Dearest Hippys, Hip #2 is going well here in Gent Belgium. Everyone says that I am doing much better then I did for the first one, but I thought I did great the first time! It is easier though. I am fondly beginning to think of it as a three day “time out” that I had to take to get repaired. The second hip was easier ~ knowing what to expect is more then half the battle. Dr. DeSmet or whoever your doctor is fights the other half for you. Maybe it is in the fight that we find life again. At least we make a conscious decision how we want to live the rest of our lives. Pain could find no partner with me. It was the most useless feeling. I left mine on DeSmets table – twice. There was a big pile of it there where others had gone before me. That was really how it felt. I fought it for 3 years never knowing what was wrong with me. Discovery for me was Nov 13, 2004. Here it is June 1, 2005 just 7 months later and I am completely free from bone on bone hip pain. That is a miracle. Now my butt still looks like a battle was fought on it recently! I had the staples out last night and ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Did that ever feel nice! The new nurse Bart is wonderful. He is spraying my incision with something to kill the staph that lives on all skin so I don’t run into trouble like I did last time. My exercises are going well with Marc the PT doc. Strangely; stairs seem to be harder this time for me. I can’t seem to pick the right leg for down and the left one (done in Feb.) for up. The one resurfed in Feb is very strong and absolutely like normal. It is really hauling me around quite nicely now. On day 4 after surgery I went down to one crutch. Today is the 5th day and I have already gotten up and walked to the door to answer it without any crutch at all. Not even thinking to get it, just walking away. It is about 10 minutes later that I looked for it, realizing I had left it behind. This DID NOT happen the first time. My left side was way worse and my recovery was much longer. I didn’t wait so long to resurf the right side and the bonus turned out to be the recovery was much quicker. Hoping you are all doing well at whatever stage you find yourselves in. If anyone has any questions feel free to write, the next 6 days will be the most time I have to write back in the next century! Oh by the way, I didn’t tell you this. I got my insurance to pay for all of it! Maybe there are too many stories on here already about American insurance paying in foreign countries, I don’t know because I haven’t written for so long. I don’t want to bore you so let me know if you want any tips. Lovies, Lynn Beyler