I can’t believe it’s already been a year since my total hip replacement at Hospital for Special Surgery.

The hip itself feels great. For the most part I experience no pain. Every once in a while I’ll move it in an awkward direction or lift something too heavy and it will hurt or feel uncomfortable for a day or two. Other than that I can’t even tell it’s a prosthesis.

My back unfortunately hasn’t improved a whole lot since the surgery. Prior to the THR, I had a 1″ leg length discrepancy. Now that my legs are even lengths again, my spine has re-adjusted, and is now causing quite a bit of pain. I had hoped it would subside, but it’s been a year and the pain is still present. For the most part, sitting and walking are fine, but standing is very painful, especially when I’m scrubbed in on a surgery and I stand in the same position for hours. I’m seeing my surgeon in a month, and he’ll probably refer me to either physical therapy or to a spine surgeon, even though I won’t be having another surgery right away!

Married the girl of my dreams on September 2nd.

Last Thursday I interviewed for a perioperative nurse position in my dream hospital. They emailed me after the interview and offered me the job. I’ll start in 3 weeks and could not be more excited.

I am fortunate to begin my career in an area that I am interested in, and at one of the top hospitals in the country. For those of you that don’t know what a perioperative nurse is, this page should help.

Here are the before and after X-rays from my total hip replacement. I lined up my pelvis in both X-rays so that you can see the 1″ that I regained through the hardware.

(Click image for the high-resolution version)

For those that missed it, check out the animation I posted showing how a total hip replacement is performed. It will also help you understand what you’re looking at in the X-ray.

Just got home from my 3-month follow-up with my surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He said that I looked great, and that I can end physical therapy when my authorization expires. He said that my continued recovery is now all up to me. Since I don’t like long distance swimming, he recommended I get into biking.

In regards to the knee pain I was having the past couple weeks, he said “some groin, thigh, or knee pain will occur,” and that it’s expected. The knee pain went away two or three days ago; hopefully it will stay gone.

Finally, he cleared me to work, saying that by the time I was hired and began seeing patients, I would be physically good to go. I asked him what he thought about having me work at his hospital. He was thrilled and thought that was a great idea.

I still have some time before I interview for a job. Maybe in the meantime I’ll become one of those crazy cyclists speeding through central park.