Thank You to All Members of Hip Talk

[Pat Walter]

I wanted to take time to Thank every person on Hip Talk.  This is my website and it has been a full time job for me since 2005, but I could not do it alone.  Hip Talk is very helpful to new people wanting to learn about hip resurfacing, people who had hip resurfacing and are in need of support and people that need answers to problems from their hip resurfacings.

I could not possibly answer every post here and sometimes, even have a difficult time keeping up with the very active discussions taking place.  Since I have done this so long, I take a little time off now and then.  That is always when very important subjects pop up.  Without all the wonderful, knowledgeable members of the group, many subjects would not be discussed thoroughly or there might be a lot of incorrect information posted.

I appreciate every person that takes time to post stories and answers.  I am very sorry for each person that has a problem story or revision story.  My heart goes out to you and my wish is that you can find a solution to get on with your lives and get out of pain.  Sometimes I might have suggestions, but mostly those solutions must come from the experienced surgeons.

The goal of the website, however, is to promote hip resurfacing.  I have a BHR and have been learning about hip resurfacing since 2005.  I believe it is an excellent solution to hip problems and that belief is based on my personal experience, thousands of personal stories I have read, information from the top hip resurfacing surgeons and the National Registries.  I try to keep the information in perspective.  The BHR has a retention rate of 96% and I believe 96% of this website should feature positive information about hip resurfacing.  Again, that does not mean I will ignore the problems and revisions.  There are pages about personal revision stories on the main website and on the discussion group.  My only goal is to keep things in perspective since there are between 2500 to 3000 unique visitors to this website a day!  I don't want a new person to drop in and start to read nothing but negative information about hip resurfacing. They need to know the good and bad.  Fortunately, at this point the good is 96% of the news.

Thanks again to everyone who posts on Hip Talk.  I appreciate the time you take to share your stories and answer questions.

Pat

[jjmclain]

We appreciate you Pat and I personally feel that you have been instrumental in helping me get my life back. Without this wonderful site you created, I would not have found out about the surgery or my surgeon. I can't thank you enough.

June

[Dan L]

Pat;

Thank you, sincerely.

This site has been incredibly helpful.  Many, many questions that I would have had to run by my physician absent a site like this, have been answered here by this community, and allayed so many fears and concerns, by realizing what I was experiencing was routine, and many others had been through before.  Your site and efforts have saved me from extra anxiety and consternation, and the hassle of trying to get a hold of extremely busy medical teams who are not easy to reach due to workload.

The HR experience can be a lonely one while recuperating at home and accepting the big changes, and not at all trivial in terms of the psychological impact based on all the changes that bad hips bring, but I have felt a part of something larger here, and something so very unique and helpful, that has made a tangible difference for me.  This is not an easy thing to go through, and the hazards are real, potentially severe, and at times very scary, and knowing this has been here made this much easier.

I have been a part of other online "communities" in the realm of work and such, but none of that compares in the slightest to this one, and I owe a supreme debt of gratitude to yourself and all the people that take their time to share here.

Thank you again.

[kamoynsgi]

Hi Pat

I'd like to echo the comments in other posts.  I only found your site recently and became a member a few days ago and what I have learnt already is amazing. 

Thank you so much for establishing the site and to everyone for their interaction and advice.

Ka