The first time Marty had surgery on his hip he was just a little guy.  Born without his hip connected, they didn't know it until he was a bit older and having trouble getting around.  After they figured it out, he had surgery to reconnect the hip, spending several months in a body cast. 

The second time Marty had surgery on his hip, he was 21, spending his birthday in the hospital.  In an attempt to keep his hip from popping out of the socket, they chipped away at his bones, trying to build a shelf out of the remaining bone.  After three months in a body cast, he was ready to go.

At 25, his hip was replaced with an artificial one, giving him a future of being flagged by airport security.  They always look a little leary, a man in his 30's claiming that the reason the metal detector beeped was his fake hip.

Now at 38, we're preparing for another surgery - this time to replace his good hip.  The one that was formerly untouched has deteriorated to the point that 1/3 of it is dead.  So alarming to the surgeon that he called Marty personally after he saw the results to tell him to NOT EXERCISE.  WALK WITH A CANE.  BE CAREFUL.  BOOK SURGERY.

This, after hearing from me to "stretch, you just need to build up that area" and "exercise, you'll feel so much better" - me, now feeling pretty jerky.

His surgery is tomorrow.  They'll replace the hip formerly known as the good one with stainless steel, expected to last 25-30 years.  They'll inspect the fake hip to see how much it's worn, determine when it will need to be replaced.

 

I'm sure it will all go fine, he's gone through this before and his doctor is a good one.  I'm trying not to think too much about the actual procedure or the healing time.  I'm absolutely avoiding thinking about the complications he had during his last surgery - the one where he had a blood clot that traveled to his heart, giving him a near heart attack, paddles charged up and ready to kick start his heart.  And not in a good Motley Crue sort of way. 

It all sounds so unusual - so crazy.  A young guy with two fake hips, complications, weird circumstances.  But that's just us.  Marty is like Martin Short in Pure Luck and I'm his paramour Valerie, the one who could have shared my nickname "Grace".

It's a weird thing, preparing for something like a hip surgery when we're so young.  Unlike a lot of hip replacement patients, we have things to think about like how I'll take care of my husband and our young children.  How we'll do this while still celebrating Christmas.  So, I'm preparing the only way I know how.  I got three crockpots going - one beef roast, one pork roast, one with turkey.  I've cleaned out the freezer and lined up meals. It's like Y2K all over again, except that time I really only made sure we had plenty of wine.  Our house is ready to go, the guidelines for post-surgery much like having a child-proof home. 

And we'll just relax.  Spend time together, hang out, recuperate.