Surgery - Long time Coming

Today is Tuesday, August 7, 2012. Tomorrow I will be having surgery on my hip. I have had pain in my hip since college. We think it started when I was racing the 800 meters on an indoor track. My hip popped out of socket and I went down (I supposedly took two competitors with me). I do not remember much from that day.

I have IT Band Syndrome and bursitis and have always gone to doctors and PT's to take care of those issues. By and large I could rid my self of the pain in those areas, but I could never get rid of that pain in my hip. Finally, after three MRI's, numerous x-rays and ultrasound guided cortisone injections we discovered that the "conservative" means have not worked.  I met a sports surgeon who spent a lot of time reviewing my situation. Thank you to Dr. Trey Green at UW Sports Medicine! And of course he saw the problem: a damaged labrum and a thickening of the femur causing impingement.

For those of you who have chronic pain I do not have to explain to you what we go through to deal with pain. For others it might be interesting to note that often when we are irritable it is because we are trying to ignore our pain while at the same time trying to listen to your weaselly whine about your hangnail.

For me, today, I am finding it hard to think about what I need to do for the day. Work seems a little unimportant at the moment. All I can can think about is whether or not this surgery will solve my problem. It might not. For 26 years I have dealt with this issue, so there is a lot riding on this procedure.

And then ... I also understand in the grand scheme of things, that I have an incredible privilege that many in our country do not have. My medical insurance and my employer have provided for me something that millions of my fellow citizens do not have. How I long for the day when everyone has access to the same system that I have. Someone posted on Facebook an article on Charlie Daniels, who I guess is an expert on politics, who knew? The gist of the note was that our country is heading in the wrong way, that electing President Obama again will make us European. I do not even know what that is supposed to mean. But, if it means a four year old with serious asthma can get an inhaler without her mom not being able to by food for the day - then I say hell yeah I want that.

So, yes please pray for a successful surgery, but in that prayer ask for our nation to adopt universal health care, so others can have the same access.

I am writing this 10 minutes before I lead a worship service in which a Rachel and a Jeff will be married. My friend Ron shared this little tidbit about this thing: Love is a dream. Marriage is an alarm clock.

I like that saying. When I was courting Susan it was a dream. Not in the sense of fluffy clouds and unicorns. In a way it was more that young naive everything will turn out OK kind of dream. But marriage, you know, after the wedding is over, is like an alarm clock. You wake up to a new kind of realization. Everything will not always be OK. In fact most of the time it is hard. It is a wonderful kind of struggle, because you are not alone.

I am hope Rachel and Jeff wake up sometime this week and have that aha moment. I am not alone in this anymore. I have a partner to share in all that life brings, sad and happy, hard and easy.

Marriage is a good endeavor. And everyone should be able to stand up and say publicly, this is my partner, and we are going to live life together, because we cannot do it without each other.

Well, I suppose they are getting nervous because it is now 5 minutes before the ceremony begins.