Getting hip at 50

When I turned 50 I knew I had a lot of things to look forward to: menopause (complete with hot flashes); insomnia; thinning hair; Clarks comfort loafers; and yes, neck wrinkles! All that glory aside, I never envisioned that a hip replacement would be part of my 5th decade.

I had been having some groin pain off and on for about six months. It was worse when I took long walks. Physical therapy and treatment for "lazy gluts" (aka my butt muscles) helped a little but then the pain got worse. Maybe I was just getting old!? Just in case I requested an X-ray just to see what was up.

So as I sat in the surgeon's office one June day and heard the words "bone on bone" and "hip replacement" I was a bit flabbergasted. How did this happen? For exercise, I walk and do yoga. I ride my bike a few times a year to feel the wind in my hair and sun on my face (and appease my bike fanatic husband who thinks nothing of a 30-mile trail ride). Hip replacements were for little old ladies...or were they? Only a few months before one of my best friends had a hip replacement at 57, but I blamed hers on her "take-no-prisoners" attitude on the tennis courts. Were my gentle jogs around the lake responsible?

No, the doc informed me, my left hip deterioration was simply "congenital." Meaning, don't kid Between 2000 and 2010, the number of hip replacements in people age 45 to 54 more than tripled, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. And that was almost a decade ago!

yourself that this was from too much exercise or a heroic athletic injury. Yes, it appears I was destined to have hip replacement from the day I was born! And I'm not alone in the growing group of limping lame Generation Xers today.

So why the growing number of hipsters?  Plain and simple -- technology. Instead of cement, hip replacements today are made of more durable materials such as ceramic or plastic. Instead of a shelf life of 10 years, hip replacements today can last up to 30 years or more. Additionally there are several types of hip replacement surgeries -- posterior (traditional, from the back), Superpath (the newest and least invasive hip surgery which avoids cutting any tendons or dislocation), and anterior (from the front, less muscle cutting). I had already scheduled my anterior surgery by the time I learned about Superpath, which is a specialized field to date and not performed by many surgeons - yet! 

That said, once I knew it was coming up I researched a little more. Perhaps I should have not. I learned they would not only dislocate my hip but also saw off the top of my femur to attached a new ball and socket made of ceramic and plastic. Essentially I could now not just pretend to be "The Bionic Woman," I WAS the Bionic Woman (if not a little older than my 70s idol, Jaime Sommers, aka Lyndsay Wanger, aka The original Bionic Woman!).  

Of course it was not a cake walk to be bionic. After my surgery I woke up thirsty and groggy. My lovely nurse gave me pudding and lots of juice, but my always low blood pressure was really low. So low that I fainted twice when they tried to get me up and moving which is the norm after inpatient hip surgery. By days end, my medical team determined that I would not be going home but instead would need to take an ambulance across the street to the hospital so they could monitor my blood pressure and potentially give me a blood transfusion (yup, that happened).

The next two weeks were a blur of meds, my walker, washcloth baths, lots of pillows, terrible sleep, compression socks that beeped at you in the middle of the night when the charge died, a high protein diet with enough meat to feed a high school football team and some cavemen, and a lot of ICE. I loved my ice packs so much that even when I started running a fever and got the chills and put on my winter coat and hat I would not part with my ice packs.

All that aside, the best memory I will have from my hip surgery is the kindness of my friends, coworkers and family. Flowers arrived daily either at the door or in the hands of loving visitors. My friend who has breast cancer walked my dog. Meals were prepared and delivered so my husband would not have to be caregiver and cook. I was showered with more candles, chocolate, soaps and teas than an English Princess. And I learned what it was like -- even for a short while -- to be disabled. Simple things like getting in and out of a car or even into bed were painful and required assistance, which thank God I had! I thought a lot during all this about how privileged I am to have a job which offers sick leave; a spouse and friends who can take care of me; health insurance. What about all those people out there in our own country who do not have that!? 

I plan to use this new hip if not to change the world then to remind myself daily all I have to be grateful for and to take care of my health and body during whatever time I have left on earth. Also to stop by and do something for those who have surgery or illness and not just quip, "Let me know if you need anything!" 

I am lucky. I am blessed. And you betcha I am HIP at 50!