings of a bored person

After a frustrating start with the health care agency that is following me, I can say that I'm excited to have the therapist I have.  It's a man, which was unexpected, and he looks like Jesus.  I think he's going to be great.  2 more weeks and I 'll have my one month check-up.  I'm excited to get into the hard part of this recovery, walking.  I just can't wait!  Before all this mess happened, I was always tired, always hurting.  I'd come straight home from work and go to bed because I'd be in so much pain.  Climbing the stairs to take a shower was the hardest part of my day.  The more pain meds I took the more tired I became.  Unfortunately it's a vicious cycle that never really ends.  Even though I know that once I go back to work that cycle will start all over again, I still look forward to walking again.  At least there won't be any hip pain.  It's actually my ankles that pose the biggest problem.  You don't hear too much about ankle replacements and I'm too young for it I'm told.  My left elbow no longer moves and my left shoulder has limited movement.  My left arm doesn't do much so I'm down to one "good" arm and thankfully I'm right handed.  However, my right shoulder is going bad and my right elbow is going downhill, too.  Now once all this hip nonsense is dealt with I need to decide what to do next.  Elbow replacements?  Shoulder replacements?  Which ones first and when?  Don't worry, I plan on waiting as long as I possibly can before going into another surgery.  I hope I don't wait too long because I'm afraid that's what got me into this mess with my hip.  I'm not even done with this recovery and I'm already thinking about the next surgery.  I know surgeries are never easy or fun.  But I always look forward to the recovery.  Better motion and less/no pain afterwards.  If I could have my shoulders and elbows replaced, I would be able to do so many more things minus the pain and limitations.  I look forward to that someday.  I hate having to ask people for help.  I strive to be as independent as possible.  When I'm not able to do something, I become very frustrated with myself.  Even if all my joints were replaced at some point in my life, I would still have limitations and not be completely independent.  But I would be so happy.  I'm so thankful to have family and friends that are so great.  If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be as independent as I am.  They help me when I need it and push me to do things when I think I can't. That's what family is for right?  Unconditional love and a good kick in the ass when needed.

On the road to recovery!

I FINALLY got my hip replacement!  I was so nervous about the surgery. The surgery went well.  Intubating(putting in the breathing tube) me did not go well.  I guess it took an hour and twenty minutes to get the tube in because I can't move my head that well.  I guess I was almost put in the ICU because my throat started to swell.  Thankfully everything worked out in the end.  I was told to expect a sore throat and tenderness in my mouth and nose.  I told them that in addition to those issues, I couldn't feel part of my tongue.  They think that they may have hit a nerve trying to get the tube in.  They said that once the swelling goes down I should start to get some feeling back.  Several days later and I still can't feel part of my tongue.  Hopefully the sensation will come back in a few days.  My surgeon also told me that my left leg is now longer than my right.  He said that some people don't really notice it and others need to have a lift put in the other shoe.  It just depends on how much longer it is.  He won't be able to tell until I start walking again.  I had the best nurses and surgeon.  They took such great care of me.  Now I'm back at home starting my recovery.  I won't be able to put any weight on my leg for 6 weeks.  But I am allowed to do certain exercises to strengthen it.  I'm so excited to get started and to get walking again.  I also have the best friends and family anyone could ever ask for!  Thank you!

And your point is??????????????

I've never been one to ask "Why me?".  However I sometimes wonder "Why?".  Is there a point to all of this?  Part of me feels I should be doing something more.  Exactly what I'm not sure.  2 knee replacements, 2 hip replacements, 1 failed hip replacement, an additional hip replacement coming up, 2 bunionectomies on my feet, and the hardest one of them all is surviving aplastic anemia and a bone marrow transplant. I'm so lucky to have had not one but two donor matches.  Most people have a hard time finding just one.  When at work I'm reminded everyday how lucky I am to be alive.  I went back to work a year after my ordeal started and on my first day back a co-worker pulled me aside.  He wanted to tell me how happy he was that I made it through everything.  He then told me that 10 years earlier his brother was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia and needed a bone marrow transplant.  Unfortunately they were unable to find a donor match.  He eventually passed away from it.  Another co-worker's little brother passed away from a cancer after they were unable to find a donor match.  So every time I see them I'm reminded how lucky I am. Then I think, after all this I'm expected to just go back to my life as if nothing happened?  This October will be the 5 year anniversary of my transplant.  Unbelievable!  Sometimes it feels like it was a completely different person that went through it.  I do like to encourage people to donate blood and to register to become a bone marrow donor. Check out these sites:    www.indianablood.org    www.marrow.org   You never know. You just might save someones life.

Pre-op

Today I had all my pre-op testing done and a visit with my doctor.  The visit with the doctor went well.  He went over what was going to happen with the surgery and what to expect afterwards.  I actually got some hopeful news.  If the surgery goes well and he is able to attach my new hip to some solid bone then after 6 weeks he will let me put some weight on my leg.  I'm excited!  It takes 6 weeks for the bone to grow into the prosthesis.  If everything looks sturdy he will gradually let me put weight on my leg after the 6 weeks.  Before it was going to be 3 months before I could put any weight on my leg.  I pray it goes the way he thinks.  It's so easy to take walking for granted.  To be able to walk in the kitchen to grab a drink, let the dog out real quick, even get up to use the bathroom are all things I can't wait to do. I will need to use my walker or crutches for awhile but it will feel so good to start doing some things on my own.  As for the pre-op testing, it went well too.  I had the best nurse taking my blood.  I have the worst veins ever and it usually takes several sticks to find one.  My nurse took her time and was able to slide the needle perfectly into my vein on the first try.  I told her she was hired!  She also did the q-tip swab up my nose.  Unlike the nurse before, she was very gentle and it didn't feel like she was trying to reach my brain.  Now I just have to wait for the results of all the tests and I should be ready to go for my surgery.  I'm pretty anxious about it but I'm looking forward to it at the same time.  I'm actually looking forward to being able to exercise my left leg and make it stronger.  Hopefully my recovery will go a little quicker than 3 months. We might get to change the wedding date back to Oct. 8th but we won't know until after the surgery. I really hope so! Here's the most recent xray of my left non-hip.

JUNE 17th

My nurse called me today and the company said they will have my hip ready by June 13th.  My surgery is scheduled for June 17th.  I asked her if there was a possibility that the surgery could be moved up and she said that there is a slight chance but that she doesn't think it will happen.  They are scheduling my pre-op testing the first week of June so that if it does happen earlier I'll have all of it out of the way.  Now comes big decisions that need to be made.  Continue on with the wedding as planned or postpone it?  I'm terrified of either decision.  If everything goes PERFECTLY with surgery, I will have around 21 days(3 weeks) to start walking again before the wedding.  My vision for my wedding day was me walking down the aisle with no assistance except for my dad.  I wanted to be able to dance and celebrate at my reception with my family and friends.  I know to some people this may seem petty.  Who cares if you can't dance, mingle with family and friends,  or walk down the aisle?  Well to me its important.  I feel I'll be able to walk on my own in that short amount of time but if something goes wrong again it could ruin everything.  At this point, every week counts in my recovery.  Plus we would lose money if we had to postpone probably.  I'm really set on a fall wedding but I'm not sure I want to wait a year.  I do realize I am lucky that technology has come so far and that I'm going to have a chance at walking again.  There are people around me that are going through things that are more serious.  So I do realize it's not the end of my world.  I'm so very lucky but so very stressed.

same old same old

Unfortunately there hasn't been any more news on my hip.  I'm still sitting and waiting.  I've been watching lots of tv, playing ds, and trying to get back into planning the wedding.  I've been getting out of the house every now and then.  Mom takes me to dance class with her and has taken me to the mall a couple times.  Jason rents us movies from redbox.  However I'm still bored.  So bored it almost makes me sick.  After being up in the morning for a couple hours I'm already looking forward to going to bed that evening just to give me something different to do.  I think the boredom bothers me more than the pain of having no hip.  I'm so ready for the next surgery.  Once I have it done at least I'll be able to work towards something.  Once they release me from restrictions I'll be able to exercise my leg and work towards walking again.  I can't wait to go back to work and be around my awesome co-workers.  I'll be able to pick up at a moments notice and go meet friends for dinner and shopping.  I just need to remember all the things I have to look forward to once this is all over with. 

4 more weeks? You've got to be kidding!!



Before my recent surgery

After my recent surgery

I had my 1 month check up with my hip surgeon.  He took some xrays of my left hip just make sure everything looked okay (which it did).  As you can see from the second xray there is no ball or socket joint.  Instead there is just the metal femur replacement that comes out the top of my leg which is from the first replacement. Thankfully they didn't have to replace that part. Unfortunately, that is the main thing that causes my pain.  It stabs me throughout the day every time I move which then causes an ache or throb that lasts for awhile afterwards.  He showed me a model of what is being made for me.  It is a custom made prosthesis that will fit me and me alone.  He is pretty confident that it will work.  He said he is not leaving the operating room until he gets that hip to stay in.  He also told us that it may be another 4 weeks before my surgery which really disappoints me.  That is really pushing it to get well enough before my wedding.  Once I have the surgery, I won't be able to put any weight on my leg for 3 months so that the bone has time to grow into the prosthesis.  If it goes that way, that takes us to September which of course is one month before the wedding.  Can I get myself walking again with no assistance within a month?  Plus try to get back to work?  Finish planning the wedding? I'm not sure.  The doc is going to call De Puy Orthopaedics this week and try to find out a date of when they will be done.  He said he isn't going to wait once it's done.  He will book my surgery ASAP once it's finished.  Maybe it will be done before June.  That's what I'm praying for.  Even a week earlier would give me a bit of a head start. He is supposed to call me this week as soon as he finds out. I'll let everyone know once he does.

Duh, you can't park here!

It always bothers me when I see a vehicle parked in a handicap spot with no handicap sticker.  I always want to leave a note on their windshield telling them they are spineless and should be ashamed of themselves.  Another thing that always baffles me is when a person with a handicap sticker decides to park in the diagonal blue lines which is obviously not a parking spot.  Those diagonal blue lines are for the people who are handicapped to park beside them so that they have enough room to get their wheelchair/walker/scooter out of their vehicle.  Guess what happens when you park on those diagonal blue lines?  You guessed it! You make it extremely difficult for the handicapped to get back in their vehicle.  This situation bothers me even more than the other because if you are handicapped you should know how difficult it can be to get in and out of your vehicle.  Why would you make it even more difficult for someone else that's in the same boat as you?  This all came to mind when my mom and I went to Target yesterday.  I have to use my walker to get out of the car and get turned around so that I can sit in my wheelchair.  I need lots of space on the passenger side for the walker and wheelchair.  Thankfully I had plenty of room to get back in the truck when we left.  I just might start carrying post-it notes in my purse or better yet copies of this blog to leave on the windshields of the guilty.

Oh Happy Day

For the first time since before my surgery I actually wore jeans and makeup this weekend!  Since I never go anywhere I don't bother with makeup.  I have only been wearing comfy pants because of my foot long incision so I decided to put on some jeans and makeup to go to my nieces birthday party.  My niece Trinity picked out my shirt and then her and Alexis watched me closely as I put on my makeup.  We went to Incredible Pizza to celebrate Alexis' birthday.  It was great to get out and be all made up.  Everyone had a great time and when we got home as Alexis went upstairs she stopped and said "Quimby, you look so cute today!".  It was the sweetest thing and made my day.  On Easter, I got all made up and went to my Aunt Peggy's for Easter with my entire family.  It was great to get out this weekend and feel good about myself.    Max's birthday was yesterday. He is 3 years old now! He received a new rawhide and a new rope to play with. I also watched Due Date Saturday night with Jason. It was pretty funny. 
















Plus I took a lot of pictures with my camera and will probably get them printed out so I can scrapbook with them.  One of the many things on my list of To Do's. To keep busy I've read 3 books so far.  I'm also getting started on scrapbooking again.  I'm hoping to work on learning more French and maybe Spanish.  Anything to keep me busy and maybe do things I've been wanting to work on but haven't had time to do when I was working.  Plus I need to get back into planning the wedding.  All the big decisions are made but now it's just needing to get the little things done.  I should never get bored with all these things to do but it still happens.

Although this whole situation hasn't been the easiest to get through, I couldn't get through it without my friends and family.  I've always tried to be as independent as possible. I hate having to ask people for help.  Now I have no choice.  I'm not able to do a whole lot for myself so I have to depend on others.  My family has been great.  My mom and fiancee Jason are my main caretakers.  But when they need some time for themselves I have family and friends that we can count on to come over and stay with me.  I just want to say thank you to everyone that has helped us out, sent cards, well wishes, and have said prayers for me.  Hopefully it won't be much longer before my hip is done!

I'm Human Again

Unfortunately my house does not have a shower on the first floor.  Since I'm only able to use one leg I cannot go up a flight of stairs. That poses an issue. So I've been taking sponge baths and having my hair washed in the kitchen sink.  It gets the job done but who doesn't love getting in the shower just to have hot water hitting your body.  So this Sunday, I went to my mom's boyfriends house.  He has a walk in shower on the first floor.  With the help of my mom and a newly bought shower seat I was able to take a REAL shower!  I can't tell you how great it felt!  I had a hard time tearing myself away from it.  Once I got out and finished getting dressed I felt like a human being again.  It was great.  Sometimes it's the small things you take for granted that make you feel like a real person and re energize you. 

So I've had one of my last physical therapy sessions.  They feel I'm doing all I can with what I have for now.  Since I'm not allowed to exercise my left leg there is not much else they can do except exercise my good (right) leg.  With all that done now, they are discharging me until after my next surgery.  Then I'll be able to save the majority of my 40 therapy visits for afterwards when they will really benefit me. Once I get my new hip they are going restart therapy and hopefully I'll be able to work on getting my left leg stronger.  Although I'm not sure what all they'll have me do for my left leg because I won't be able to put any weight on my leg for 3 months.

I'm thinking of getting my scrapbook stuff out and start to work on it again.  I used to buy all this scrapbook stuff and then I never had any time to do it.  So I told myself I'm not allowed to buy anything else until I actually spend time working on it.  Fast forward to today where I have all the time in the world to work on it.  It will definitely keep me busy and it will be nice to get more of it put together.

Updates and stories

     My first week home from the hospital is done.  When I first came home no matter what I did, it hurt.  I had zero control over my left leg and could barely do anything.  The first weekend was rough.  I had a few breakdowns from being almost completely helpless and overwhelmed.  To go from working 40 hours a week and walking the majority of that time, to not even be able to sit up in bed let alone get out of bed, is extremely hard to deal with. But after having some good talks with my Mom I decided to just take things one day at a time and focus on what I could control, my right leg and my arms. So I've started physical therapy to help me get my right leg and arms stronger.  Although I'm not able to walk, I can hop around for short distances using my walker. The stronger my right leg and arms are the easier it will be using the walker, so I'm not always stuck in my wheelchair or bed.  Each day I'm getting a little stronger which gives me more confidence.


In other news..........

     Earlier this week my mom had gotten me up and I was eating breakfast at the table in my wheelchair.  She went upstairs to change and Max(the dog) stayed downstairs with me.  The rule is he is NOT to be on the couch and he is well aware of it.  As soon as Mom went upstairs he jumps up on the couch.  I immediately tell him no and that he needs to get down.  The little shit looks right at me and proceeds to curl himself into a little ball and lay on the couch.  Little shit knows I can't get up to punish him and he is taking advantage of it! That rotten scoundrel.


     My brother Tj, his girlfriend Heather, and my nieces have been coming over to shower and do laundry each night because their pipe burst and they no longer have any water.  We've started watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy together and try to get the correct answer first.  Final Jeopardy came around and the category was U.S. Presidents and Baseball.  Without even seeing the clue, he yells out Richard Nixon. He ended up being right! How he did that I have no idea. 

     I've had lots of visitors. Amanda and Ashley came over on Sunday and brought food.  Enchiladas, queso, chicken tortilla soup oh my!  It was so yummy!  My sister and the baby came over, my mom's man Jim came over and has brought me dinner and lunch a few times. My dad has come over and brought me lunch and spent the day with me.  Grandma finally got out of rehab so Grandpa and Aunt Vicki brought her over to visit.  She looked so good and it was great to see her.  My cousin Julie was in town from Ohio to run the Susan G Komen for the Cure. She is a breast cancer survivor and is one of the most awesome people to meet.  She, her mother(also a survivor) and son Mikey stopped by to visit.  Then later on that day my girl Laura came over to sit with me while my mom went to dance class with her man.  So I've been keeping busy with visits from friends and family.

Tonight we are going to rent a movie and order pizza.  I'm excited for that and pizza sounds really good.  Anyways that's all I have for now.

Rainy Days

I had my first at home physical therapy session at home this morning.  It went well.  She was able to show us some easier ways of getting me up and down that is easier on all of us.  Then she surprisingly told me that she thinks I'm trying to do too much to soon.  I need to focus on not putting ANY weight on my left leg and strengthening my right leg.  If I can get everything else in my body stronger it will only help my recovery after my next surgery.  So I'm trying to remember I had surgery less than a week ago and I need to take it easier (which I thought I was).  I got to spend time with my sister and niece yesterday.  My niece is so cute I just want to gobble her up!  Then had dinner delivered by my mom's boyfriend and we ate together and talked.  It was an overall good day. 

Not what I expected

Surgery finally happened at around 2 or 230.  Next thing I know I'm waking up and notice the time is 630. I fall back to sleep wake up again to see my mom hovering over me crying. She was telling me they couldn't do the hip replacement. That it would be done in a few weeks.  Now at this point in time I was so drugged up that things weren't really making much sense so I just said Ok.  Fast forward to Tuesday morning when my surgeon comes in to talk to me and tells me I no longer have a left hip.  There was more destruction in the joint than he was prepared for and when he touched my socket joint it fell off.  So he took everything (socket and ball joint) out.  He went ahead and did some bone graft to help my body make more bone. They have to specially make a new hip for me.  It usually takes 6-8 weeks to make a specialized prothesis but after hearing about my situation, they (De Puy Orthopeadics) will try to get it done in 4-6 weeks.  So now I have a left leg that is not attached to anything but muscle.  I cant really use my leg because the muscles don't work like they should since the bone is gone. I'm not able to do much for myself right now. So I'm just taking it day by day for now and making sure to take my painkillers. Now lets just pray that they get the new hip made soon and that it works for me.  Thanks to everyone for all the flowers, prayers, and well wishes. 

Final Countdown

I had a great dinner at Olive Garden with my entire family (minus the rockstar brother). Now I'm home and have a bag packed for my lovely stay at Clarian North. I'm ready to get this over with so I can start the recovery process. Hopefully it will be the less complicated surgery that he ends up doing. My surgeon won't know what all he's doing until he gets in my hip and sees all the damage. Praying for less complicated. Gonna try to get some sleep tonight.

T-2 days

Today we celebrated my Grandma's 75th birthday.  She was so moved and couldn't stop crying. I also had one more dinner out with my girls.  Plus Ashley gave me some books to read while I'm laid up. I'm starting to get really nervous about Monday, but I've been through much worse so I shouldn't be as nervous.  I pulled out my walker Friday and cleaned it up and also put a hot pink organizer on it so I can carry my cell phone and books with me from room to room.  I have 5 new books to read, a puppy baby book to fill out for Max, 2 magazines, 1 wedding to plan, and a partridge in a pear tree.  I think that will keep me busy for awhile.

Anyone out there?

I'm going to attempt to chronicle my hip revision recovery and whatever else I feel like blogging about. I think it might help to keep my sanity in check while I wait for my hip to heal.