Posted this on the Yahoo Groups and thought I would see if there are any takers over here:

Anyone else going to be in NYC for a Dr. Su BHR around June 11th? I have a LBHR
scheduled that Saturday and was wondering if any others in this group are going
to be in for surgery that week.

We are coming in from Southern California and, although I had to stop running
last year to prevent any more hip damage, my girlfriend would like to do a
couple of runs in Central Park while we are there and I don't want her running
by herself.

I figure if someone with an athletic significant other is going to be there at
about the same time, the "others" can go run and we can have walker / crutch /
cane races down the hospital corridors - we'll call it "hipathlon". I can see
the promos now: "Experience the thrills, spills, tears and laughter of this new
form of athletic competition!" NBC sports will be all over it!

We will be there from the evening of June 7th through the morning of June 19th,
so if you want to help create a commotion at HSS that won't be soon forgotten,
let me know.

Come be a part of the action and the birth of the latest and greatest spectator
sport!

Kirk

Sounds awesome but I've already done both hips and can only be a spectator. Good luck, though you've picked a very good surgeon - let us know how the races turn out  (and the surgery).

Spectator?  I think not!  You can race the "veterans" class.   ;D

Ok, I'll bring my crutches with racing stripes on. June 11 is my sister's birthday, so some extra good luck is heading your way.

The 11th day of the month is a great choice for surgery.  Just ask lori.36.

I'm in SoCal, so can't be there, but I'll do a couple of laps around the house in your honor!!

As far as I am concerned, ANY day of the month is good to get this done!  Not too much longer now!

Kirk,
Awesome attitude! It helps a lot to have a sense of humor and you have that covered. You picked an excellent surgeon. Best wishes and keep us posted. If I lived in NYC I would find someone to run with her since my hips aren't ready yet. I know some female runners who would love to help her out. Sounds like you have a great girl.

Steve

Yep, she is the best.  I also have a triathlon buddy who is in the same boat with his hip and he is getting his done down here by Dr. Ball in San Diego just a week before mine.  We really are going to get together after I get back for some hipathlon racing at the beach while the girls do their runs.  Dr. Ball seems to really be a rising star with BHR and my buddy really liked him when they met for his consultation.  For me, he just didn't have enough of them under his belt compared to Dr. Su and when it came down to Dr. Su's experience and track record, plus HSS being in my insurance network and completely paid for, I had to opt for NYC.

Vicky Marlow is having a dinner the week after my surgery with Dr. Su so I will be able to spend an evening picking his brain in a fairly casual atmosphere instead of the rush of the hospital while he is working.  I am looking forward to that.  There is a conference taking place in NYC that week so she and a bunch of the top surgeons will be in town.

2 weeks from tomorrow starts a brand new day....

Hi Kirk,

I actually do live in NYC and have consulted with Dr. Su.  But I've decided to put off surgery for a while so I won't be joining you in doing laps around the floor at HSS.  As for your gf running in Central Park, I wouldn't worry about her being alone.  On a June Saturday you can barely make your way across the path there are so many people out running. (Unless she's planning on running at 3 AM; then you've got problems).

Best of luck.

Steve

Thanks for the info, Steve.  No 3 am runs for her, but I would still like her to be accompanied by someone, if for no other reason than her sense of direction is, well, shall we say, "challenged". 

Don't put off the inevitable for too long.  It will NOT heal itself, your "good" days do NOT mean you might be getting better on your own, etc.  You don't want to get past being a good candidate for resurf and have to go straight to a THR.

Good luck with it.  I can give you the full report if you want after I am through it.

Hi Kirk,

I would be very curious to hear about your experience with HSS, Dr. Su and the whole adventure.  My guess is that most people on this site tune in to all that stuff too.  I know that I've really benefitted from reading the many surgery and recovery accounts here.

And thanks also for the warning about waiting.  I've given this a ton of thought and am pretty confident that I'm approaching this in a way that makes sense for me.  When I spoke with Dr. Su, he sort of arched his brow a little, thinking I was diving into this a little early in the process.  My x-rays don't look too bad yet.  He was willing to operate if I was in a hurry but didn't see any emergency.

I've had to scale back some activities - I don't run much anymore and certain stretches are out (yoga, which I never like much to begin with, is OUT) but I'm managing to stay pretty active in the meantime.  I have two little kids (3 and a half and 1 and a half; sorry all if this is TMI but if I can't navel-gaze about my joints here then where?) and my guess is that that, all other things being equal, it'll be less chaos to recover from a big surgery (two, actually, as I'm eventually going to have to have both) when they're a couple of years older.

So for now, daily life is really not too limited.  I don't have bad days if I don't do certain things.  For now I'm going to follow advice offered by someone else here and get annual x-rays to monitor the process and pull the trigger when it starts to hurt all the time.  As a number of people have said on any number of threads ... "you'll know when it's time."

Sounds reasonable.  I just feel bad when I see people who post that "it seems like it is getting better on its own" or "it really isn't that bad, I just can't walk or move very well" and they ARE that bad and are in danger of blowing their window of opportunity.

It sounds like you have your situation well thought out and are on top of where you are in the degeneration process.  I was told about 6 years ago that I had OA in my left hip when I visited my ortho because of a stubborn pain there when I ran that I just couldn't get rid of.  I remember him saying that I would have to get used to the fact that someday, my running days would be over.  And the more I ran, the sooner that day would come.  He was an elite runner himself and had to quit because of OA.  He began cycling instead.

I was not hurting that bad and Ironman Triathlon was my lifestyle.  I was doing at least 1 Ironman per year (with a few Half-Ironmans and a bunch of Olympic and sprints every season) up to 3 Ironmans per year.  No way this was going to stop me.  I had been bulletproof for 20 years of it. 

For years, I put up with a very slow but very steady increase of the pain when I ran.  Then, in late 2007, I did Ironman Coeur d'Alene and it all came crashing down.  I got off the bike and ran the first 5 or 6 miles and my hip just went.  I ended up hobbling / walking the entire run just to finish.  The pain was excruciating. I knew I would have to face it now.

Not to say I gave up my denial, just toned it down to doing half-ironman and shorter races until I could "figure something out".

I did this for 2008 and 2009 but the pain kept growing.  It really didn't limit me in normal day-to-day movement, but sleeping at night after a longish run would be tough because of the ache in my hip.  And just getting up from a chair after a workout or race was getting pretty painful.

Finally, I had to stop racing in 2010 but could still do shorter runs maxing out at about 10 miles before it would really stop me.  Then I read about a couple of guys who waited too long and were no longer candidates for BHR.  That did it, I stopped running altogether and now just bike, swim and deep-water run while getting all the logistics straightened out for this surgery.

My current x-rays show bone-on-bone with spurs and a cyst in there.  It scares me that they will get in there and decide it isn't good enough.  I did send the xrays to Bose, DeSmet and McMinn as well as Dr. Su, and they all said I was still a good candidate.  I am just keeping my fingers crossed and warning everyone not to wait too long.  Besides, the longer I wait, the longer it is before I can get back to the racing and training I love.

Again, it sounds like you have your situation well thought out and are monitoring it closely.  Best of luck and I will let everyone know how it goes.

Kirk

Quote from: KirkM on May 27, 2011, 07:58:48 PM
My current x-rays show bone-on-bone with spurs and a cyst in there.  It scares me that they will get in there and decide it isn't good enough.  I did send the xrays to Bose, DeSmet and McMinn as well as Dr. Su, and they all said I was still a good candidate.  I am just keeping my fingers crossed and warning everyone not to wait too long.  Besides, the longer I wait, the longer it is before I can get back to the racing and training I love.

Again, it sounds like you have your situation well thought out and are monitoring it closely.  Best of luck and I will let everyone know how it goes.

From what I have read, Dr Su would know when the right time arrives as he is a notable expert in the field.  For others thinking that 'it will be all right, it can wait', consider talking to an expert.  I did wait too long for resurfacing. Thankfully in Australia, the BMHR (http://www.mcminncentre.co.uk/birmingham-mid-head-resection.html) is available as an option before resorting to a total hip replacement and is much more like a resurfacing than a total hip. I don't think that this bone conserving option is available in the US at the moment.

Like Kirk, I did worry that they'd get in there and decide I couldn't have it and would need a total hip (there isn't a next step from a BMHR).  Thankfully I have two shiny new BMHR's.

Just a quick update -

Sitting here at the Belaire after a day of testing, checkups and the class. Got
to see a lot of HSS going from appointment to appointment so I am already
planning my route of crutch-borne chaos. I noted where all the security guards
are posted. :)

We had a great meal at a health food restaurant called Good Health Cafe tonight.
It was very good. Had classic and equally good NY Pizza last night after we
flew in to the city.

So far, everything is a go for Saturday. Funny thing is that my hip hasn't been
bothering me significantly since I stopped running about 6 months ago but now it
must know what is coming and is getting its last jabs in. It is unusually sore
just walking around a bit. Hope it is enjoying its last jab at me, cause it
will be over in three days. Hey hip, jab THIS!

We stumbled upon Petaluma Restaurant today walking around Manhattan (where the
Hippy Dinner with Dr. Su will be on the 18th) and it looks very nice without
being pretentious or unreasonably expensive. I checked the distance from the
Belaire at HSS and it is .3 miles. I am wondering if I can actually walk there
and back a week out from my surgery. I hope so and now have that as a goal.

Now, it is just a couple of days of checking out the city and mentally preparing
for the big day.

Kirk
LBHR Dr. Su -3 days

You can, just will need to do it with crutches, and take your time. Good luck in 3 days, looking forward to your post.

I hope your surgery goes well.  And recovery goes even better.

I loved your comment about scouting the security guards.   :)

Dan

Good Luck! Just think...in 6 months you will be back running again!  8)

Welcome to my neighborhood! I live right up the street @89th & York :) I am also an HSS alum, although I'm a David Mayman grad rather than an Edwin Su. Petaluma IS a great place. Vince, the manager is married to one of my GF's buddies. As to the distance between Belaire and HSS, Isn't there a back door which is directly across 71st Street from the HSS driveway? I'm leaving for the weekend tonight or I'd meet you for a slice! HSS is top notch. You're in great hands. Good luck on Saturday!

Kyle

Hi Kyle -
Please try to join us at Petaluma on the 18th.

You misunderstood what I wrote about the distance.  I was speaking of the distance between Belaire AT HSS to Petaluma not Belaire TO HSS.  Sorry, that could have been composed a bit better.  Yes, HSS is right out the door from the Belaire.

Although the weather is unusually hot today, we were thinking of heading down to Little Italy and Chinatown, maybe Wall Street.  Is the subway good for this or should we just get a cab?

Hope to see you next week.

Hi Kirk,

You've probably already left but if you haven't, take my advice: take a cab.  The east side is not great for trains and it's 100 out (and can be worse on the train platforms), so splurge.

And good luck.

Steve