It's Time!

I never thought this day would actually come! 6 months of watching and waiting has made it very surreal. 
So those of you that have not been following, I have hip dysplasia; Hip dysplasia is a condition affecting the hip socket (acetabulum), and the thighbone (femur). In someone with hip dysplasia, the hip socket is too shallow, or the femur is in the wrong place. In congenital hip dysplasia, the incorrect development of the acetabulum causes the femoral head to ride upward out of the socket. If this isn't corrected, the hip joint will be unstable and over the years, the cartilage in the joint will wear down prematurely and unevenly. 
To correct my hip dysplasia, I am going to have what is called a Periacetabular Osteotomy, or PAO. Using a series of cuts, the surgeon will separate my acetabulum from my pelvis (on my left hip). The surgeon can then rotate the acetabulum into a better position to cover the femoral head. This surgery generally takes 4 to 5 hours depending on whether additional procedures are performed at the same time. Research suggests that a PAO can halt the destruction of the joint or prolong the use of the joint for those in early adulthood, postponing the need for a total hip replacement (THR).
Anyway, I hope that helps! If you would like to know anything more, to the right of my blog are links to websites, other PAO blogs, and a video. 
My Surgery is at 10am, so I have to be there at 8am, so we are leaving at 7am! So expect me to be out of surgery around 2pm! 
I will have my little sister update how I'm doing and what room I am in at Northside Hospital. 
Bye for now!!
I wish everyone good luck on their PAO surgeries!! 

"Stop being so Narcoleptic"

...is something my Mum jokingly says when I am feeling overwhelming tired.... truth is, she may not be far from the truth. In an effort to finally fix all my numerous ailments, my doctor sent me to see a sleep specialist. The sleep clinic that I went to has a neurologist, ENT, and a couple other different types of doctors there and they all work together to determine what could be disturbing your sleep or making you excessively tired. 

Yesterday, I went for a consultation and through answering a plethora of questions, they believe I may have Narcolepsy! Wait, wait. Narcolepsy? I thought that is when you fall over with episodes of sleep throughout the day? That is correct, however, not everyone with Narcolespy has accompanying cataplexy (loss of muscle tone/control). The most common symptom of Narcolepsy is extreme daytime sleepiness with periods of extreme drowsiness every 3 to 4 hours during the day. You may feel a strong urge to sleep, sometimes followed by a short nap (sleep attack). I just don't have the involuntary sleep attack part. The Doctor stated that Narcolepsy often begin as a child and is due to low hypocretin levels which affects your 'wakefulness.' My parents have always told me stories of me falling asleep at the kitchen table, having to hold onto a chair during dance class, and constantly complaining of excessive sleepiness. Throughout my life I've been battling extreme fatigue and urges to go to sleep, I even admit practically nodding off while driving to the point where I've had to pull over and take a 20 minute nap before going on the road again. 

Narcolepsy, due to your body not getting the right kind of sleep, can cause: impaired memory, brain fog, clumsiness, anxiety, headaches, decreased energy, and extreme fatigue; Which helps explain why I have such a HORRIBLE memory and am so clumsy! 

Anyway, so determine whether I have narcolepsy or not, I have to have two sleep tests done: first I have to sleep overnight at the clinic hooked up to a bunch of wires, this is called a polysomnogram and tests for airway obstructions and record your sleep patterns. Then, I will stay into the next day and get a multiple sleep latency test or MSLT where I will go to sleep for about 15 minutes every 2 hours. Unfortunately, due to my surgery on Wednesday, I have to wait to have the tests in July. They want me to be off all medications and to be sleeping 'normal,' meaning not being awakened by pain from my surgery. 

Maybe this year will be the year of the cure to all my problems! hahha

So surgery is in FIVE days! Eeek! I'm starting to get really nervous! Especially because I know I'm going to be sleeping horribly from the pain and having to sleep on my back with pillows under my legs. 

Now just to sit and wait!

Pre-assessment, Check!
Pre-op Visit, Check!
Lab work, Check! Complete with handy dandy red hospital bracelet I must wear all week!
3-in-1 Commode, delivered today! Check!
Power recliner, CHECK! This thing is awesome!
Crutches, Check!
Comfy clothes, Check!
Baby gate with door, Check! So I can still get out, but the big thundering puppy can't get in!
Remote for fan/light installed, Check! I installed it myself, pretty proud, I must say! ;) haha
Met Claire and her parents! Yay! (not really a "check" haha)

So now all there is to do is just wait around till Wednesday gets here!

Hectic day at the Doctor

Okay, so remember I said my appointment was on Tuesday!? Well apparently it's NEXT Tuesday. My Mum and my Dad both took off work to come with me and so now they are going to have to take off another day of work! Go me! I could swear it was suppose to be May 17th, I've had it written down for two months!! I even have it posted in my blog back in February. Anyway, I still went to see Andrea and she just took a few measurements and showed me how to use crutches and how to go up and down stairs with them as well. After that I went to Dr. Schrader's office where I found out my appointment is next week, then I went downstairs to get my lab work done, because the lady at the front desk said I could still do that. So, I went downstairs, filled out paperwork, and sat in the waiting room for about half an hour before I got called back to get my blood drawn. Once I got back there the nurse informed me that I could not get my lab work done as Dr. Schrader had not completed the paperwork for me yet! OMG! So I basically wasted my time!
So, long story short, I have to do all this again next Tuesday! Minus the PT.
On another note, my mum and brother got their blood types checked and they are not a match. So my dad, mum, little sister, and little brother all are O+; Heather, my older sister, is the only O- besides me. So this means I only have one pint of blood for my surgery, but according to Yolanda, this will still be okay as there is only a 20% chance that I will even need the blood and it's even less likely that I will need two pints.
I meet Claire on Monday, we are going to go to lunch and have a chat about all the going on. I'm excited to meet her and get to go through my surgery with her. I can't believe there is only 12 more days till surgery!!

I'm dying!!

I am in sooo much pain right now!! I graduated Saturday and had to pack my car with the entire contents of my apartment, which entailed going up three flights of stairs, then down three flights of stairs, then up three flights of stairs, then down three flights of stairs... so on. Like 100 times! 
Stairs are BY FAR my worst enemy.
So I had my on-the-phone pre-assessment today with Northside Hospital and got everything situated. Tomorrow, I have my appointment with Andrea, the Physical Therapist, she is going to test my strength and teach me how to use crutches. After that I have my pre-op appointment with Dr. Schrader, and then off to get lab work done.
Surgery is getting close! Just two weeks away. I am so ready for it at this point.
Hoping to meet up with Claire, the girl having her surgery the day after mine, some time this week so we can talk about our hips and such! haha
Anywho... I'm going to go, so I can die in peace somewhere. Hopefully my dad with help me unpack my car tomorrow, there is no way I'm doing it tonight.

Less that a Month to go

So there are about three and a half weeks until surgery...
Claire, a patient of Dr. Schrader, is now having her surgery the day after mine, so I will have a surgery buddy!! We've already agreed to have wheelchair races down the hospital hallways! haha
So I was given incorrect information, my dad cannot give me blood; as I am O-, I can only receive O- blood. My older sister, Heather, has O-, so she is going to donate; my little sister just got tested, so we'll see what she is soon.
I was asked to be a part of a study about the development of hip dysplasia. I was sent a questionnaire in the mail that I need to fill out, as well as a request to go to Dr. Schrader's physical therapist to test my strength before surgery. That is all I have been informed of as of yet, but I'll let you know more about it later.
Graduation is on Saturday!!! SATURDAY! I can't believe it's been five years already! I am soo excited!! Now, just to find a job!!