This Old Hip

Hello There! My name is Matt and first, off thank you very much for taking the time to read my story.

I originally drafted this up about 6 months ago, but couldn't bring myself to post it and ask for help! Many things have changed since.

So....back in 1996, shortly after graduating high school, I was in a very traumatic life-altering car accident. Heading to lunch, with a few friends, the car I was in was T-boned and I suffered a broken pelvis and hip along with a traumatic head injury. Luckily the head injury part has solved itself over the years, but the hip and pelvic injuries have always been a burden.

After the car crash, my pelvis and hip were reconstructed with rods, pins, and staples. My next multiple months were spent with a wheelchair, walker, cane, crutches, raised toilet seats, and assistance in the shower from my loving mother. There were many early morning trips to physical therapy and cognitive rehabilitation, not to mention a few facial reconstructive surgeries! Everything progressed well after that, despite a lot of chronic pain. But within time, what's called acetabular necrosis took hold of the hip and socket. The bone and tissue started to die due to the trauma caused by the force of the injuries I sustained. My femur and socket were degenerating.

Since this was all happening at such a young age I decided to try something else and an experimental bone graft was scheduled. Part of my fibula was removed and grafted into my pelvis and femur. This meant I was back to square one with having to use all the help from medical devices as before. Luckily I had saved my wheelchair and other fun devices! No walking, no weight bearing, no bending, just another slow recovery.

Everything was progressing well, but within a few years, the bone graft itself started to deteriorate. The pain became unbearable, so it was finally time to have it all replaced, a total hip replacement was up this time! I had been putting it off as long as possible so that the longevity of the new parts would work in my favor and it did!

I outlasted the life expectancy of the new hip by about 10 years, even with a very active lifestyle and a career as a Chef. Being extremely active as a Chef and an avid nature lover helped keep my body in pretty good shape and keep my mind in check from constant chronic pain.

So…here we are 25 or so years later.

The replacement hip parts way outlasted their life and the signs of a revision surgery were here. About 9 months ago I dislocated the hip, Halloween to be exact, and it was time to upgrade some parts. In December of 2022, a new femoral head, with increased size, was supposed to help from future dislocations. A new cup liner was worked on also. That's the socket your femur ball fits into. Parts have improved in the last 25 years too so it is also supposed to last the rest of my life. The surgery went well, and recovery was going well, but then on Christmas morning, I dislocated it again. Then AGAIN in March! By now my hip tendons, ligaments, and muscles are pretty messed up from the dislocations and from it being jammed back into the socket. Since then recovery has been slow and painful. It is uncertain of any need for future revision surgeries at this point but the healing process is progressing well.

That all being said, unfortunately, it has been a huge financial toll on me, and my family...hence the request for help. Between the revision surgery and ER visits these past several months, debt has built up. We are managing the payments but are on a very strict budget and anything to help with the debt is greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and to help if you can. It is truly appreciated.

After all of the above, I'm still having some major setbacks!

On October 3rd I suffered another dislocation! This time the femoral ball was broken off while relocating the hip. I was out of town, and got a helicopter ride back to St. Louis for another hip revision surgery!

Two weeks into another lengthy recovery. Hopefully, another updated revision will get the job done.