In the sha-la-la-la-low

 I have shallow hip sockets.  

That's what the orthopedic surgeon concluded from my x-ray, MRI, and current symptoms.  Shallow hip sockets, AKA hip dysplasia.  Yup, just like the ailment German Shepherds are afflicted with.  Woof.

Here's a helpful visual:

In a "normal" hip, most of the ball (the head of the femur) is within the socket, allowing the bones of the pelvis to bear much of the load.  With a shallow socket, much of the ball is outside of that socket, leaving the head of the femur and the surrounding labrum to bear the load.  Over time, the labrum and the head of the femur start breaking down, leading to tears in the labrum and arthritic changes in the femur.  When you've been active your whole life, those changes can cause problems at a younger age than a more sedentary individual.

And that means surgery to repair the labrum won't do jack squat (ouch, squats) to help me.  Which is good news and bad news.  Good news because the decision to have surgery to repair the labrum seemed impossible (not a great success rate, especially in patients over 40), and now I don't have to make it.  The bad news is that the ultimate solution for this hip of mine is a total hip replacement. 

I'm 45.

While I had an inkling that a hip replacement would be in my future at some point, I was not expecting "some point" to be like, now.  Old people have their joints replaced.  But as the wise Lara Spencer from GMA once said:

The timeline is completely up to me.  I can kick this can down the road by popping countless Advil, more PT (at $70 a visit!), and/or cortisone injections,  but

I have already modified my activity level beyond what I'm willing to continue indefinitely.  I'm unable to do things I love, and there is constantly some level of discomfort.  One of my greatest fears is that the longer I'm stuck living like a bump on a log, the sooner all the health problems that plague my sedentary ancestors will come knocking at my door.  I'm not ok with that when the success rate for hip replacement is so high.  And sure, a hip replacement at age 45 sounds startling, but why NOT use my age to my advantage when it comes to recovery?  And let's face it...there aren't a whole lot of advantages to being a 45 year old woman, am I right?

So nothing is on the books yet, because while giving me a new hip is just another day at the office for the surgeon, it's a complete upheaval of my life that will also prove to be quite the kick in the nuts to my husband and children.  There are still a lot of decisions to be made, like when would be the least inconvenient time to be laid up for several weeks?  Do I sacrifice my summer because I wouldn't miss work and my kids would be around to help me, or do I sacrifice my income and do it in the spring?  And there are ducks to get in a row, like do we change our health insurance plan during open enrollment to get the most bang for our buck?  

Sounds like my shallow hip sockets are going to send me off the deep end.