Hippy, hippy Shake... Not!

I had my hospital appointment today to follow up on the MRI scan that I had back in the summer. On arrival, the Consultant was as rude and stroppy as ever, launching into a barrage of questions about my leg (not back or hip) but eventually listened to what I was saying and he promptly sent me off to have my hip xrayed.

I was back in his office in a very short time and his manner had changed totally - he was polite and considerate. It seems that my good hip is pretty arthritic and there's very little gap between the head of the femur and the socket, but on my 'bad' side there just isn't a gap. We sat looking at the xray on his pc and it looked like the head of the femur was just mashed into the socket. It certainly wasn't round any more, though he pointed that out, as I didn't know what I was looking for.

I'm now going to be referred to a colleague to get my hip sorted out - I imagine I shall have to have a hip replacement operation as it's a bit of a mess, and then I have options to go back to see Mr Stroppy if the stenosis he was interested in is giving me trouble.

At the moment I can't stop crying. I feel very emotional and I know it's a combination of relief that they have finally worked out what was wrong, relief that I don't have to have a back operation and some trepidation about a hip operation. More than anything it's a sense of relief that I've not been a raging old hypochondriac and that there's a chance I shall be able to walk 100 yards without grimacing in pain and feeling like I want to give up and take too many tablets.

It's now just case of being patient (no pun intended) and hoping that I get to see the other consultant soon - I can't say I'm looking forward to living with this much longer and it's getting worse by the week. Even with the help of the Novasonic there are times when getting up and down the stairs feels like mountaineering.

The really good news is that, if they sort out this dodgy hip, I shall be able to go dancing again. There I go, dancing before I can walk! The thought of being able to do things normally - simple stuff like climbing the stairs with a cup of tea and not having to keep moving it up a few steps at a time because I need both hands on the bannisters to get up and down - will be a major delight. Oh, I hope it happens soon.