Dwight Vanderboegh 3 year anniversary

[Pat Walter]

Note: Posted for Dwight by Patricia Walter

Three years ago, I was next on Dr. Jinnah’s list for hip surface replacement.  If you read my experience log following the surgery, you know it was largely successful.  It took one year before I felt confident strength to try jogging a 3-miler in a park.  I worked up to it and the run was wonderful:  to know that I could run if I needed to do so, and that without pain brought great joy, and a once-for-all release from the NEED of jogging.

After running most of my life and escalating during my 40’s to over 30 marathons, and50 & 70-mile ultras including a 100-mile run during a Relay for Life event, I thought I would never be released from my harrier addiction.  Come on, you runners, you know it is an addiction when we must have it to feel satisfied.  But, after I accomplished that Monumental  5K, I knew running was no longer something I had to have to live a fulfilled life.

On the positive side, I stay very active walking, biking, working in the yard, and all without pain.  I have kept the weight off â€" one of the reasons I was running from all those years.  Also, on the positive side, I don’t think about the hip.

The downside is that there was some nerve damage during the procedure with continued numbness from the outside of the ankle and moving up to the knee.  It is not noticeable unless I have overdone it all.  It is not unusual to walk 4 miles a day and not feel the numbness.  Actually, I have to concentrate on the sensation to notice it, but this damage was the most difficult part of the recovery, the attributing factor to the pain I mention in my recovery log.

For those considering the surgery, I highly recommend it.  It delivered me from constant pain during and following any walking or yard work to the renewed privilege of performing daily tasks without pain.  I stated after the surgery that if I only had one year of relief, it would be worth it.  Now, that satisfaction has tripled.

Many thanks to Pat for her invaluable website!  It had been a long time since I visited it, but I remember visiting multiple times each day prior to the surgery and during recovery.  The website was like a doctor-on-call with all the great advice and knowledge.  Thanks to all the contributors who helped me through the process.  I hope I don’t have to return to the site as a patient-to-be, but if I do, I know the website will again become a valuable tool in preparation for that second surface replacement.

[Luanna]

Wonderful 3 year anniversary post and very inspiring. Thanks for sharing it.

Luanna

[Woodstock Hippy]

Congratulations on your anniversary.  I'm getting out of the hospital today after my surgery and just like you were, I can't wait to run that first slow 5K.  Maybe, like you, I'll find that I don't need it anymore but right now it's one of the carrots on a stick driving my rehab.