The author tells how he got here, waiting for his second hip replacement surgery

It was January 1984, and I was training for my third marathon that was held in March near where I lived in Kingston, Pa. I know that running a marathon in March sounds kind of weird, but people who live in Northeast Pennsylvania are a hearty lot.

I was having a great deal of pain in my right groin and no combination of rest and treatments from our trainer could heal what we thought was a pull. I was the head football coach at Wilkes University at the time and had access to some pretty good medical help. Mike Aed, our trainer, suggested I see our team orthopedist. His diagnosis was that I had a bone spur in my hip and was developing arthritis. One obvious question was how can a pain in the groin be from arthritis in the hip. He said it was referred pain; pain the shows up in one place that indicates a problem in another place.

Go figure.

My first question was, “Can I still run?”  He said of course, if you can handle the pain. But he warned that running will hasten the need for a hip replacement. That told me that I’d have to find a new exercise plan. As I was driving back to my office feeling kind of sorry for myself, I saw a runner trudging along in a snowstorm. It made me think that not being able to run was not so bad.

In May 1998 I was just starting my tenure as head football coach at Franklin College, in Indiana, my alma mater. I’d been putting up with my deteriorating hip for about 15 years and knew I needed surgery. The problem was that being in my first year and my first season was starting in August I really couldn’t afford to take time off to have the surgery and then recover from it. I went to Dr Frank Kolisek at OrthoIndy in Indianapolis. The wife of my college football coach recommended him to me. She’d had her hip replaced by Frank and spoke highly of him. 

I was a little worried about seeing Frank because I knew that he played college football and was a punter. I mean, what football coach really trusts a kicker? I found out later that he also played quarterback, so I felt a lot better.

I was x-rayed then examined by him. He told me what I already knew. I needed a replacement. He told me that whenever I felt the time was right just call and they’d set it up. I explained my situation and I really couldn’t do it for a year. He put me on medication and told me to call when ready.

The next May I was ready. In spite of the meds my hip hurt (it hurt the most at night while I was in bed -- poor blood flow to the joint -- and if I walked on uneven surfaces, like football fields), my back hurt, my knees hurt and I was basically miserable. I was 50 years old and as a doctor friend of mine told me I was too young for it, but believe me I was ready for it.

On May 24, 1999 I had my surgery. Everything went well and two-and-a-half months later I was back on the field coaching. Three months after surgery I was back in the weight room, and in March I was outside riding my road bike. The first weekend in May I rode for a team in our college’s annual spring bike race, a knockoff of Indiana University’s Little 500.

Since that time I’ve been lifting, biking, swimming and coaching, and my replaced hip is doing great. Which now takes me to a place I don’t want to go, my left hip needs to be replaced.

The procedure is becoming more common each day. In fact if you’re around my age you know at lest one person who has had total hip replacement (if you’re not facing one yourself). The total hip replacement is one of the most effective surgeries ever devised -- in terms of cost, low complication rate, and pain relief. It has become almost “routine,” although I’ve always said the only “routine surgery” is the kind that happen to someone else.

That being said, I want to chronicle the surgery and the recovery process to give others some insight about returning to an active lifestyle and exercise program. Since I’ve done it before I want to see what has changed in the surgery and the recovery and believe me there has been some changes.

One of the questions that needs to be answered is, “When do you think you might need a replacement?”

Here are a few of the indicators (from Dr Kolisek’s web site www.frankkolisek.com ):

• The pain in your knee or hip (hip joint pain is felt in the groin area, not back or buttock region) interferes with your daily activities.
• It’s hard to go up and down stairs because of pain in your hip or knee. 
• You’re stiff after sitting for a short time.
• Your walking distance is limited by pain in your hip or knee.
• The pain in your hip or knee wakes you up at night.
• The arthritis medication no longer helps your pain and/or stiffness.

My answer to the all above was, “YES!"

I called Frank’s office and set up an appointment for June 20th. The first thing that happened was that I had x-rays (the X- ray tech was the wife of one of my former students, now that made me feel old) taken and I met with his physician’s assistant Brianne Ancich.

My x-rays showed that I was bone on bone in the hip. Brianne asked me some questions covering all the indicators mentioned above. I told her that I’d like to have the surgery as soon as possible. She called in Krista Turner, Frank’s administrative assistant, and we set the surgery for July 24th. I asked to be put on a list that if someone canceled I’d be able to take his or her spot. I need this thing done

Earlier I made a wise remark about Frank being a punter and coaches don’t really trust kickers. Well I trust Frank with what is most dear to me, my wife Linda. Last summer he replaced both of her knees. She’d had problems with them for over 20 years; in 1984 our team orthopedist told her that if she were 60 they’d replace both her knees. Frank did a great job with her and she’s getting better and better each day. Let me say this, recovery from a knee replacement is much more difficult than a hip replacement. The final result is great but getting there is really hard. I have the utmost respect for anyone who has undergone a knee replacement!

Frank has a pretty impressive background. I don’t want this to sound like a commercial for his practice but as a football coach I’ve always said I want the best players I can get. As a patient I want the best doctor I can get. I know that I have one of the best doctors and replacement teams in the nation.

As I was driving home from the appointment I started planning how I was gong to get ready for the surgery. I want to be in the best possible shape since that will help my recovery. I strength train three days a week and that hasn’t changed. I’m on a workout plan I really like:

Day 1 lift heavy: four sets of five reps (90 seconds of rest between each set).

Day 2 lift light: two sets of 15 reps (30 seconds rest between sets).

Day 3 lift medium: three sets of 10 reps (60 seconds of rest between sets).

I do one chest exercise then go to a back exercise, and then back to another chest exercise then another back exercise. I then do triceps and biceps in the same manner doing eight lifting exercises total. I change exercises each week.

I do no lower body lifting (per Frank’s suggestion) I ride the bike instead. I don’t have a classic rider’s build at six-feet-two and 230 pounds, but I’ve been having some good rides on my road bike this riding season. I’ve done about four or five 30-mile rides in under an hour and forty minutes (not bad for a 57-year-old with an artificial hip and an arthritic one). It’s funny that the only time my hip really doesn’t bother me is when I’m on the road bike. It aches a bit after eight or nine miles but it’s not too bad.

Lately my hip is starting to bother me after I finish the ride so I’ve cut the length of my rides. Also I planned for my last ride on the road to be on July 4 (to me that’s the best day to ride since usually in the morning no one is out on the road). However. rain was in the forecast and did develop. Instead I went on a 22-mile ride on July 3. I really didn’t push it too hard and was able to do 20 miles in 70 minutes. The hip was ok until the last two recovery miles.

So it’s time to go to the stationary bike I have at home. It’s also safer; I don’t need a biking accident postponing my surgery.

I would like to get to 225 lbs and I’m watching my diet a bit more carefully, losing those last 5 lbs shouldn’t be too difficult (right, those are always the hardest).

The last way I’m preparing for my surgery is mentally. As a coach and athlete, I know that the mental aspect is crucial. How mentally tough are you and what kind of attitude do you have? First of all I have a positive mental attitude, always looking for the positive in every situation. I’ve been through this before and I am positive the outcome will be just as good if not better.

Secondly, I know that when an athlete is injured their recovery depends on how well they rehab so I have always attacked my rehab. One of the most important things playing and coaching football has taught me is how to handle pain. There is a little saying we have and it’s, “Let’s make friends with Mr. Pain.” It sounds kind of trite but you can always push yourself through pain. I know there is going to be pain involved but I trust my surgical and rehab team not to allow me to do anything that will injure me. Therefore I’ll control (with the help of some really good drugs) the pain and push through it.

Finally, I have a little trick I learned years ago, self-hypnosis. I know that sounds all New Age and a bit weird but I swear it works! Believe me I am not a New Age kind of guy! In 1985 I was facing have all my wisdom teeth removed and a co-worker told me about it.  I followed her instructions and it worked. After the surgery I only took one pain pill and the healing of the incisions was so fast that when the stitches were removed my gums had grown over most of them. I’ve used this technique with a bilateral hernia repair and my first hip replacement, and I swear by it. I tried to teach my wife the technique before her surgeries but she wanted no part of it. Her loss! It takes only 15 to 30 minutes a day and I do it every day until the surgery. After the surgery I do it to speed recovery.

I’ll go into more detail later.

The next thing that I have to face is my pre-op meeting at the hospital and that won’t be until the week before surgery. I’ll tell you about it and the surgery center in my next post.