just wanted to update you all on my progress.

i had my surgery on april 11.  the doctor removed the head of my right femur
so it wouldn't press on my lower back, and pulled down the remaining bone to
leave enough space for comfortable movement.  he put three pins in the femur
and three in the pelvis, with a bar connecting them.  this was to hold the
femur down while scar tissue filled in a comfortable space in between.  i
was supposed to be in bed for a few days, then be back to my normal self
with an elevated leg.

i was home for about a week, but was in terrible pain when i tried to sit
up, roll over, or get out of bed.  we went back to the hospital on the 23rd,
where i had another surgery to adjust the fixator so it wasn't so painful.
i was supposed to be discharged on saturday.

when the doctor came in to discharge me, he noticed that my hip was swelling
up.  it had gotten infected, and had swollen so much that the bar was
rubbing my hip raw.  he wanted to schedule more surgery to move the pins
further out, but decided that they wouldn't hold.

so, he put a pin through my lower femur and put me in skeletal traction. i
have to stay flat on my back in the hospital for the balance of the six week
healing period (16 more days now).  i'm not in pain, now i'm just bored and
missing my "old life".

sorry for rambling, just wanted to catch you guys up and share my ordeal.

~Joy~