Hippy Anniversary to Me!

I'd completely forgotten until today that the 6th January marked the 17th anniversary of the day my life changed forever. 

I was born with a shallow acetabulum (hip socket) and dysplasia of the left hip which went undetected throughout childhood. Despite regular trips to the doctor my constant pain and strange gait were dismissed either as growing pains or over-exercising and, in later years, because I wore "stupid" shoes. As I got older I was often embarrassed by strangers asking me why I was limping, offering me lifts, seats on public transport or help with carrying my shopping. It wasn't until I was 38, when I was working at a local chiropractic clinic, that I was finally X-rayed and it was discovered that my ball joint had slipped from the socket and worn away a large part of my pelvis. After being referred an orthopaedic surgeon, I was told that a total hip replacement was the only solution and I went on the waiting list at my local NHS hospital,Walsall Manor.

She's such an attractive girl, it's such a shame she can't walk properly - what strangers often said to my friends

For years I'd had to wear built-up shoes and orthopaedic insoles as there was a two inch difference in my leg length (which probably explains a long-time dread of flat footwear, which I've finally got over). My family and I never questioned why this was the case and no medical professional ever put two and two together. We just assumed I was "odd" and that was that.

Me (and my real hair colour) as a 28 year old high-flier posing for a trade magazine shoot in 1994

Despite my "disability" I never missed a day of work, often working nineteen hour shifts as a hospitality manager. I later found out I would have been entitled to full disability allowance as my range of movement was so limited. My constant pain probably explained my short temper, I was a horrible boss.

I was originally scheduled to have my operation at Walsall Manor Hospital on 12th August, 2005. I nervously spent the night in hospital only for the lady in the next bed, who'd had her op earlier that day, to suffer a fatal heart attack. The next morning, whilst I was with the anaesthetist, the surgeon dashed into my cubicle and ordered her to stop as the correct sized ball joint hadn't been ordered and my operation was cancelled. I was so relieved.

Stupid shoes? Moi?

As I mentioned before, despite always having very physical jobs, I never in my working life missed a day of work through my hip and worked my usual eight hour shift at the chiropractic clinic the day before the operation, scheduled for 6th January, 2006. When I went into hospital for the second time I decided against a general anaesthetic and opted instead for an epidural which would enable me stay awake throughout the procedure. Despite my pain I felt like a fraud being wheeled into theatre, a hip replacement sounded so dramatic and at my age (I'd turned 39 the previous month) was extremely rare. Whilst the surgeons were amputing my femur and drilling and hammering the prosthesis into place I could hear (over the piped-in pop music) them discussing how my hip was one of the worst they'd seen and I was strangely relieved that I wasn't wasting anyone's time. My X rays are still used at the teaching hospital to show medical students how bad a hip can get!

SOURCE

I was drinking coffee and chatting to the nurses within ten minutes of leaving the theatre. I was pain-free for the first time in my life and it was un-freaking-believable. When I saw myself in a mirror a couple of days later I swear I looked ten years younger. I insisted my legs were measured and squealed for joy when I was told that they were both the same length.

Walsall Manor Hospital

Recovery wasn't easy, I'd had to have a bone graft and multiple blood transfusions and was sick, depressed and miserable for months, strange as it might sound my pain had become a part of who I was and I didn't feel like me anymore. Because the damage to my hip was so severe I was told I'd probably need a walking stick for the rest of my life. I refused to listen to the experts, handed my stick back, enrolled in Pilates and Hydrotherapy classes and hounded the NHS for physio (not normally offered to hip replacement patients as the aim of the op is to reduce pain rather than make the recipient more mobile).

Seventeen years on and there's no stick and no limp, just that tell-tale scar that all of us hip-replacement recipients share. Mine was a state-of-the-art titanium Furlong Hip (not something generally available on the NHS but I was freakishly young and a "normal" replacement hip only lasts on average 10 years and even less for an active adult, meaning if I live until my mid-70s, I'd have needed it replacing at least 4 times). The Furlong hips have a minimum life expectancy of 20 - 25 years. 

I was told that due to my other hip having to bear the weight of both of them for over 39 years, my right side would need replacing within five years of my first hip op. Although the X-rays show that it's a bit knackered I'm pain-free and don't limp so I shan't be going under the knife again just yet (I had an emergency intravenous steroid injection in my right hip at the hospital in 2013 after overdoing it at Glastonbury). My consultant thinks I'm superhuman - I just put it down to maintaining a healthy weight and exercising at least five days a week.

Hippy anniversary to me and long live the NHS.

This is my song!!