I'm eight months in with a spacer and waiting to see what the next surgery will be during my surgeon visit tomorrow. This is my second revision after finding out an initial infection was never completely eradicated.

I understand all surgeries and patients are different, but I can do little more than transfer myself and use a wheelchair around the house. Unfortunately we have an older house and I need help getting in and out of the bathroom for bathing. Taking more than a dozen or so steps with a walker and stairs are out of the question for me. I have home care 3-4 days a week to help, but we're not covered for that and the expenses mount quickly.

The most debilitating part of having a spacer is the pain. Most of the time I can get into a mostly pain-free, comfortable position but any movement around the joint causes pain. It's better now after 8 months, but the first two months were excruciating at times. Laying on my back is relief, rolling onto my sides is not yet an option. Somewhere along the way I fractured my femur, but that's a whole other story. I've been doing upper body wheelchair exercises, and 'hopping' with my walker daily for as long as I can bear it. The exercises have enabled me to be as mobile and independent as possible.

I may know my next steps tomorrow. My surgeon, with humility, admitted that he has never performed the procedure I require and is looking for a colleague who may be better qualified, either in or out of my network.

My experiences have been that after a hip replacement my recovery has been mostly on track and the pain virtually eliminated. If I'm eligible, this procedure will be my fourth, third on this leg. I'm keeping hope alive. Either way, with or without a hip replacement, will be some kind of resolution to this 'between surgeries' situation I've been in.

In the meantime, I'm living my best life, staying as independent as possible, remaining hopeful that I'm nearing the end of this journey and can get on being a new retiree!

Is anyone here living with a hip removal?