19. The Pandemic & The Moving Goalpost

Between June 2017 and February 2020, I had 6 monthly appointments and every time my BMI got anywhere near to the target they had set they reduced it further which reduced my motivation until I’m sure they just didn’t want to replace my hip at all, for some reason.

In March 2020 when the Covid pandemic hit I was one of the very lucky ones as the pandemic did not affect me or my family too badly.

I got stir crazy during lockdowns like everybody else but actually they weren’t too bad it just meant I had plenty of time to get on with my hobby of researching people’s family history.

As far as my medical problems were concerned it meant that all my appointments were by phone instead of in person which saved a lot of time, petrol and parking money.

Unfortunately, lockdown’s inactivity meant that my BMI started to rise again. In fact during lockdowns I managed to put on about 2 stone in weight, but as no elective surgeries were being performed, I knew I would not be considered for a hip replacement until the pandemic was under control.

As vaccinations etc., made the Covid situation much better at my last phone consultation in January 2022 I was going to tell them that I’d had enough of them moving the goalposts.

However, I didn’t get the chance as they said they were ready to put me on the waiting list for a replacement operation if I promised to try to reduce my BMI as much as I could. I said I would promise and I would see them at my next appointment.