Elizabeth made it through the surgery and is recovering well. She is less than 2 weeks out and already running! Her pain level is much lower than before the surgery. We saw pictures of what her hip looked like inside and it was a mess. The area that was filled with nerve endings was inflamed and frayed. The surgeon cauterized and shaved the tendon thus destroying the painful area.
All of this occurred up at the Cleveland Clinic. This place is huge! There are 3 hotels on the at least 29 block campus. In one area it looked like a mall with shops and restaurants. The day before surgery I think we walked the entire place trying to get all the tests completed so she could be cleared for surgery.
Elizabeth did stay over night after the surgery and I am very happy she did so. She spent most of the day after the surgery sick to her stomach. The surgeon said that he could not remember the last time he had an arthroscopic patient stay over the night, but it would have been a nightmare with 3 kids in the car and a 6 hour drive and having to stop while she got sick on the way.
The best thing about the surgery is that it has given Elizabeth hope. She now understands that pain is not a permanent part of her life. Sure, there will probably be times that she has pain, but it is not a constant. "Hope is a very dangerous thing!" (I can't remember the movie, but I like the quote)
Hello there. I've been reading your blog for a little while now and am happy to hear that the surgery was successful and more importantly, about the hope it has given Elizabeth! Pain may be part of EDS, but there is treatment, too...whether it's surgery, therapy, medication. Keep hope {that dangerous thing} alive! As for her hospital stay, I think more patients should be given the option to stay over after surgery, arthroscopic or otherwise. Can you imagine how many patients have their pain, nausea, anxiety or other (expected) Day 1 post-op symptoms under-managed because their surgery was done arthroscopically and they should be fine to go home or back to their hotel or back to their car? I hope you're all still well, as I just noticed this post was from a few weeks back.
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Xan