18 y/o athlete getting total hip replacement

D

Doobey

New member
Hey everybody I'm 18 years old and 6 months ago I was in a terrible car accident in which I lacerated my liver, got a subdural hematoma, collapsed a lung, broke 9 ribs, a hip, and my aeorta in two places.

Since then I've recovered everything but the hip. It is excruciatingly painful because there is no cartilige between the femur and the hip so I'm scheduled to get a total hip replacement on wednesday. I'm optimistic that it will take away my pain. The only problem is that I am going to Lousiana State for college in august. I was origionally going there to play rugby at one of the top rugby schools in the nation. I am 6'1" 230 pounds, I bench press 375 pounds and previous to the accident I ran a 4.5 second 40yd dash. I am on scholarship that I will be able to keep whether or not I can play again but rugby is my life and the doctors have told me I will never play again. So I want to know if anyone has any experience with young people having artificial hips how they are able to function i.e. running, liftinng weights, range of motion.

So if anyone could please tell me if I have any hope to do what I love again I would extremely appreciative. I just want to know if a single action like being hit by a drunk driver and surviving injuries no one should survive from would destroy the thing I love or if there is any hope at all that I can recover back to what I was before the accident. If you've taken the time to read this whole thing, thank you and God bless you.
 
None of my docs are sports guys and i dont live anywhere near Louisiana. One has said I will never play again. The other has kinda avoided the question but believe me I'm gonna keep asking. I just want to know if anyone has any experience with total hip replacements.
 
You can play again but you will need your hip replaced and replaced and replaced until there is no bone left and you're in a wheelchair for life....and that might be very soon.

Every time they have to go in and redo an artificial joint you lose more use, more bone and more time on your feet.

When I had both my knees replaced(at age 47) I did physical therapy next to a woman who was getting her 3rd set of hips in 4 years. She was a marathon runner. Her doc said no more running and she kept running...new hips within 18 months. After set #2, he really told off and said to stop running but she didn't...she just did short little runs like 5K's. And so 2 1/2 years later she gets set #3. This time the doc told her not to bother to even come back if she needs a 4th. There's nothing left to work with and since she wouldn't listen to him before, he was done with her. Did she listen? I have no idea but if she didn't, she's probably in a wheelchair by now.

These are not real joints. They are metal and plastic and they not only wear out, they wear out your bones.

My doc told me to think of my knees this way: when you buy a set of tires they come with mileage ratings like good for 30,000 miles. And sure enough, they tend to wear out after 30,000 miles no matter how careful you are. The same goes for artificial joints. They have just so long of a lifetime and they wear out. You are probably looking at multiple hip replacements anyhow over your lifetime just to keep walking into retirement. The have much better ratings now than when I had my knees done. Ten years ago knees lasted 10-12 years and hips were 7-10. Now you might get 15-20 years on a hip but that still means with being extra careful, you'll be needing 3-4 more hip replacements in your lifetime to stay on your feet.

Be smart and do as they tell you so you can enjoy your entire life and not just your college years. You are lucky to be alive.

Sorry.................Jenny
 
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