Broken Lady...

Good News! I am still broken!

Okay, okay, I know that is not good news per say, however, it does explain why I cannot walk without excruciating pain and things are still not right after nine months from my initial surgery.

Hold up. I think I am getting ahead of myself.

Okay, so last post I caught you up to date with my progress (or lack thereof) with my broken hip and me trying to get a second opinion. Well folks, it only took me sending me records to FOUR (Yes, I said FOUR) doctors to finally find ONE who would agree to see me. Not only that, but I actually had the appointment and the news was not so good.

So when my doctor, Dr. Dumbass (that is what I like to call my first orthopedic surgeon for obvious reasons), told me that I had a non-displaced femoral neck fracture last July, he said the only course of treatment was to pin it so that it remained together because he told me that if it broke apart than I would need a total hip replacement and at my age, this was not optimal because hip replacements only last for so long and I would need to have it done again in 10 to 15 years. So, like a dumbass (okay I know I have reserved that for his name but you will see why I too deserve this title) I trusted what he said, didn't get a second opinion and had the pinning surgery.

I was stupid.

Last week I went to my new Orthopedic Surgeon (Praise the Lord!) who incidentally is young and seems fairly knowledgeable (however with my last error in judgment on picking a doctor I am not sure that I am qualified to make such a decision)and the moment he pulled up my current X-ray I saw the problem.

THE GAPING HOLE IN MY FEMORAL NECK WHERE MY PINS WERE PLACED!!!

So my non-disclosed femoral neck fracture is now displaced. Broken. Kaput. The dish has run away with the spoon!

Upon closer examination of my current X-Rays, there appears to be a gap (a pretty friggin BIG gap since I saw it all the way across the exam room) where my fracture was to begin with. The whole reason I went through this whole ordeal was to prevent THAT from happening.

Yep! So my hip is now worse than it was to begin with. Fabulous.

Not only that, but my new doctor is concerned that my infection has gone to the joint. So he ordered an MRI (which if you read the previous posting last July of my last MRI, you will understand why I was OH so exited to hear THAT news) and then he wants to do a needle aspiration where he will stick a needle into my hip joint and pull some fluid so they can culture it to determine if the joint itself is infected.

Doesn't that sound like a good time?

On top of all of this, one of the pins is starting to bow from the weight because Dr. Dumbass told me to walk on my leg! Correction, he couldn't understand why I wasn't able to walk on my leg without the aid of my crutches!

There are no words (well obviously there are, but I think you understand my exasperation by saying this).

I am back on non-weight bearing and have to be on my crutches 24/7. Suck.

He said if I keep putting weight on my leg, the pin will snap. Double suck.

Basically one of two things that will happen here:
A. If the joint IS infected then, he will go in and surgically remove the hardware (the three screws that the Doctor Dumbshit put in me) and the ball to my hip joint. Put in a spacer and leave it like that for six to eight weeks, put me on IV anti-biotics and then go back in and do a total hip replacement.

B. If the joint is NOT infected, then we have to wait until my wound that I have right now (and have had for the last seven months) to completely heal and THEN go in and remove the hardware and plate my femoral neck where the fracture is or do a total hip replacement.

So there you have it. Option A or B. Hmmm. What to choose, what to choose.

Oh wait, I don’t get a choice! I forgot! No, I have to wait and see if my infection has spread to my joint tissues and if not then wait for, oh, probably another six months before I can go back in and have a total hip replacement, which is apparently what I should have had in the first place!! I swear to God, if I see Doctor Dumbass in a dark alley, only one of us is coming out the other end...and it ain’t gonna be him!!

How am I doing? How am I dealing with all of this?

Well, there have been tears. There have been A LOT of curse words. But I have wonderful support in my life with my family and friends and I could never have gotten this far without each and every one of them! I am very blessed to have such wonderful people in my life who have helped me thus far and who (I can only hope and pray) will still be there for me on this long road I have ahead.

It has been difficult to mentally grapple with all that has happened in the last couple weeks, but mostly I am scared that the outcome is so uncertain. For a control freak like me, this has become a nightmare!!

Game plan is to move forward (I Will Survive...Against All Odds)! I got rid of my old doctor (Another One Bites the Dust, Because it's Too Late to Apologize) and got a shiny new one (Baby Im a Want You)! I know I can get through this (with the Power of Love because the Bitch is Back)! (Hahaha...okay, I will stop with the song titles, but COME ON...that was pretty good.

I will keep you posted...STAY TUNED!

Wishing you all good health, humor, and healing!