My brand new hip in place

Well it is all over and now it is just keeping up the exercises and continuing to improve….and get this new hip working 100%.

Mind you, it is no walk in the park! Somehow I managed to block out the fact that the surgeon was going to seriously assault my hip and that it would hurt afterwards…lots and lots!!!! The first few days you lay there in a drug-induced haze thinking…what on earth have I done??? Why did I choose to have this done to my body. The first night at about 4am 3 burley guys came in to help turn me and rub my back……..torture to the extreme!! Then the second day it is time to get out of bed and stand…yeah right!!! Who are they kidding…..but actually it turns out to be not quite as bad as anticipated. Extremely low blood pressure meant that every time I stood I almost passed out on the staff, so that held things back for a bit.

The first shower on about day 3 was heaven itself!! So nice to feel that water cascading over your body…and I was even able to manage to wash myself. So very quickly the physio starts and you are constantly reminded to keep these exercises up…a necessary, but painful process.

On day 4 I was moved down to Rehab as they were closing the other ward over Christmas. This actually proved to be beneficial as the aim here is to get up and about and living independantly as soon as possible…and the Occupational Therapists teach you the best and most efficient ways to do everything you will need to do on your own on returning home.

Due to my being in hospital over Christmas, and the difficulty in obtaining all the aids I needed to return home, and the fact that they did not need my bed, I actually finished up spending 2 weeks in hospital, which proved to be a real blessing, as it meant that when I eventually came home on Friday 30th I was well able to cope on my own. Bec and Jada brought me home and spent the night…a nice reassurance on my first night alone, but all was good and they headed home the next day.

I am walking around extremely well…mainly just on one crutch and inside the house can even manage without anything, but do so very carefully….there is no way I want to have a fall or do any damage to this new hip. Everyone is amazed at how well I am walking and coping. The hardest thing is being stuck here at the house as I am not allowed to drive for another 4 weeks……and the loneliness of being in a plcae where I do not know many people yet. I have my down times, feeling sorry for myself…then decide I just have to get on with it!!

While in hospital I befriended a couple of other women in there who have been in hospital many weeks (and months) and who face a much longer stay…if they ever get out. Sure makes you thankful for what you have. I still keep in contact with them and would love to go back and see them once I can drive again. They so appreciated my friendship and led to great relationships.

So how does this foreign body inside me feel now…mainly just heavy and sore ….no pain. Just have to keep the exercises up and get walking more to strengthen the muscles onto the new hip and get even more confident. It is SOOO nice to have that pain of the old worn-out hip gone …even if this was as good as it gets, it has been well worth getting the new hip….as I have heard so many others say.

So onward and upward.

Advertisement