Guest guest Posted February 15, 2004 Report Share Posted February 15, 2004 Well on Friday the 13th we have 13 wonderful people at our house for dinner. Ten of us were hipppies (a couple soon to be - Pat will be a bilateral resurf (one in March and one in September) and Sharon is currently scheduled for a THR in March. She knew very little about resurfing prior to Friday and I personally hope she will give it serious thought now. We several Belgium hippies - one, , is an 11 week bilateral (De Smet) who blew us all away with how well she was doing. It was her first venture out without any canes and wow....she made it unaided up my front stairs and that's saying a lot. had two hips done in Ontario back in the days when our BC med would still pay for it out of Province....She is really doing well and I owe her a special thanks because she was the very first person to encourage me in the resurfacing.... Along with her " real job " she works with the arthritis society helping people deal with their pain and managing in life (an encouraging resurfacing whenever she can). from (another Belgium hippie) came and it was great to finally meet her after having met her Bob before her surgery almost a year ago. Another amazing hippy who is just getting on with her life - flamenco dancing and doing yoga and trying to get at least some payment out of BC med for a procedure she would still be waiting for here.... Steph brought another person, Terry who also lives in and he had his resurfacing with the wonderful doctor in India whose name is escaping me right now. He brought pictures and I have to say that his hospital stay looked like a luxury spa --- He is very, very happy at almost a year and is another guy who would still be waiting if he had it done here. Sunita came too and what an delightful and thoughtful person she is. You have heard about her " slower than some " recovery - problems sleeping etc., but she is doing very well and walking very straight and well. I would not be surprised if she is able to get rid of her cane very soon. n (who lives right around the corner from me) came. She had her surgery with McMinn in the fall - she posts here regularly - very informative and insightful posts. When she tells you she is tall - believe her!!! I had heard from a mutual friend that she was in pretty bad shape before surgery (I only just met her Friday night) but wow - she is walking tall now. The three guestsand/or partners were very patient people who didn't seem to mind us all talking about our hips, our scars, our condition prior to surgery, our personal demi-gods (the surgeons), our recoveries etc. These people are in each and every case wonderful, supportive caring people who have enriched the lives of some of our hippy friends. (now it may be that they came for the food!!!). Anyway, Cliff and I loved meeting those of you who did not know before Friday night and look forward to seeing you all again in the future. It was amazing that none of us had a " bad " story to tell and none of us knew of any bad stories.... the smiles were broad and real. I have to say that it was kind of funny to invite that many people we had never met to our home (my daughter razzed me because I always tell her not to meet with strangers she has " met " on the internet and than I go so far as invite them home)... but everyone had an interesting story of life and you were all a hoot although next time I want everyone to bring dessert!!!! For those of you who could not make it this time, we will try to do it again on a weekend (so that those of you who live in the northwestern states, or the interior of BC have time to get here). We just ran out of time because Cliff is scheduled for neck surgery in 10 days and there seems to be so much to do between now then - he will be out of commission for at least 6 weeks after so his bbqing skills would be hampered just that much longer too.... Very best wishes to Pat and Sharon.... we will all be thinking of you next month And to the Belgium hippies who have just returned home - welcome home - some of you are Canadian and believe me your life has just begun again. Hugs to you all, Pam and Cliff LBHR and RBHR De Smet Oct 23/02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 16, 2004 Report Share Posted February 16, 2004 Dear Pam and Cliff, As a Canadian from , but who has now lived in England for 34 years (!), wish I could been there too. Sounded wonderful. Good for you to bring people together. So-o-o important. Eleanor Vancouver area hippies Well on Friday the 13th we have 13 wonderful people at our house for dinner. Ten of us were hipppies (a couple soon to be - Pat will be a bilateral resurf (one in March and one in September) and Sharon is currently scheduled for a THR in March. She knew very little about resurfing prior to Friday and I personally hope she will give it serious thought now. We several Belgium hippies - one, , is an 11 week bilateral (De Smet) who blew us all away with how well she was doing. It was her first venture out without any canes and wow....she made it unaided up my front stairs and that's saying a lot. had two hips done in Ontario back in the days when our BC med would still pay for it out of Province....She is really doing well and I owe her a special thanks because she was the very first person to encourage me in the resurfacing.... Along with her " real job " she works with the arthritis society helping people deal with their pain and managing in life (an encouraging resurfacing whenever she can). from (another Belgium hippie) came and it was great to finally meet her after having met her Bob before her surgery almost a year ago. Another amazing hippy who is just getting on with her life - flamenco dancing and doing yoga and trying to get at least some payment out of BC med for a procedure she would still be waiting for here.... Steph brought another person, Terry who also lives in and he had his resurfacing with the wonderful doctor in India whose name is escaping me right now. He brought pictures and I have to say that his hospital stay looked like a luxury spa --- He is very, very happy at almost a year and is another guy who would still be waiting if he had it done here. Sunita came too and what an delightful and thoughtful person she is. You have heard about her " slower than some " recovery - problems sleeping etc., but she is doing very well and walking very straight and well. I would not be surprised if she is able to get rid of her cane very soon. n (who lives right around the corner from me) came. She had her surgery with McMinn in the fall - she posts here regularly - very informative and insightful posts. When she tells you she is tall - believe her!!! I had heard from a mutual friend that she was in pretty bad shape before surgery (I only just met her Friday night) but wow - she is walking tall now. The three guestsand/or partners were very patient people who didn't seem to mind us all talking about our hips, our scars, our condition prior to surgery, our personal demi-gods (the surgeons), our recoveries etc. These people are in each and every case wonderful, supportive caring people who have enriched the lives of some of our hippy friends. (now it may be that they came for the food!!!). Anyway, Cliff and I loved meeting those of you who did not know before Friday night and look forward to seeing you all again in the future. It was amazing that none of us had a " bad " story to tell and none of us knew of any bad stories.... the smiles were broad and real. I have to say that it was kind of funny to invite that many people we had never met to our home (my daughter razzed me because I always tell her not to meet with strangers she has " met " on the internet and than I go so far as invite them home)... but everyone had an interesting story of life and you were all a hoot although next time I want everyone to bring dessert!!!! For those of you who could not make it this time, we will try to do it again on a weekend (so that those of you who live in the northwestern states, or the interior of BC have time to get here). We just ran out of time because Cliff is scheduled for neck surgery in 10 days and there seems to be so much to do between now then - he will be out of commission for at least 6 weeks after so his bbqing skills would be hampered just that much longer too.... Very best wishes to Pat and Sharon.... we will all be thinking of you next month And to the Belgium hippies who have just returned home - welcome home - some of you are Canadian and believe me your life has just begun again. Hugs to you all, Pam and Cliff LBHR and RBHR De Smet Oct 23/02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 16, 2004 Report Share Posted February 16, 2004 Just a note of thanks to Pam and Cliff for hosting the B.C. hippies gathering. It was indeed a wonderful occasion, with a beautifully set table, fantastic food, etc., and it was so interesting and useful to hear everyone's stories, compare notes, etc. I don't feel so concerned that I don't have a full range of motion after four months, after meeting some younger hippies who were much more athletic and are more than one year post-op, but still feel they are improving. The photos of Cliff and Pam ice dancing post-op were particularly inspiring. After seeing Terry's photos of his " rehab retreat " , a five-star resort in India, and hearing how he was able to check out the doctors and hospital in advance through a contact in who was born in Chennai and whose uncle is a doctor at Harvard, we could totally understand why he would ignore the skeptics and go there. 's good fortune at getting both her hips done in Ottawa also illustrated the benefits of networking and " who you know " . Since there are at least five doctors in the Vancouver area who do resurfs, hopefully at the next gathering we will have some veterans who actually got their surgery done at home, covered by our provincial health insurance program! However, the hospitals in Vancouver send you home after two days, which makes me feel it was worth the money to go to England and be pampered for six days in a private hospital. I had a fever, felt like I had pneumonia, and wasn't even using crutches yet on day two, and could just barely make it from the bed to the ensuite bathroom with the aid of a walker that day, although I improved rapidly after that and could manage on one crutch by about day 5. Unless you have someone at home to do your cooking and laundry, help you with your TED's and dressings, etc., it would seem to me to make sense to stay in hospital (or in the Ghent Holiday Inn) for the first few days until you can get around a bit more easily. Sunita has a " support team " organized to come in and help her, drive her places, etc., now that her sister is no longer staying at her place, and that seems like a good plan if one lives alone. Thanks again, Pam and Cliff, for organizing and hosting a really great event! n rBHR Oct.2003 McMinn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 As someone who has had a superb holiday in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, I would be most interested to hear where Terry's 'rehab retreat' is. Would it be a good place to go for hip 'convalesence'? Eleanor 'After seeing Terry's photos of his " rehab retreat " , a five-star resort in India, and hearing how he was able to check out the doctors and hospital in advance through a contact in who was born in Chennai and whose uncle is a doctor at Harvard, we could totally understand why he would ignore the skeptics and go there.' Re: Vancouver area hippies * * . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 17, 2004 Report Share Posted February 17, 2004 As someone who has had a superb holiday in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, I would be most interested to hear where Terry's 'rehab retreat' is. Would it be a good place to go for hip 'convalesence'? Eleanor 'After seeing Terry's photos of his " rehab retreat " , a five-star resort in India, and hearing how he was able to check out the doctors and hospital in advance through a contact in who was born in Chennai and whose uncle is a doctor at Harvard, we could totally understand why he would ignore the skeptics and go there.' Re: Vancouver area hippies * * . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.