Rumbling down the ski jump again

Five days until surgery. Things feel less organized this time, maybe because I'm paying less attention, or doing it while busy, or just making the been-there, done-that mistake. In any case, I've managed to get all the required pre-operative tests, donate blood to myself, and in general cue up all the needed schedule changes and such.

Because the old clunker has reached its end and because in the run-up to surgery I'm off anti-inflammatory medication, this hip really hurts. Much as I am not looking forward to the whole hospital visit and the recovery circus, I'm ready to axe this pain.

Soon I'll be in the more rarified and elite two-Birmingham club. For the first surgery, I was relieved to have discovered a concrete cause for my aches, and I was excited about the high-tech repair, though I was a little overwhelmed by issues of mortality and aging and decrepitude. In contrast, this time, knowing that this second surgery was inevitable, knowing all the steps and procedures involved, and knowing that things can work out well, the threat level seems set lower, more a level meh.