7 November 2016 Another appointment at St Vincent's

It's the end of another long day, having not long returned home from our latest appointment at St Vincent's.
The surgeon (Claudia Di Bella) had a slightly different story for us today, following her discussion with the team of orthopaedic specialists last week. She has now 'offered' me a procedure that would give my hip more stability than the cement alone, but that of course comes with the flip side of it being a longer procedure (3-4 hours instead of 1 hour) with a few extra risk factors thrown in. She called it a 'Harrington's Procedure', and this would involve a standard hip replacement augmented by steel rods, along with cement ('poly-'something'). It is a procedure specifically designed for hip/pelvic damage from tumour, and would give me more stability than the original procedure proposed. Now, however, we have to be in Melbourne next week (17 Nov) for a 2-3 hour appointment at St V's, and this will confirm (or decline) that I am a suitable candidate for all this to take place. If all goes ahead, I then need to return to Melbourne for an anaesthetist's appointment the following week before heading off to Melbourne yet again the week after for surgery. 
Goodness me, what a lot of fritzing around! It's hard for the 'system' to understand that we are making a 10-hour round trip each time we meet them in their convenient office. The only thing keeping me going along this path is the potential outcome - firstly 4-7 days in hospital, then perhaps 6 weeks of recuperation and rehab - and then confidence in being able to walk again! (My sister Jeanie says "oh well, more pain, more gain!")
But there's still those hoops to go through first, initially for the next appointment to ensure that I am suited for this procedure. If I'm not, then the surgeon could still probably do the less-invasive procedure of injecting the cement, though this would give me less chance of longer-term success. 
Your prayers would be appreciated as always.