A Long Road to Recovery...

According to Dr. Philippon...my surgery was a success!  The procedure lasted close to five hours and by all reports, everything went well.

Dr. Philippon told my wife, Beth,that he was "amazed that I was able to play golf " due to the incredible amount of damage in my left hip.  He successfully removed three bones spurs, a cyst, shaved and reshaped my femur, and repaired a COMPLETELY torn labrum that according to Dr. Philippon..."looked like it had been mangled by a dog"!

He also performed Microfracture surgery due to the limited amount of cartilage in my left hip.  This procedure was done by creating tiny fractures in my femur head.  "Blood and bone marrow (which contains stem cells) seep out of the fractures, creating a blood clot that releases cartilage-building cells. The microfractures are treated as an injury by the body, which is why the surgery results in new, replacement cartilage."

So thanks to Dr. Philippon, I will soon be a new man!  The before and after pictures are amazing and I was told by one Doctor that I received "a million dollar hip" due to all of the repairs...I couldn't agree more!  My road to recovery began immediately and I will be honest with you...it wasn't very much fun!  Two hours after leaving the hospital I climbed up on a bike and began peddling.  As you can imagine, this didn't tickle!  However, I toughed it out pain wise and made it through day one (not without throwing up almost all over my therapist!).  Day one of many, many more days of rehab.  For now, I am scheduled to spend the next three weeks in Vail, Colorado, under the watchful eye of The Steadman Clinic with rehab occurring two or three times a day.  I will be on crutches for the next 8 weeks and I am required to spend 8 hours a day in a special machine for my leg and hip.

My road to recovery will be extremely long but I am excited about the prospect of one day playing golf pain free.  I have battled the best players in the world on one hip for over four years and I cannot wait to see how I compete against them once I am 100% healthy.  I fully expect that my journey will have some highs and lows but I am very fortunate to have the best nurse in the world, my wife, at my side.  She has been a tremendous help so far and I cannot imagine going through this ordeal without her.  I am truly blessed.  My mom and step-father also made the trip to Colorado to help me during this journey and they have been a comfort and aid to both of us.

So in all reality, it looks like my 2013 season is over.  My goal is to be ready to compete against the world's best in October of this year.  This date marks the start of the 2014 season under the new PGA Tour schedule changes.  Since I will miss the entire 2013 season, I will apply for a Major Medical Exemption.  This will allow me to begin playing in October with the same status that I had going into the 2013 season.

I am excited about the journey ahead.  I am excited about the prospects of being pain free.  I am excited about battling the best players in the world with TWO hips rather than one.  I am excited about what God has in store for me.  The best has yet to come.