Today I had an appointment with my hip consultant at the hospital, strangely enough, this was the first time I met him. I asked some of the questions I had. I am still unsure about whether this is bi-lateral or not. I don't seem to get anywhere when I try and ask though. I think the idea is we just deal with the 'bad' hip first and see how I get on. He's put my name on the waiting list for the Osteotomy, and he says it's about 3 or 4 months on the waiting list. So that's about June or July maybe? Or perhaps longer.
I googled hip dysplasia again and found a website about Osteotomies. It sounds really big and scary, but not quite real yet. I feel kind of calm about it. I also eventually found a website for a charity called the International Hip Dysplasia Institute, and read some other people's stories on there - very similar to mine. And I discovered STEPS, a charity based in the UK for people affected by Hip Dysplasia and other lower limb conditions. It actually seems more for parents with infants or newborns experiencing this, but there is a page for adults and what to expect in Osteotomy sugery which is really helpful.
And a Facebook group! Suddenly there are all these other people out there with these hip problems too! I am not alone! I almost felt a little bit emotional when I was reading the posts people have written, and this may prove a valuable information source.
It's just that I have felt so vague about everything, and I want to know exactly what is going on and what to expect. All this waiting is frustrating.
I have started kind of telling people about the surgery, but it's weird. I sort of don't really know how. I'm not the kind of person to have a 'hip condition' and I have never done this before - I mean had to have major surgery. I suppose I always thought that whenever that kind of thing happens to people, they are in a family or are married or whatever. So however difficult it is, at least they are not alone. But here I am, single, in a shared house so I'm not sure the others are going to want to take on 'caring' for me in my recovery. Mum wants to come down and look after me, but how will that work? Will we have the spare room at that point? Aaargh, all these uncertainties!
I have decided not to go on the South Africa trip now. I have been getting more and more stiff and limited in what I can do. Going there would be quite difficult, I think, as I would be constantly saying "Sorry, I can't do that, I can't walk too far." It would be better to wait until I am fully able I think. In one sense I'm not that bothered, but it is annoying to have to have all this hip stuff interrupting my life. However, my work is only temporary at the moment, so I suppose now is a good time to deal with it all.
