The surgeon gave Leah a book titled “Joint Journey,” which I thought sounded like the spring break road trip diaries of some of the folks I went to college with in the early 1970’s. In actuality, the book outlined what Leah could expect when she had hip replacement surgery, which, after months of consideration and some admitted nervousness, she did Tuesday.
It does seem like Leah and I have been on a long road, a journey even, accompanied every step of the way by Leah’s ever-present, pain-in-the-butt friend, her right hip. Whether it was due to too many hard weightlifting workouts in the gym over the years, or falls she took skiing, or who-knows-what ramification of an active lifestyle, the hip had gotten to the point where Leah couldn’t even sleep comfortably, much less walk without pain.
After he performed the hip replacement this week, the surgeon said that Leah had been living with the hip of an 80-year-old. Now, as she learns to move around on crutches and does her rehab exercises with great dedication, Leah is on the road to recovery.
I stayed with Leah in her hospital room in Seattle, and the pictures I’m posting today are of the sunrise we watched illuminate Mt. Rainier Wednesday, the first day Leah woke with a new hip. We’re beginning a new chapter in the Joint Journey, and we expect it will be far-out, man.
