Well, I had my hip surgery yesterday. It went pretty well from what I can tell. The doctor came in and told us afterward that it was one of the hardest he had done. I’m still not 100% sure why that is. But, he said it took three hours instead of a normal two hours. He also had to do something strange. They gave me an incision on the opposite hip. What I was told was that they had to add a stabilizing rod onto the opposite side. Why? Not sure.
- Maybe to stabilize the robot
- Maybe to better orient the robot
- Maybe my bones were too dense or hard
- Maybe it was because I was shifting on the table
- Maybe my existing hardware got in the way after all
I really don’t know. I woke up easily and felt quite well. I took all the embarrassing situations like a champ. They had me up and walking about an hour after surgery. And, I left the hospital about six hours after surgery. I was there a total of about 12 hours from arrival to leaving.
A friend sent me a text while I was in the hospital. She was just checking in and letting me know she was praying for me and my family. I told her I felt that I did so well because of all the prayers I had received. Honestly, I do feel that is the case. When I replied to her that the prayers I had received helped, I felt the Holy Ghost testify to me that was true. Honestly, I have felt a great sense of relief knowing I have finally been able to do this.
I know I have some healing left to do. I was pretty uncomfortable sleeping half the night. But as a whole, I feel I have started a new chapter in life. The last chapter started 30 years ago during my rebellion. Now, still not perfect, in this new chapter I will be able to do more, work more, and hopefully serve more.
I am so grateful and blessed to live in such a miraculous time. As I walked into the hospital yesterday I realized that in the old days, my pelvis would have just gotten worse. I would have ended up in a wheelchair, or possibly an immobile beggar on the street corner because my condition would sure have led to my complete inability to walk. If I lived in the time of Christ, I could have ended up as one of those beggars sitting by the pool of Bethesda waiting for the waters to stir hoping for a miracle.
Thank God for the miracle of modern medicine.