Hip replacement soon

How wonderful you have therapy in a pool, Warri. So wish my rehab had that option. How often is physical therapy? So soon you will be even better than you have been for many years.
 

One hydrotherapy and one gym session per day, Nona. I'm starting to feel my muscles from this morning's pool session but nothing too taxing.

I think I'm already better than I have been for years.
 
I can't believe how great you're recovering Warrigal, that's amazing! Looks like nice pool therapy, so happy you're feeling better than you have in years! :yougogirl:
 

A big "hello" to Boris!
Love your sense of humor, D.W.!
Wish some of my mathematically gifted relatives had you as a teacher when they were young!
You are truly an inspiration!
All the very best for a speedy and complete recovery!
 
Dame Warrigal, isn't it amazing how fast you feel SO much better Seems like big deal orthopedic surgery would be a lot harder than the hip replacement really is? Especially since you know they took out a big chunk of your bone and replaced it with a metal rod and ball? And I agree it takes years off you. I was on the fast track to becoming a little old lady, what with the pain and immobility -- I'm a new person now and it is GREAT to be able to walk again, and without pain! It did take me a while to get the strength back in my quads, but it was worth every second of it.

Looking back, I can't believe that before the surgery I was absolutely terrified of the whole process.

So glad you are doing so well.
 
I will be discharged next week (Mon 24) and before that (Thur 20) they are driving me home to check out the equipment that I will need and any modifications to the bathroom etc.

I talked to a doctor this morning (not my surgeon) and we discussed my progress (good) and the state of my knees (not so good). Both knees are worn badly and will eventually need replacement but first we try more conservative treatments - orthotics, thigh strengthening and weight loss. This should put any operations off for a while. Long enough for hubby to have his back operation and recover.

Tomorrow I have to abandon my sporty red rollator and start using a single stick to encourage me to walk normally. Eventually, I hope to get rid of the stick too.
DAYS-V4208-COMPACT-SEAT-WALKER-RED-(MOBWALV4208AU).jpg

I love my rollator because it is a portable seat to rest on as well as a generous handbag. It's amazing what I carry inside it.
 
Something else the rollator is good for, but don't tell anyone I told you this, is putting a plate on the seat and then rolling it up and down the counters of food at a buffet. You can pile your plate high with food and still roll yourself over to a table to eat. :) I've seen it done.
 
It is now 16 days since my op and I have made considerable progress. The rollator has been banned and I'm walking with a very lightly held walking stick. The wound is very clean and all stitches are gone. There is still a bit of swelling in the thigh at the end of a day's activity but it is holding up to increasingly taxing flexibility and strengthening exercises in the pool and gym.

Yesterday the occupational therapist drove me home, checked out the height of all the chairs that I use and our bed, inspected the shower and toilet and the few steps we have outside. Only a couple of recommendations needed for my return, including a shower stool, a foam cushion for the recliner lounge chair and a bit of yellow tape on a small trip point outside until hubby gets someone in to grind down bit of concrete. Then she drove me back to the rehab hospital again. It was a very pleasant excursion and we had a good conversation as we drove along. Her family migrated to Australia from Hong Kong before the British handed it back to mainland China.

Two more days here and I will be discharged but I will then be coming back two days a week for another eight sessions as an outpatient.

I cannot praise enough the treatment I have received and when my time comes to have knee surgery that is looking increasingly necessary, I will be back here for another successful recovery.
 
So glad for you, DW. As a PS, my knees (which are not great) got a LOT better after I had the hips done and could walk again with a normal gait. Doc also told me many people experience more knee pain in the immediate aftermath of the surgery because the surgeon has to do a lot of jerking around on your legs to dislocate the hip so they can repair it.
 
Discharge tomorrow (Monday morning) and then I'll be back on Thursday morning for the first of the eight outpatient sessions in the pool and gym over four weeks.
I'm looking forward to my own bed and hubby will no doubt be glad to have the Kitchen Fairy back.

When all of this is settled I'll give everyone a run down on the costs of these treatments.
We have private insurance and while there are some out of pocket expenses, they are remarkably light.
 
:sunshine: Don't tell Hubby but last night I sneaked a bath because I wanted to have a good soak.
I made it in and out OK but I will behave from now on and use the shower with the shower stool.

Last night I had a very disturbed night and today has been a bit rough.
I slept for a fair bit of the afternoon and now I'm very much awake (7.45 pm).
It could be another long night ahead.

I'm not sore but I am very stiff.

I've resumed the role of chief cook but hubby is the chief bottle washer, bed maker etc.
He is also doing the shopping until I am feeling more like leaving the house. Soon, I hope.
 
I let out the water using my toe to dislodge the plug, then rolled over onto my tum.
From there I was able to get to my hands and knees quite easily and holding on to one side of the bath and a handle on the other I could stand erect.
My bath, which is nearly 50 years old, has a low level dip where you step out which is good for someone with short legs like yours truly.

Today hubby set up the shower with a temporary hand held attachment and I had a lovely long hot shower and washed my hair. It was heaven.
 
Sounds like your hubby's taking good care of you Warrigal, please be very careful in the tub and shower, I'd hate to see anything happen to you, you've done so well this far. :love_heart:
 
I'll behave SeaBreeze. I won't be pushing my luck.

We took a short trip to the shops this afternoon so that I could buy appropriate swimwear for hydrotherapy. I chose separates because it is just too hard to fight my way in and out of my one piece straitjacket. Then we stocked up on some fresh meat from the butcher's shop. After that I was pretty done in so I came home and lay down for about 30 minutes. I have very little stamina and will need to keep pushing myself to develop my strength.

Tomorrow morning I will be back to the rehab hospital for my first gym and hydrotherapy (1 of 8) as an outpatient.
 
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The stamina takes a while to come back. My surgeon said that was a normal thing, and to expect it. He said the surgery was a huge "insult" to the body as a whole, and between that, and all the drugs you were subjected to during and immediately after surgery, it takes a while. And, of course, I did it twice within 30 days, so I was pretty "insulted." It did take a good bit of time to get stamina back. Right in the beginning, getting to the kitchen and back to the den really pooped me out. Slowly but surely I got stronger, though. Part of the problem was that when I first got home after the surgery, I had no appetite and wasn't eating much. I got chewed out for that, and got a lecture about PROTEIN, PROTEIN, PROTEIN for healing. I'm mostly vegetarian, so sometimes do get sloppy about protein, so I started eating chicken breast and fish. Since I live alone, I'm not always good about organized meals.
 
Thank you for sharing your journey with us Warri. My brother will be having that before long and darn it, it seems that he and I have a lot of the same health issues. I am 6 years younger than he is. That warm bath sounds good and I know why you went to the trouble of having it. :) I can only take a bath when I visit my daughter as we have only a shower. I like the handheld shower head too but mine isn't temporary. I miss it when I visit people who don't have one. :)
 
Hubby went out today and bought some fittings that allow him to have a regular shower from a fixed high position and me to have a hand held shower sitting on the shower chair. This is a solution both of us can live with.

Yesterday I had my first therapy sessions as an outpatient - gym first with some more challenging routines, morning tea then a session in the pool. It felt really good.
 
Five and a bit weeks after surgery I am walking well without a stick, having daily baths and have given the over-toilet chair the flick. I can pick up things from the floor without any strain and can easily stand from a chair without using my hands. I'm driving again, can stand on my feet for longer periods and have tackled a flight of stairs up and down rather than use the lift.

I don't need any strong pain killers because I have no pain from my hip but I still take Panadol Osteo for my knees. I have three more sessions of outpatient physio sessions in the gym and the pool and then I am finished with. My legs are much stronger now and my balance is also very good, thanks to the graduated exercise program.

If anyone is worried about having a hip replacement I would say think again. I would recommend the anterior approach (cut from the front) because healing is easier and a period of post op physio is also beneficial.
 
How wonderful that you have had such a amazing recovery, Warri. About your knees, did your MD mention Hyluronan injections? They forestalled my having to have knee surgury for two years.
 

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