Surgery update

Hi everyone,

Jeff's surgery went well.  The surgeon (who wears his emotions easily) was beaming when he came to find me in the waiting room.  (I remember the moments following the first surgery so well - he was sweating and concerned and certain that he had done his best - but uncertain as to the outcome.)  This time was very different, in that he was pleased with the interior condition of Jeff's hip joint.  I believe that he feels confident that he has been able to save the resurfaced joint.  That's such a great thing, as the alternative would have been a total hip replacement.  ( If I seem like I repeat myself - it's just that I'm aware of friends who have recently found me online, and I'm not sure how caught up they are on current things.)

When I posted yesterday, it was under the assumption that the surgery would be a fairly simple procedure of a 3-4 inch opening over scar tissue to remove 14 cement antibiotic beads.  When we visited the surgeon, he told us otherwise.  What happened, instead, was that the entire 10" scar was re-opened, the hip prosthetic was taken completely apart and washed and scrubbed (again,) and then was doused with an antibiotic powder.  It's a much more intensive surgery and thus healing process than we had counted on.  It's major joint surgery all over again.  (That's three for the count.)

That was disappointing, and yet, he seems to be doing pretty well.  He came out of anesthesia pretty hard, and is sleepy, but that all falls within the realm of normal.

That's about all I know as of this point in time.  I'll update if anything changes.

Thanks for your interest, concerns, and prayers.  They are all appreciated!