Hip New Doctor

Or.... New Hip Doctor.





So as you all know I have my hip problems. At last year's appointment my doctor pretty much told me to go on with life until I needed a hip replacement. It wasn't very helpful. I was so disappointed. He also told me to get my right knee checked out as he was pretty sure that was what was causing my continued hip pain. Well, after my knee is all said and done the hip has still been bothering me.





I have recently resigned to the fact that I will always limp and I will always be handicapped. That was a big step for me. It is hard for someone to admit that they will never lead a "normal" life. For me it was watching my sister's wedding video. It was so hard to watch. After that I just lost it!!! I sobbed uncontrollably for probably 20 minutes. Poor Josh didn't quite know what to do. However, at that point I accepted that I have to live with the body that I have got and there really isn't anything that we can do about it.





So this summer the left side of my lower half has started to bother me. So after talking to my wonderful therapist Marc we decided that it would be a good call to have Dr. Graf check out my knee and to visit the doctor that my hip surgeon referred me to keep an eye on the hips. As all doctor's in the UW system it takes about 2 months to get in when you are a new patient. So my wait was finally up last week.





I went to my appointment with Dr Illgen not quite knowing what to expect. In all honesty I was expecting the same brush off that I got from my surgeon. I was just going to be happy with someone looking at my left side and telling me not to worry or see you in a year. I was surprisingly mistaken. I LOVE DR ILLGEN!!!! If I weren't happily married I would marry him! The whole demeanor of my appointment was relaxed and studious. There was no abrupt decisions or shock factor. The Dr spent most of the time studying every x-ray that I have had taken over the past 2 years and watching the evolution of my hip joint. He didn't neglect my feelings. He was straight but gentle with me about my hip. He told me that within the next several years that I would need a hip replacement. My right hip has degraded so much even in the last year. He wants to watch my hip very carefully and make smart moves. Because I am so young I have a lot of time ahead of me (so I hope) so the plan has to be laid carefully. We talked about how to include a family in this and different steps depending on how things go. I walked out of that appointment feeling better than I have in a long time.





The first time I walked out of Dr. Mann's office I cried! This time I cried too but, for joy! For finding someone that I loved so much that can help me along this crazy path that I have been on. Someone to validate what I was feeling. I never knew that I needed that validation until last Friday. Until Dr Illgen told me that "If he had to live with a hip like mine he would cry everyday." What kind of Dr tells you that? A compassionate one. One who wants to help. One that you can truly believe in.

California Day 4

Our fourth day in California was my favorite day there. I would have to say it was they day I was looking forward to the most. We took the last day as a sightseeing day for just Josh and I. That was the best decision about the trip that we ever made. Friday morning we left our sketchy seaside resort and headed back to San Francisco. Along the way there were many neat things to see. Although we traveled the same highway it was earlier in the day and we missed all the excitement along the way.

Below is a picture of one of the MANY farm fields we passed along the way. It isn't all that clear but the fields were FULL of migrant workers. There was field after field of them picking produce.




After we made it to San Fran and checked into our hotel we decided to try out the 49 mile drive. This is a drive that was set up by the tourism department to help get people to come and see the city. The route starts in the center of the city and weaves through places like Chinatown, Japantown, the financial district and then heads out to Fisherman's Warf, the Presidio and the Golden Gate Bridge (which we did not see due to fog). Below are some pictures along the way.

One of the many famous landmarks in San Francisco is Lombard street. It is a street that had to switchback to accomidate for the very steep grade of the hill. You may have seen it in movies and Grand Theft Auto. Here was our view:

We had to stop at Fisherman's Warf. This area is a tourist trap!!! I think that parking was $6/half hour. We stopped just to say that we were there and to catch a picture. There is a Ghiradelli Square there but we didn't see it until we got back into the car. Apparently there is cheap broken chocolate available there.

Here is the biggest highway that we drove on. There are 12 lanes (6 per side) It was crazy!


Finally, here is a picture of the fog rolling in. It was amazing how the fog sucked in the the mountains and then they would be gone. We had never experienced anything like it!

Sorry that it took so long to get this all posted. But that was our trip!