[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Thanks. I'm feeling pretty good about it actually. If you have arthritis, you will not ever "not" have arthritis. Treating the symptoms only delays the inevitable. If it's slow-growing, you could outlive the need for surgery. Circumstances have resulted in my knowing this experience would come, back when I was in my early 30's.

Thankfully because of science, medicine, big pharma, and hospitals, this is an outpatient surgery now for otherwise-healthy people (such as myself).

I'll go in, in the morning, they'll prep me, give me some good knock-out drugs that have quick recovery time. Supposedly they go in through a small incision on the upper front of my thigh, clean up whatever bone is left, then fit a ceramic cap over the joint and stitch it back up again. If all goes well in the recovery room, I walk out of there (limping, obviously) some time before dinner the same day.

Physical therapy consists exclusively of walking.

Boy, hospitals have some really fine knock-out drugs. The technician wondered why I grabbed the mask out of his hands because he took too long. He got a laugh out of my wanting to go under quickly. But, I knew that I was going from the "pre-lim" happy shot to the better stuff. Drugs with little downsides.....life is good under the influence.