consult w/Dr. Su 7/20

[David]

Hi,

Happy to have found this site, thanks Pat.  I have just skimmed over a few of the topics so far, but I seem to have many of the same concerns and pre-op experiences as others.  Reading your story Kirk prompted me to sign up and share.

I just turned 50 a couple of weeks ago, been an athlete all of my life.  Competitive and Collegiate golfer since my early teens.  Got into triathlons in my early 20's and have been competing ever since.  Started doing marathons in my early 30's then got into Ironman triathlons 11 years ago.  Have done 1 or 2 every year since, including several Hawaii's.  It has been a way of life for me.

After chronic leg, back issues for years was finally diagnosed with FAI hip impingement and labral tears 3 years ago and had arthroscopic surgery done then.  Seems like I've lived at the PT for the last 3 years while struggling through the pain and trying to believe the hip will get better and continued with regular training.

Well, I'm done.  The pain has become constant.  My head is poking through the denial curtain.  Last Xray was ugly.

After reading many of your stories and successes, I am very hopeful and only wish my appointment with Dr. Su was sooner.

I would hope that after surgery I could resume running, if not competitively for enjoyment and to keep up with my energetic 9 year old son.

Looking forward to sharing my experience and learning from you all.

Best...
David

[newdog]

David,

Welcome to this site. You've come to the right place. I too thought my hips would get better with PT and exercise. It helped for a short time but they got worse. Four days before my first surgery the final pre-op x-ray was God-awful looking. My surgeon and the surgical assistant could not believe I wasn't in worse pain than I was. (I thought the pain was pretty bad myself.) Dr. Su is an excellent surgeon. Keep us posted on your journey. Everyone on this site is eager to help you in any way they can.

Steve (newdog)

[KirkM]

Hi David -
Your background in sport is very similar to mine.  I don't want to rehash all the cliches over and over as I am sure you have already read plenty, but yes, when it is time, you have no choice but to drop the denial and start the process. 

Dr. Su is just exceptional, both as a surgeon and a human being.  The HSS people all told me that he is held in the highest regard by EVERYONE.  When you talk to him, you will understand what I mean.  And, the staff at HSS are without question the nicest and most accommodating group you will find, too.

I never realized how great it could be to sit in a Manhattan hotel room with an ice pack on my butt. 
Hopefully, you will know this feeling very soon.

[David]

Kirk,
Glad you are doing well.  Sounds like a lot of relief in your tone.
How long was it between your initial consult w/Dr. Su and the scheduled operation?
David
ps:going up to Lake Placid IM course this weekend...part of a training camp we've run for the past 10 years...

[hernanu]

Welcome, David, good luck with Dr. Su.

[KirkM]

I did my whole investigation via phone and email with Drs. Bose (India), DeSmet (Belgium), McMinn (England) and Su (USA).  When I decided on Dr. Su, I sent x-rays, bone scans and a bunch of test and requested materials done at home in California.  My shoulder ortho guy there is super nice and was happy to act as a liaison and facilitator of the things I needed so I wouldn't have to fly out to NY and back a few times before the surgery. 

I never actually met Dr. Su in person until the morning of my surgery.  He was really great, answered any last questions I had and generally gave me a very comforting feeling about the whole thing.   Then I got a chance to chat with him afterwards when he came up during my PT session when I was still an inpatient at HSS on Monday after surgery.  He also called me in my room from his home on Sunday to see how I was doing and to find out if I had any concerns or questions.

To more specifically answer your question, once I decided to get a date for surgery, it was about 2 1/2 months before they could get me in.  I went on a cancellation waiting list, but nobody cancelled.  I was given the impression that it is usually about 3 months for a surgery date once you have lined everything up.  Obviously, you can book 5 or 6 months out or more if you want, but I don't think you can get anything sooner than 2-3 months out unless you get in on a cancellation.

Cool about the LP training camp.  I did that one in its inaugural year - 1999.  I still have very clear memories of it.  Beautiful bike, great swimming in mirror lake, and a fairly tough run.  And then there is the finish in the Olympic skating oval.

[jjmclain]

Welcome David!

I am a triathlete as well, 7 months post-op LBHR. I too have done many Ironmans, including LP (which is so beautiful and you are so lucky to be there year after year for camp!) and I have raced Kona 3 times (my favorite of all of them!). My problems started after a bike crash at my last Kona race.

Resurfacing is amazing!!! I feel better than I have in 4 years!! Believe me when I say you will get back to running and racing!!!! All of us have our sports on this site, and I think that has been the main goal for all of us...to return to our sport that we enjoy so much.

I am glad you have found this site! Do your research and also make sure you have a great support group going into surgery. My husband was phenomenal throughout my whole experience (so were my kids!).

June

[David]

Thanks for that info Kirk.  I'm on a waiting list with Dr. Su supposedly as well, actually have been bumped up a month already for my initial consult from my original appt.  You going to that dinner this Saturday where Dr. Su is supposed to attend?  I'm in NY and would definitely go, but I've got this commitment with this LP camp.  Put in a good word for me for an earlier appt, only kidding, but hey you never know.
LP is beautiful, 4X for me, family and I love it there.

June, I hear what you are saying about HI (6 for me), nothing like it if you are into this sport.

I just got back from doing the Honu 70.3 and finished that run on pure Polish heritage and no running for 4 weeks.  It was at mile 2 that I decided I am ready to finally do something (surgically) with this hip.  You are so right about family and friends support in this endeavour and all, it's what gets you through.

Thank you all for your kind embrace...
David

[KirkM]

Yes, I made sure that I stayed until the 19th so I could get to that dinner with Dr. Su.  I mentioned it to him when we were chatting during my PT and he is still on for it.  It is a shame you can't make it.  It is really a rare opportunity to speak personally with one of the top BHR surgeons in the world in a small, intimate setting instead of the normal workplace hustle and bustle.  If there is any way for you to clear those few hours and come, I would strongly suggest you do.  On the other hand, if you don't, well, that just means more face time for me.   

To you and June, I have done Ironman for 20 years, including Kona 3x (lottery, I'm not that fast) and had to face this hip issue after a spectacular meltdown of my hip at Ironman Coeur d'Alene a few years ago.  I barely finished by hobble-walking for more than 20 miles on the run.  Went to 70.3's and shorter for a couple of seasons and then just couldn't do that anymore.  70.3 Hawaii is my favorite race of all time and I am shooting for a return to that one next year.

I used to use a line when I worked in a high-pressure job in L.A. and everyone was panicked because of some problem on deadline:

"Problem?  This is not a problem.  Mile 18+ on the run in Ironman, now THAT is a problem."

You can apply it here too.  Compared to miles 18-26 in Ironman, this hip surgery thing is a piece of cake.  After all, with the surgery, the aid stations come to you, AND they have great pain killing narcotics to offer.  Show me a race that does that and I will sign up on the spot!   

[David]

Brother I'm going to be at Honu 70.3 next year no matter what...I did it 3 years ago after my FAI scope on no running with a few buddies of mine from the Challenged Athletes Foundation which I got involved with (talk about inspiration). We made it a pact to do it every year.  Let's make it a goal.  Now I have to try to get me done (BHR) sooner than later.

No way I can make the dinner, My allegiance is there.
You know Roch Frey in the Im world?  He just had a BHR last week...

Best...
David

[KirkM]

You got it.  Roch and I have been on the phone every day since the day before his surgery with Dr. Ball.  Huddle, Paula, Heather and Roch are friends / business associates since I have been working with Ironman since 2000.  Diana is also a very good friend and she is lobbying hard for me to come back to her race next year.  I did it every year after it was opened up to all participants and made a 70.3 (the first year it was an Oly only open to Hawai'i residents). 

See you there.

[jjmclain]

David and Kirk-

Wow! You guys are definitely hard core athletes and it sounds like great jobs both of you have!!! I met Roch Frey and the others at the LP IM Camp before my first IM in 2002...but there is no way any of them would remember me!!! They were all great there, so unassuming, and just fantastic people. I was and still am in awe of all of them!

When I first found out about the BHR procedure, I actually emailed Scott Tinley and was so surprised and impressed that he emailed me back almost immediately and told me that once I had the procedure done, I would wish I had it done sooner. I was so amazed that he took time out of his day to write to somebody like me that he had never met before!

There are some other triathletes on this site as well and it would be great if all of us hippys could meet at a race one day whether it be a 70.3 or a full IM. David, I hope you get in with Dr. Su sooner, rather than later and Kirk, good luck with your continuing recovery.

Pat and all of the other surface hippys on this site are fantastic and will provide you with so much support and advice.


June

[KirkM]

I have been emailing back and forth with Diana in Kona today since I do a lot of design and other work for them as an outside contractor and I told her she had better get ready for Honu next year because a bunch of Surface Hippies are going to descend upon that race.  I told her we needed our own division.   

I will be seeing her when I go work Kona again this year and I'm sure we will be able to have dinner and talk after the Big Show is over.  This should be quite fun in 2012!

Roch got underarm crutches from Dr. Ball's Hospital and I told him he should get forearm ones.  So he went and grabbed Tinley's.   

[David]

Cool Kirk...small world in many respects.     

[David]

June...don't be struck by anyone...they are ordinary and sometimes very less...believe me...nice to see responses like you have had though...

[ScubaDuck]

OK, stop all this IM talk or I'll have to join you guys.  Although I have only done one IM 20 years ago I loved triathlons and was fairly competitive.  Then started a company and got married. 

Long story short, I thought my tri days were over.  This HR is giving me hope that I can run again.  Since I am swimming and biking already the conclusion is foregone.

I have not heard of the 70.3 in Hawaii but it sounds great.  Keep me posted.

Hippy Tri Team future member
Dan

[KirkM]

It is true that there are some major egos and a-holes in the elite ranks of this sport, but I can tell you from years of first-hand contact, Roch Frey, Heather Fuhr, Paula Newby-Fraser and Paul Huddle (the owners of multisports.com) are the nicest people out there.  They are beyond funny and completely NOT full of themselves.

And Diana Bertsch, the race director for Kona and 70.3 Hawai'i is an amazing person pulling off an impossible task every year.  And guys like Bob Babbitt, who founded the Challenged Athletes Foundation, is an amazing, famous encyclopedia of triathlon knowledge and experience yet is a very warm, modest and friendly guy.  There are others, but these are the ones that really stand out to me. 

Unfortunately, there is a very long list of self-absorbed, incompetent jerks.  But, you just move away from them and embrace the ones that really understand and live what the meaning of this sport and life in general is all about.  Just turn on the Pr**k filter and revel in the great people and experiences available.

[KirkM]

Dan -
2 words: You're in. 

Registration is due to open by the end of this month.

'Nuff said.

[newdog]

Just turn on the Pr**k filter and revel in the great people and experiences available.

Kirk,

How true! Man you're doing fantastic. Keep cranking out the posts. It's fun to hear your insights in this experience.   

[jjmclain]

Kirk,

It is the multisports.com camp that I did and I have also used one of their training programs before. Yes, they are so hilarious. That is awesome that you are friends with all of them!! I really enjoyed their camp and all of the people I met there. I remember going out drinking with a bunch of guys from the camp the last evening there and one of the Aussies drank me under the table! I was not feeling too great the next day when we did one loop of the run course!!! I guess I shouldn't have tried to keep up with the guys drinking...but you know how competitive us athletes get!!!

You sound like you are doing great! I hope to see all of you guys at a race soon! My husband and kids can't wait for another great trip...as you know a lot of races have turned into family vacations.

June