This morning we went to The Christ Hospital in Mount Auburn for my first hip surgery…

I was scheduled for a total right hip replacement. Over the last few years, I was dealing with a condition called Avascular Necrosis. It is a condition that occurs when there is a lack of blood to bone. Because bone is living tissue that requires blood, a lack of blood causes the bone to die. Eventually, the blood-deprived bone becomes brittle and starts to suffer microfractures. When not diagnosed and treated, this process eventually causes the bone to collapse. And that’s what happened to me back in the middle of December 2016. At first, it started out as just occasional hip pain when I would walk longer distances. I didn’t think much about it because the pain would come and go, and would occasionally switch hips. As time went on, the pain became more constant. The condition progressed and finally, the top of my femur collapsed one night at home. It was one of the most severe pains I think I’ve ever felt. The time between the first symptoms and collapse of my hip was more than two and a half years. After my hip collapsed, the pain gradually became more bearable and I found I could still hobble around on a painful right hip. I met with specialists to get the condition diagnosed and discuss treatment options. At this point, because the hip had already collapsed, the only treatment option was a total hip replacement. I made the decision to try to limp through all the fun activities of the summer in Cincinnati. And once the soccer and baseball seasons were over, I made my appointment with the highly recommended orthopedic surgeon, Dr Patrick Kirk at The Christ Hospital to have my right hip replaced. Dr Kirk’s office books appointments on average four months in advance. When I made my appointment, it felt so far in the future that the day might never actually arrive. And I was fine with that because the idea of having a total hip replacement surgery was really terrifying. But I watched the day get closer and closer on the calendar. And today, the day of my surgery was finally here…

Needless to say, I was very nervous and apprehensive about the surgery and what kind of discomfort I would be in afterwards. But after the surgery, I found myself to be good spirits, relieved to have the surgery behind me and happy to have a cup of ice chips…

I was even happier when we got to the recovery room…

It meant the worst part was behind us and now it was just focusing on getting better…

Deskey sent me this very pretty floral arrangement…

Our recovery room had this huge window…

With a wonderful view of downtown Cincinnati from Mount Auburn…

Genifer stayed with me by my side all day and finally left late on Friday night to tend to Oscar, who had been at some by himself since very early in the morning. After Genifer left, I watched the Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and tried to get some rest. When I woke up on Saturday morning, I was really surprised with how good I felt and how little discomfort I was experiencing…

And I got to watch the North London Derby this morning from my recovery room…

Arsenal lost 1-0. It looked like it was starting to get really foggy outside…

The room I was recovering in after surgery was as nice as a lot of hotel rooms…

And the hospital food was surprisingly good too. I had a grilled cheese and a chef salad and some blueberry pancakes while I was in recovery. Genifer had a veggie wrap with hummus that was just out of this world good. After meeting with physical therapists early Saturday afternoon, I was discharged and it was time to go home to recover…

I can’t really say enough about The Christ Hospital. The doctors and all the staff were incredible. Everyone was so extraordinarily nice, so helpful and went out of their way to make sure I was always as comfortable as possible and had everything I needed. It makes the knowledge that I’m going to have to go through all this again with my left hip in the next few months not quite as nerve-racking and terrifying. And once both hips have been replaced and fully recovered, I can’t wait to get back to living life to the fullest with my beautiful wife I feel like we’ve been very hampered by my injuries for quite a while now. Maybe we can finally add another dog to our family or maybe another little addition to our family. 😀🏥❤️