So, despite alarming articles like this one about metal-on-metal hip implants (I suspect mine is metal-on-metal, but am not 100% certain), I don't regret getting my right hip replaced. Not even when my pain level in that hip is still around a 2.5, or when I struggle to put on my right sock or cut my right toenails. Why don't I have the tiniest ( Read more... )

New belly dance videos.

First, to Vivaldi's "Winter".

Second, to "Cakkidi" by Kenan Dogulu (hip hop elements from Anasma's "Liquid Fusion" DVD).

Yeah, I'm pretty happy with my new hip. :D

And just to compare, here's a video I made back in February. Mariam Matossian's "Partridge".

I saw my wrist surgeon last Monday, to check on my hardware and find out if my pain was being caused by hardware issues. The surgeon said the x-ray looked great: my hardware looked "brand-new, with no wear and tear or screws loosening". Oddly, the x-ray doctor report did say screws were loosening, but I'm inclined to trust my wrist surgeon here. ( Read more... )

Because my femurs are so thin, the surgeon was only able to replace my right hip on Monday. The left hip will have to be done with a lateral approach instead of the anterior/minimally-invasive approach used on my right hip. That first night after surgery was hell. Since I'm allergic to morphine and thought I was allergic to dilaudid, they had me on ( Read more... )

New haircut! (Pictures maybe later?) It's short and I have bangs. It's going to take some getting used to, but I think I like it.

Also: new website design on Line by Line web design. I am completely enamored of this new design, but I'll forgive you--I guess--if you're not as head-over-heels for it as I am.

And new hips on Monday.

(x-posted on Bionic BellydancerSometimes, the answer is right under your butt ( Read more... )

I've made a blog to document my journey through hip surgery and (hopefully) back to belly dancing ( Read more... )

Bilateral hip surgery scheduled for August 8. The good news is that I do still have some cartilage in my hip joints, but not very much. My right hip is in worse shape than my left, so that hip will be given priority during the surgery. (In other words, if they can't do both hips at once because of a complication that arises during surgery, at least ( Read more... )

Well, I'm seeing Dr. Hungerford at Mercy Hospital tomorrow to find out what options there are for my hips. When I made this appointment two months ago, I was optimistic that I could put off hip surgery until next summer. I am no longer that optimistic. Last Wednesday, I managed to hurt my right hip. And unlike previous right hip pains (bursitis, ( Read more... )

Belly dancing has taught me one very important lesson about my body: if my muscles are tired, my risk of hurting a joint dramatically increases. (This is why it's so hard for me to lose weight, because I have to stop exercising shortly after my muscles get tired. It's like I'm building muscles one cell at a time.) Yesterday, in my rapture at being ( Read more... )