Openbah / Journal of a Marine Officer Candidate

Tag: hip

  • Giving up on sleep

    A couple months ago I was feeling like crap every day and realized that I wasn’t sleeping very well. I was constantly being woken up by the pain in my hip. So I started taking 2 Percocets every night in an attempt to sleep better.

    For a while things improved and I was able to get a solid couple hours of sleep per night, up until a couple weeks ago. I guess my body has gotten used to the Percocet and doesn’t react the same way anymore. Things have gone back to how they used to be. At this point I can’t even tell the difference between when I take the drugs and when I don’t.

    So I’m giving up on trying to get a good night’s sleep.

    Someone asked me the other day how it makes me feel knowing that I may never run again. I told him I’d be okay with it. All I really care about is being pain-free the rest of my life.

  • Surgery three, one month away

    In one month I will at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in NYC. I’m more excited than I am nervous.

    Two weeks ago something happened and my leg got a whole lot worse. It began hurting all the time again. I can’t go a day without taking some Motrin, and I can’t sleep much at all without taking some Percocet. I’m glad the surgery has been scheduled and that theoretically in a few months after this next surgery I could be relatively pain free.

    At the same time I’m nervous.

    Not nervous about the surgery itself, but nervous that I’ll find out in a year that the surgery didn’t work and that I’ll need to have a total hip replacement. I don’t mind surgery. I don’t mind the pain and sleepless nights that goes along with them. What I do mind is how, for those huge chunks of time, my life is at a stand-still again, and I am unable to move forward and continue living.

    But the only thing I can do now is hope. Hope that this will be the last surgery, hope that I’ll be pain-free the rest of my life, and hope that I can return to doing the things I love one day.

    Hope that I’ll be happy.

  • 2007: Things I will remember & things I wish I could forget

    The Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox, and Patriots games. I got health insurance for the first time since college! I built some bookshelves and then built a new kitchen. Jennie’s wedding. Jaynemarie’s wedding. Topsfield Fair and the racing pigs.

    In 2007 I had 8 appointments with my orthopedic surgeon at BMC, an appointment with a surgeon in NYC, 1 MRI, 6 sets of X-rays, a bone density exam, an operation to take the hardware out of my leg, (more…)

  • Appointment at Columbia University

    My doctor’s appointment at Columbia University (New York Presbyterian Hospital) went as expected yesterday. Dr. R. thinks that an FVFG is the best route to take. Surgery is long, usually lasting 6-8 hours. They need to graft a section of my fibula, drill a hole in my hip, insert the graft, and (more…)

  • 18 month followup

    Just had my orthopedic appointment at BMC. Basically, they don’t have any idea what’s wrong either. They ordered an MRI to determine if my pain is being caused by osteonecrosis. I have a follow up in 3 weeks. Hopefully I’ll be able to get the MRI before then.

    I take ibuprofen every day, and that usually keeps me in a good mood. If not, the leg hurts pretty bad, especially when I stand after sitting for an extended period of time. Walking is okay, but I have a hard time going up or down stairs.