There and Back Again

A "before" and "after" shot of Kev's hip. (I'm not so sure about the fastener spacing on those screws...) In the "before" picture you can see how the lower pelvic bone fades away as it enters the socket (left hip). The socket had also been destroyed by the cancer. In the "after" picture all the "bright" objects are metal. A new socket was screwed and cemented into the pelvis. Some missing bone was replaced with bone cement - sort of a surgical bondo. The ball side of the joint was cut off and a new metal piece was cemented in.

We saw the Orthopaedic Surgeon on Tuesday and he was quite impressed with how fast Kev is healing. He double checked the length of Kev's legs and thinks he matched them up pretty good. Kev's been walking with a cane for a week and he'll start physical therapy (PT) next week to work on overall strengthening. He will also start radiation treatments soon on the hip region.

Inspired by his newfound mobility and having been cooped up for almost 3 months, Kev went to New Mexico for a week to visit with his family. (The kids and I stayed home since they had school.) He didn't quite make it through the metal detector at the airport without being "detected", but at least didn't have any problems carrying-on his stash of narcotics and anti-convulsants. Sounds like the flight went well and Kev is having a good time visiting with his parents, brothers, sister, nieces & nephews.