Short and sweet

I am sorry for the short blog reports last few days. Hard to sit and type for too long. Douglas is back at work on the computer and in office and lots to do around casa and taking care of me. I am low maintenance............right? Right!?

It is Sunday afternoon and yesterday was a little busy here.Great to see loved ones and an old nurse I have not seen in a while. I am so grateful for those who cooked for me last few days !!! OMG the food has been fabulous and nurturing and your efforts do not go unnoticed. I will be there for you when you need it in return. Douglas cranked out a gourmet brunch today; Salmon with eggs and potatoes with Zingerman's 8 grain bread and chopped liver. Have to get my iron back up there. So I ate way too much. The leaves continue to stun me and I feel entranced in the beauty.

I see the surgeon wed. I am hoping to be able to start PT away from home in a week !!! It might be too adventurous. I am OK with being indoors and lounging at this point. Pain is under control and lots to read and watch the food channel lessons and movies. I am reading a book called "The Brief Wondrous Life if Oscar Wao" Constance sent it to me. Very interesting novel about an American Dominican immigrant. Rough language and reality but an intriguing read with real history added in here and there. The author, Junot Diaz" won a Pulitzer Prize. I will have to finish Chesapeake later. I tend to fall asleep after a few pages.

For those of you who have been confused as to what they actually did in surgery I will attempt to go back in time and bring you up to snuff: Back in 1990 when I first learned the steroids had caused osteo necrosis, also known as avascular necrosis or AVN(death of bone),the surgeon in NC where I lived at the time decided to do a left femur core decompression which was a pencil size drill into the center-anterior femur about mid thigh. The idea is that bone would grow back due to blood flowing to that area. It was unsuccessful due to the amount of loss and blood vessels-arteries were clogged or too swollen from steroids to reach the femur(thigh bone) femoral head and acetabulum (ball and socket)of hip joint. The femur is the longest bone in the body and it takes strong-healthy femoral arty-vein to get blood to the tip of it. Any swelling or calcification will impede blood flow thus causing death(necrosis). That summer I came back to Ann Arbor and had the left hip totally replaced by a sports orthopedic surgeon.I was not impressed by his work(not at UM). I later returned to Asheville where six months later I had my right hip replaced by a fabulous surgeon who no longer practices. I had no insurance and he paid for it himself. I am forever in Dr. Smith's debt. This was a total success.I have since had the left one revised two more times. This last one was a right revision but only the plastic lining at socket needed to be replaced due to a large crack allowing synovial-joint fluid and debris to collect in the posterior region behind the metal ball and plastic sicket where bone should have been. No wonder they could not find synovial fluid when they did a biopsy a few months back. This is what we fixed with a filling compound made of two types of calcium to stimulate growth. It will take while to know if it is working and really we may never know. If it hurts down the road we will know it needs further repair-revision. I could keep it for life? So that is the scoop. It was my 6th joint replacement to date. There are necrotic areas in other parts of my body, knees being the worst. We will try the drilling in the right knee later next year. I have about one year of healing-rehab to get both hips up to snuff. For the next 8 weeks I wear a very uncomfortable brace. If you see me on a cane, walker or in a wheelchair just know I am taking care of myself. Lupus is doing great shhhhhh.................Hopeful !!!!I hope none of you Lupies ever have to experience this.

As many of you know I am writing a book of sorts and this blog is a journal from which I will extract much of the personal information. Sometimes I write exactly what I am feeling or doing. It is my way of sharing with my loved ones, and eventually the world, what it is like to thrive with lupus. If you know someone who has lupus I encourage you to get them a journal or blog and inspire them to write. It really is a great tool for many reasons.

Make it a great day for you and all around you !!! Love and blessings.......Angela