January 28, 2022

I’m an active 57 year old male.  snowboard, running (until ~2 years ago, but hope to again), bike…  am getting my hip resurfaced with Dr gross in 3 weeks.  dreams of marathoning and ironman again, and am fully committed to the resurface.  Nothing you didn’t know, but at 57, still feel like a have a bunch of miles left and know that the total hip will have more limitations than the resurface.

February 6, 2022

10 days out from my surgery w/ dr gross and remain excited and nervous. want to thank everyone on this site that has posted their own stories (incredibly helpful and inspiring at times) and those who have taken time to respond to my infrequent posts. as many of you can probably relate to and imagine, i’m not nervous about the surgery itself. i’ve read far too many stories about how incredible dr gross and his staff are at midlands to have any doubts or concerns. i’m most nervous about the after. the post-op stories seem to vary quite a bit – pain, crutches, walking, swelling… it is endless. i know mine will have its own trajectory but am finding it hard to tamp down my ever optimistic views (of everything). picked up my borrowed ice unit from a friend who had his surgery with dr gross ~13 months ago and he is going snowboarding in park city on the day of my surgery and i know he is an aggressive snowboarder. that inspires me. i know there are a lot more miles left in my tank – i’d like to once again use some of them running in my hometown nyc marathon or finding my way down ali’i drive one more time.

February 16, 2022 – Surgery Day

rolled into dr gross’s surgery center at 6a and after some instructions and prep was in to surgery by 7:40a. at least that is what my wife told me. anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist started asking me some questions and did something and, boom, lights out – didn’t even see it coming. woke up in recovery feeling fine. couldn’t pee so had to get some help via catheter – not terrible. all went went after that and was on my way. crutch practice and off to hotel.

whatever accolades you hear and read about dr gross and his team, please believe them and accept them as likely understated. my experience was nothing short of amazing. every person shows a level of empathy, compassion, thoughtfulness and expertise that is unparalleled. i tried to thank every single person and know i missed some. they excel at what they do.

feeling great right now but know sleep #1 could be challenging. fingers crossed. long drive home tomorrow – open to ideas on what to get my wife for being my support crew, caretaker, pill counter, crutch helper, driver… the list is endless. she is my rock and makes these turns around the sun complete joy.

February 17, 2023

ok, i’ll get this out of the way. sleep night 1 and day 2 (8+ hour drive home) were challenging to say the least. stiffness sets in pretty quick, maybe just ever present, but doing my slides last night was a task. the great news was that i slept through night 2 and felt good this morning. getting out of bed is a task.

today will be a lot more 90’s rap – ice, ice baby.

March 4, 2023

haven’t posted in awhile but all good news. the first couple of days were challenging – sleeping was hard, bm was hard… it can get you a little discouraged. got off the pain med completely by day 3 or 4 and haven’t needed anything since. doing my exercises and limited walking. there is a significant change after day 5/6 – could start to notice things getting better every day. still being smart and not pushing anything. using the cane now and could see myself not needing it next week – i make short journeys around the house without it. i have come to love my ice machine. also, not sure if normal, but the more i move around the better i am. seems like i stiffen up/swell up the more i sit. a long way to go before i am active to the level i hope to be, but the trend is good and i’m optimistic. thanks again to everyone that contributes on this forum – made my decision so much easier and filled me with confidence.

November 29, 2022

was about to figure out scheduling my 1 year follow-up w/ dr gross and thought to drop a note here – haven’t been on in a long time and i feel a little guilty as reading so many stories and threads prior to having my surgery was so helpful and instrumental in my decision. anyway – here goes. my thoughts are those of gratitude and amazement. at 9+ months out i don’t even think about my hip much anymore. i do almost all the things i ever did before surgery and do them without a 2nd thought. pickleball, cycle, tennis, golf … the only thing i have not done yet is run. to be honest and transparent, i’m a little nervous – i don’t know why as there would be no reason/indications to think i should worry. i love(d) running – 10k, 1/2 marathon, marathon, ironman… there is/was something about the simplicity of long distance running that was meditative and freeing. when my hip hurt and i stopped running prior to my surgery i would look at people i saw running and be jealous. now, dr gross never promised i’d be able to run again, but the percentages were really good and was part of the calculus of my decision. the time is coming soon when i will lace up my running shoes again and begin what i hope is a long journey back. i have dreams of running my hometown nyc marathon again – coming over the 59th st bridge and getting tears in my eyes seeing people rows deep lined up on 1st ave. i have dreams of running down ali’i drive one more time. and yet even if those dreams don’t come to fruition – i will always be grateful and amazed.

April 22, 2023  14 Month Update

given how this forum was such a valuable resource for me, i feel compelled to occasionally contribute in the spirit of helping others (not often enough though). i had my rt hip resurfaced by dr gross in feb 22 and had a very “typical” recovery. it seems that if you follow the protocols that the dr has put in place, things progress on a pretty consistent schedule.

i have been playing a lot pickleball, back to the peloton and weights regularly. the best thing is that i adopted a intermittent fasting approach to eating coupled with some supplementation and have managed to drop 25 pounds since surgery – 10 more to go. prior to surgery i was one of those people that actually loved running – my hope was that i would be able to run again. but truth be told, i was scared to try. everything else in my recovery had gone so well that i was afraid to jinx it by running and either learning/knowing that running was out of the picture or, worse, injure myself and create a whole new set of issues.

good news is that i have started again – very slowly. treadmill sessions of walking and running – the most i have run in one single stretch is still only a mile, but i am trying to play the long game and be smart. i still have dreams of running a marathon or ironman again and won’t know for quite some time if that is remotely possible.

i wanted to post to share and give those that are unsure hope and optimism that others on this forum gave me when i was in the uncertainty of what to do. i don’t think about my resurfaced hip and that may be the greatest compliment and testament to the surgery.